Who We Are

Mission & Vision

ESTEEM trains, encourages, and supports young adults at colleges and universities across the United States in their baptismal call to use their gifts and talents in service to the Church.

The ESTEEM program is designed to assist young adult participants to:

  • reflect on their call to leadership
  • participate in a community of similarly talented, dedicated young adults
  • understand their baptismal responsibilities and vocations
  • discover ways to exercise leadership in the Church

ESTEEM holds up a vision of faithful, ecclesially engaged young adults serving on parish and diocesan pastoral and finance councils and boards of trustees of Catholic organizations across the country.

ESTEEM is not religious education or catechesis, nor does it offer training in youth or young adult ministry. Rather, it is an experience aimed at young adult Catholics already knowledgeable and committed to Catholicism who command notice for their intellectual acumen, their innate leadership qualities, their passion for excellence, and desire to serve the Church.

ESTEEM aims to identify those young adults, cultivate their desire for service to the Church, provide a formation experience that encourages their leadership – especially in the temporal affairs of the Church – and offer opportunities for such service, gradually developing a network of talented, actively engaged young adult leaders serving the Church.