Sister Caryn grew up in Fulton, New York and developed a great love for nature as a child. She didn’t think of entering religious life at first but instead attended the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and earned a bachelor’s degree in forest biology.
She spent two years in the Peace Corps in the Central African Republic teaching farmers how to fish farming and serving as a biological technician for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
When later asked by a sister if she’d ever considered religious life, her first response was an emphatic ‘no!’ but two years later, she could no longer deny the call. She entered religious life nine years ago and says about her chosen path, “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
As the new vocations director for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, one of Sister Caryn’s goals is to create a “culture of vocations.” “It is the role of each sister to reach out, invite and embrace women who are discerning God’s call in their lives,” she says.
She says to journey with women discerning a religious vocation “is a gift, and in this journey not only am I changed, but I hope she is changed as we share our wisdom.”
