91����Ƶ

Last Wednesday evening, Thomas 91����Ƶ College, California, students gathered in the Dillon Seminar Room for a Career Center presentation from Kelly Alvarez, a certified Catholic temperament and purpose coach. The wife of alumnus Justin Alvarez (’97), Mrs. Alvarez is also the mother of three 91����Ƶ graduates.

Mrs. Alvarez began her talk by explaining that the most successful way to enter into the professional world is for students to know who they are. Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses is fundamental to thriving in life and becoming the person that God intended. “I’m excited to talk to you about how God has uniquely created you and how to use that knowledge as a compass for your next steps,” Mrs. Alvarez said. 

She then handed out packets with a simple temperament quiz to all the students, which would sort them into one of four personality types. “There are many ways of discovering your God-given identity, but I like to start with the temperaments,” she began. “It's actually one of the oldest kinds of personality tests. It's not even really a personality test, but a way to discover who you are.”

Once everyone completed the test, Mrs. Alvarez directed them to the section where, having learned their personality type, students could check off words that they felt best described them based on their personality type. She asked each person to think about a situation where he or she felt accomplished, proud, or especially energized by a realized goal, then invited them to reflect on characteristics of their personality traits as strengths.

As the talk progressed, Mrs. Alvarez guided the students through various reflections and realizations, asking them to dwell on what they believed were aspects of their characters that they saw as strengths, then reframing those strengths as essential parts of the students’ personal identities. The room buzzed with excitement as students shared their strengths and listened to their neighbors’ accomplishments. “Saying your thoughts and goals out loud is helpful and important,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “It makes them become more real to you.”

She concluded the talk, saying, “We don’t need to have a knowledge of what’s in front of us. We just need the next step. God has a purpose for us and created us for His purpose.”