• Schuessler is one of six children, with three brothers and two sisters.
  • She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
  • Her hometown is Dodge County’s Mayville, where she grew up at St. Mary.
  • Schuessler, a social worker, also has her own coaching practice for Catholics dealing with chronic pain and health issues seeking to walk through it with God and find a way to build a life they love.

Could you describe one or more moments that changed your relationship with God and/or made you the person you are today?

I have two. One is a moment in my room while feeling lost my freshman year of college, when I decided to get real with God and ask him who I really am, and felt strongly in return that I was his.  A second is a season of not knowing if I would finish college when I was really struggling with my physical health, when I was really forced to believe the above, and God’s grace really did feel like the only guarantee.

How does your Catholic faith inform your daily life?

It really informs so much — it tells me that leaning into Jesus will always be more fulfilling than worldly success, that sacrificial love is what we’re made for and that every human has reflections of God in them that are so worth loving.

Tell me about your experience of parish life.

My experience of parish life growing up didn’t really expand beyond Sunday mornings. Now, it significantly impacts how I spend my time and who my people are. It has provided me with years of many roommates turned family and is truly a communal place of worship that inspires connection and a love for God that fills my cup each week. It’s also led to plenty of random kickball parties, summer picnics, bonfires, football watch parties and a zillion Sunday brunches.

What is something that inspires you?

There is so much! Put most simply, I’m inspired by anyone going through something hard who continues to show up for people and life.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

A trusted mentor/friend told me to stop trying to be so positive and allow myself to be broken during some of my hardest years. It was a game changer.

What’s one daily practice you’d recommend that everyone adopt for themselves?

Solitude. Whether it be five minutes or two hours, everyone should take a chunk of intentional quiet every day to nonjudgmentally notice what they’re feeling and to let God meet them there.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

I never say this out loud (like truly, ever), but I finished both my undergraduate and master’s degree with a perpetual migraine.

What is a skill you would like to get better at?

Right now, very superficially: driving. And playing “Pride and Prejudice” hits on the piano by memory.

What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

I’m definitely not one to fight for the spotlight, but I actually love performing. I was in musicals and show choir in high school and totally idolized Anna from “Freaky Friday” growing up.

What’s a place you’ve been to that was particularly impactful and why? 

Lourdes. It’s the most naturally beautiful place on earth that has now become a refuge for those carrying heavy physical and mental burdens. It’s a place of compassion that has reminded me there are others out there who truly want to meet us within our pain and all the ways our lives look different. It’s also the first Marian apparition site approved by the Church and happens to be full of fonts of spring water that has researched miracles attributed to it, so that’s cool, too.

If you had an unlimited travel budget, where is the first place you would go?

With a truly unlimited budget, I’d buy a second home in Ireland and go there as much as possible. My mom is 100 percent Irish, and both my grandmas were as well, and I love learning all things about Irish history and culture.  Also, who doesn’t love seaside towns full of pubs featuring real Irish musicians every night? I would also love to see more mountains. Maybe the Alps, just because they seem pretty cool and cozy, and I think they have trains. I love trains.

Favorite movie?

I’m not one to rewatch many movies, but recently did so with “Return to Me” and remembered how much I love it.

Favorite book?

“Compassion” by Henri Nouwen or “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck.

What book are you reading? 

Trying to finish a reread of “The Long Loneliness” by Dorothy Day at the moment.

What podcasts have you been enjoying recently?

My non-thinking podcast right now is listening to Kylie Kelce talk about her life as a mom and former NFL wife on her pod, “NGL.” “Restore the Glory” has been a go to for me a lot lately. And I’m also pretty into one called “I Choose Grit.”

Who are your favorite saints?

St. Bernadette, St. Teresa of Avila and Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo.