Here at the Newman Center we are blessed with two wonderful priests!
Fr. Blaise Berg
Father Blaise Berg has been Chaplain/Director of the Newman Center since June 2006. Ordained in 1998, Father Berg has served as Parochial Vicar at St. Rose Parish, Roseville for a year and a half and as Priest Secretary to Bishop William Weigand for four and a half years.
Born the ninth of twelve children in Yuba City, California, Father Berg attended St. Isidore Elementary School and Yuba City High School. In his spare time, Father Berg likes to ride his road bike, tour on his motorcycle, drive truck, travel, hike and work with wood. Father enjoys being with college and university students immensely, especially schooling them in ping pong. He also enjoys teaching theology and catechism on the parish and diocesan levels when he can, and is also involved in the preparation of couples for marriage, giving spiritual retreats and working with women and men who seek post-abortive healing through Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats.
Fr. Hector Montoya
Fr. Hector Montoya was born on November 1, 1975 in Acambaro Guanajuato , Mexico, and grew up in a small town called San Cayetano, which belongs to the municipality of Acambaro. He is the eldest of seven children. He was eighteen years old when he came to the United States.
He began considering joining the seminary to become a priest when he was about 20 years old and after about a year of discernment he said "yes" to God's call. He got his GED diploma in the Diocese of Sacramento and in the fall of 2000 he went to Mount Angel seminary. Right now his only hope is to respond to God's call in the best possible way, by being faithful to his call and by zealously loving and serving his people.
The Student Leadership Team consists of students who were called to serve as leaders at the Newman Center. The team is responsible for cultivating the sense of community within the students who attend the Newman Center. Student Leaders plan service opportunities, lead faith sharing discussions at College Nights, plan and conduct the Fall and Spring retreats, organize social events, plan and conduct monthly college Adoration, serve as Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors at Mass, and dedicate countless amounts of hours planning many other services that the Newman Center provides. They are 5 extremely thoughtful and hard working students who spend their time enriching the lives of so many students that walk through the doors of the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center.
Jin Bynum - Coordinator
Jin is in her third year at Chico State and is enjoying her time in the English Program. In her spare time she loves to write, hang out with friends, do photography, listen to music, and many other things. Growing up Catholic, she always found some way to minister to the community. Whether that be through lecturing, altar serving, or teaching at vacation bible school, she was always glad to spread God’s Word. Now she has been at the Newman Center for two years, the last being on team, and is greatly looking forward to this upcoming year as one of the two coordinators.
Peter Garcia - Coordinator
Peter is in his third year at California State University, Chico. He is currently working on obtaining a degree in Applied Computer Graphics. He is not quite sure exactly what he plans to do with this major but enjoys the subject matter and will see where it leads him. He originates from the beautiful city of San Diego. Peter was on the Student Leadership Team at the Newman Center last year and is currently one of the Student Coordinators. He has been involved in the Church in many other ways as well, whether it be through altar serving or helping plan events for his local youth group. During his spare time he enjoys spending time with friends, drawing/sketching, photography and just being creative. Peter came to the Newman Center for Mass the first Sunday he was in Chico having no idea what to expect but he quickly found himself spending great amounts of time there, enjoying every minute of it.
Rocky Rodriguez - Student Leader
Currently a junior studying English Education at Chico State, Rocky’s faith has deepened becoming a member of the Newman Center community. Her parents enrolled her and her two younger siblings in private school from kindergarten to 8th grade. Her family has always volunteered for the community and, especially, within the Sacred Heart community in Salinas, CA with fundraisers, activities sponsored by either the school or parish, and the youth groups. Her parents always taught her that in order to receive blessings, we must give from our hearts to those who need blessings more than we do. Because of her family’s heavy involvement with her home parish, she intends to devote a good majority of her time and talents to that of the Newman Center. She hopes to apply her organization, creativity, volunteer background, time-management, and social skills to helping the community flourish even more through activities and events. As she has grown in her individual faith, she hopes to influence other students’ faith as well.
Charlie Normandin - Student Leader
Charlie Normandin is currently a sophomore at CSU Chico, majoring in Business Accounting with an interest in Criminal Justice. His dream is to be a detective/forensic accountant for the FBI, or at least to play one on TV. He is so excited to be on the Student Leadership Team for the Newman Center this year. Coming from a strong and committed Catholic family, he has attended Catholic schools all his life. So, when he arrived at Chico State as a freshman last year, he was grateful to discover in the Newman Center a kind of second home that helped him stay connected with people who shared his passion and identity with their faith. From being a junior high core member for the youth ministry program at his church to being the head commissioner for Campus Ministry at Mater Dei High School, he has actively sought out opportunities to share his enthusiasm for his faith with others. As a member of the Newman Center team this year, he’s looking forward to generating some fun new activities that foster friendship among members and help put the principles of our faith into action. He was involved in many of the events, outings, and Masses that were put on last year, and he really benefited from meeting and working with the awesome people that are a part of this dynamic community. He is originally from Orange County but feels blessed to call Chico his current (temporary) home. It’s a great town with a lot of fun places to explore and enjoy. He has a loving and supporting family which includes two older brothers (Frank who attended Gonzaga University and currently lives in Portland and Nick, a senior at the University of Notre Dame) as well as his Mom, an obsessed tennis player, and his Dad, an extraordinary cook. His interests include playing golf, tennis, and ping pong, cooking, and just having a good time with family and friends. In his spare time he loves to collect trivia from the history of candy, a hobby he has developed since working at an old fashioned candy shop back home on Balboa Island for the past three and a half years. This is going to be a great year for the Newman Center and he’s proud to be a part of it. He looks forward to helping broaden our membership with new students and energize our program with new activities. Come on in and become a part of this spirited campus community! He looks forward to seeing you around.
Hobert Ray - Student Leader
Hobert was born and raised in Apple Valley, California, and moved north to Chico for college. He was in a completely different environment and knew not a soul, so he immediately started going to the Newman Center because he figured he could at least find some people with the same values as himself. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life. He went to a lot of the events and quickly made good friends there. Two years later, he is now one of the Student Leaders. He attends Chico State and majors in Mechatronic (Robotic) Engineering. He is a very easy-going person and he can be a bit quiet at times. He likes solving puzzles, he enjoys learning about our modern technology, and he loves little gadgets. He has a sound faith which has gotten him through the roughest patches in his life and he would not be where he is today without it.
