St. John the Evangelist parish in Frederick welcomes Cassandra Anderson as Director of Youth Ministry, effective July 1, 2003. Cassandra is a recent graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg with a BA in Theology.

Still in the "settling in" phase at St. John’s, one of the biggest challenges Cassandra faces is taking over a job which previously was shared by two people, former Youth Ministers Denise Jackson and Kristen Hussle. Her two predecessors established a solid youth ministry program, and for now Cassandra does not plan to make changes. The parish has a large youth population, with over 150 candidates in the confirmation program alone. Besides coordinating the parish Confirmation program, her job also entails overseeing the faith formation sessions for middle school and high school youth, and organizing the Sunday evening high school youth group meetings.

With plans to relocate to Frederick in the near future, Cassandra presently resides in Ellicott City and is a member of the Church of the Resurrection. During her high school years, Cassandra was an active member of her parish’s youth ministry program. While attending college at the Mount, besides being a Resident Advisor, she was involved in the Campus Ministry program, serving as co-chair of the "BUMS" – "Building Unified Mount Spirit." She was also a member of the Mount St. Mary’s Chorale.

When she pauses to reflect on which Scripture inspires her, Cassandra recalls the words from Micah 6:8…

You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.