text: As a recipient of a graduate degree from a large Eastern Catholic University I can not claim my faith was influenced one way or the other through my academic experience. I was a always a practicing Catholic even in my 20s when I received my first graduate degree until now, my retirement years. When we are committed to our faith, the environment has no effect one way or the other. The claim that certain "Newman Society" approved institutions embellish or even enhance a students religious bearings is not a blanket truth but can only be determined individually by the experiences of each student. The school they attend is irrelevant to their faith formation and in fact that formation may be developed in a secular school depending on that students' social experiences. In other words, if he/she gravitates toward other faithful Catholics and has shared experiences, guess what? They remain faithful Catholics. It is entirely up to the individual.