The National Catholic Reporter recently profiled 12 Catholic women in the U.S. under the age of 40 whose work are making a difference in the church by the work they are doing. Among them is a catholic youth minister, Leti Bueno

About 150 teens are registered for youth ministry at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Austin, Texas, and Leti Bueno, who’s been a youth minister for the past 13 years, is still renewed by their energy and optimism. As high school youth minister, Bueno hopes that the teens remember their time in youth ministry after they graduate, remembering to speak up for the voiceless and use their faith in making decisions.

She grew up in San Antonio in a “rough neighborhood,” she says, although she was from a stable family. For youth in her community, the church was the center of their lives. In Austin, she tries to make sure God is the center of the teens’ lives, not just something to fit around soccer practice. Read her whole profile here.

(It’s nice to find a newsworthy item so soon after discontinuing the news feature)