"I am named after Mother Angelica, so I got to have a little fire in me," National Catholic Register - Charlotte Pence, Angelica Park Youth Rally - March for Life 2020
Angelica Park has not taken the weight of her name lightly. As an 22-year-old alum from Baylor University and Masters student at the University of Dallas, she understands the devastating battle the youth are facing from false idols, unrealistic lifestyles, and compromised morals. She has made it her mission to fight these social issues and rally the youth within the Catholic faith. Her most prized accomplishment is to sing the National Anthem at the March for Life 2020 just before the President of the United States took the stage. Ms. Park was also able to speak alongside Abby Johnson at the March for Life Youth Rally! Her pride for her faith attracted the National Catholic Register, Jim Caviezel, Gen. Michael Flynn, Fr. Bill Casey, Abby Johnson, Dr. Sebastian Gorka and Pro-life Weekly with Catherine Hadro. This is only scratching the surface of this amazing young lady who is a light wherever she goes.
"I'm not afraid to fail... I am scared to death of dying and having the Lord say to me... Angelica, this is what you might have done had you trusted more." -Mother Angelica
WHO IS ANGELICA PARK?
Angelica Park has been the same bright eyed, happy, God-fearing kid since diapers. Her life began in an enviroment that is incredibly rare: traveling the world with her mother who was a headline entertainer/singer and roaming the sets of Mother Angelica's EWTN studio. Her family had a reality T.V. special on EWTN called Park Place: A Catholic Family Living. She went to St. Matthews Catholic School until middle school and high school because she wanted to battle the world in the hardest arena for a young girl, a public school. In a public school, you must learn to sink or swim quickly, and this young lady swam. She learned quickly she had a desire and gift for learning, preforming, and sports. She won multiple awards for volleyball, choir and academics. She was placed in “Gifted and Talented” courses for math, played in the Junior Olympics for volleyball on her national club team, and won UIL awards for choir all before entering high school.
In a school with over 3,000 attendees, Ms. Park continued to stay in rigorous courses with all her classes being in “Advanced Placement.” She was team captain for the volleyball and a leader on and off the court. She applied and was accepted into the Voelcker Biomedical Research Academy, a cancer research scholarship program for three years during the summer where she excelled and gave the graduation commencement speech. She also began the “Happily Ever After Foundation” which has raised over $45,000 for pediatric cancer research and sponsored by 30+ organizations: H.E.B., Nothing Bundt Cakes, Walmart, University Hospital and more. She also competed for Miss San Antonio’s Outstanding Teen 2018 and won; she finished in the top 5 for Miss Texas’ Outstanding Teen and won several awards and thousands of dollars in scholarship money. Nearly all of this was done before the start of her sophomore year. For the next year, she would raise money, organize and attend 50+ community service events, sing the national anthem for the Houston Astros, San Antonio Spurs and several other teams in the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and the All-American Bowl. All of this while maintaining her 4.2 GPA, becoming one the starting six for the Junior Varsity volleyball team, and never losing sight of her faith and love for the Catholic Church.
Her second half of high school, like many strong young Christians, is when her faith was truly tested. Unreasonably and radically, she got cut from the volleyball team after being a starter on Junior Varsity for an entire season; however, she constantly felt singled out for her beliefs. The start of the new season she wasn't on the coach banned prayer from the games saying, “We don’t do that s*** here!” Coincidence? On the same day she was cut, she filled her schedule with a class designated to tutoring the special needs students at her school. From that day on, she solely focused on becoming a doctor and helping the helpless around her, specifically pediatric cancer patients, special needs children and the unborn. She became more vocal about her beliefs and aspirations on social media and within the classroom. She knew this would cause some issues, but she could never expect the length Satan would go to silence her. She ran for her senior class presidency and her peers/”friends” screenshotted a video she posted of Dr. Anthony Levatino talking about the procedure of abortion and sent it around the school captioning “#notmypresident." The initiators of this movement against her encouraged, successfully, hundreds of students to cross out her name on the ballot and repost it on their social media outlets. She thus lost her class presidency in complete humiliation, but she refused to let these series of events defeat her. She wrote and recorded a pro-life song called “Listen Can You Hear Them” which is a lullaby to the children we have lost to abortion. She reached out to the March for Life to sing the National Anthem and then she was invited to speak at the March for Life Youth Rally.
She had no idea that the President of the United States Donald J. Trump would make history by speaking at the March for Life as she watched 20 feet away with Kellyanne Conway to her right and Representative Steve Scalise to her left, that she would sit and talk with Alveda King backstage, that Jeanne Mancini would run up to Ms. Park and ask her to fix her hair and makeup before she would announce the POTUS, that Abby Johnson would ever be her friend, that Jim Caviezel and Gen. Michael Flynn would celebrate Holy Mass and dinner with her, that Fr. Bill Casey would ever say “the Catholic youth need you,” that the National Catholic Register would ever write about her, that Newt Gingrich would exchange information and lend support in future projects, that she would sing for the Texas Rally for Life and meet Governor Abbott, that Pro-Life Weekly with Catherine Hadro would ever do an exclusive interview with her, that she would be on multiple local news networks, that Live Action would interview her and write an exclusive about her life, that she would be highlighted out of 388,414 kids in San Antonio for a exclusive called “Kids that Make San Antonio Great.” These moments have sparked a fire so great in her heart that Ms. Park is not afraid to carry her cross for a cause she knows is much greater than herself.
She has spent the last four years at Baylor University where she graduated with a Bachelors in Science in Biology with a Cell and Molecular Concentration. There she has grown in a countless number of ways from studying Italian in Rome to two of her best friends becoming cloister nuns while several guy friends becoming priests. She spent her years there leading the Women's Discernment club, the largest student retreat at her campus parish, praise and worship nights and a bible study through FOCUS Missionaries. All of these things have taught her to be a great Catholic, woman, friend, and mentor. Ms. Park is ready to step into the vocation the LORD is calling her to. She is certain her future holds a Doctorate in Theology and Bioethics and to become a professor at a university. Her passion is in sharing the wisdom of the faith with her generation and others. High school tested her while college formed her; there is no other person you would want at your event!
HOW CAN MS. PARK INSPIRE?
Angelica Park understands that she cannot just stand up in front of an audience and just state some facts and hope everyone will listen. She knows she must be able to truly speak from the heart and capitvate her audience. That is why if you hire Ms. Park as your speaker you will not only get words but lyrics. She incoporates her ability to sing with her ability to speak. Here's how:
Saints/Theology - besides her personal devotion, she has studied the lives of many saints and ranges of theological subjects to engage with all walks of life most especially due to her experiences with Baptist professors at Baylor University
Music - can perform her pro-life song "Listen Can You Hear Them" with a video (available on YouTube) and/or perform her original songs that would be incoporated within the speech
Pro-life Message - will discuss her experience of peer pressure from her beliefs and then the scientific proof behind the belief that life begins at the moment of conception through faith and her Biology B.S. from Baylor University focused in cell and molecular biology
Women's Issues - she deeply understands the challenges women face from all backgrounds from homeschooled to public schooled, she has mentored all ages comfortable with all subjects
Bible - has been a bible study leader and attendee for the last four years at her parish through FOCUS Missionaries and feels very comfortable leading discussions/lessons
Youth Speaker/Motivational - will share and take questions on her "modern day" experiences of peer harrasment, and how she overcame this with the help of God, faith and strength, and how those experiencing the same or worse can overcome it as well
Vocations- began the Women's Discernment Group at college and went from ground zero to over 15 girls. She leads discussions and very well versed in the in the religious life expectations. Two of her best friends have entered into the cloister life recently. She works very closely with the Dominican Sisters in her area while she is working on becoming a third order Franciscan herself.
Radio/TV - has done many appearances on both and is completely comfortable in the setting of an interview style discussion over any and all topics
WHAT IS MS. PARK DOING NOW?
Angelica Park has realized her passion in life for people has gone from the corporal to the spiritual. She is going to be furthering her education with a Masters of Theology and Bioethics from the University of Dallas and a doctorate in theology wherever the LORD places her. She wants to make her love and passion for her faith her career. She is now wanting to make her speaking profession more full time and is currently working on an amazing project with EWTN. Keep an eye out for her in the news!
All Ms. Park is waiting for now is a phone call from you! God bless you and God bless the unborn!