To Tucker DeVack, social media is more than a tool for amassing a following of numerous “friends,” followers and “likes.” He uses his media skills – which are many – to help young people know they are not alone and that God loves them.
“We live in times of wonder and in times of struggle,” said DeVack, a sophomore at Loyola Blakefield in Towson and a parishioner of St. Mark in Fallston. Teens need to understand that “God is not a mean God who wants us to fail. He created us because he loves us.”
DeVack is doing his part to get that message across to his peers, not just in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, but nationwide. He is host of The Catholic Guide podcast and he recently won an award from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) for the best video promoting this year’s National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC).
The theme of the conference, which takes place Nov. 14-16 in Long Beach, Calif., is “El Camino/The Way,” and DeVack did a unique and innovative job of showing the need for accompaniment and walking on the journey of life, according to NFCYM Communication Manager Natalie Ibarra.
DeVack used footage from his own experience of NCYC 2023 in Indianapolis, not just clips cobbled together by trolling through YouTube, Ibarra said.
“You had a young person speaking from their point of view, through their lens, and that’s what you want,” she said. “It was all very personal.”
DeVack said he’s discerning his own vocation. It all began with a trip to the emergency room. “We were waiting, waiting and waiting. Then this guy came up to me and asked what I wanted to be when I got older. I said, ‘An actor.’ He said he saw me as a priest.”
DeVack had never met the man before, but he was very serious.
“Even if that man was crazy, he still brought me to Christ and his church, and that’s still a key factor,” DeVack said.
This past summer DeVack attended Quo Vadis, a four-day vocations camp hosted by seminarians of the archdiocese for young men of high school age and recent high school graduates. The aim is to help each participant to grow in prayer, fraternity and a deeper relationship with Christ and over time to discover his vocation, whether it be the priesthood, marriage or religious life.
“I do believe I’m being called by God to do something in the Catholic Church,” he said. “I don’t know what that is right now, but I’m looking at many vocations.” Those include the priesthood, becoming a Catholic speaker or marketing.
One thing is certain, DeVack has a “very pronounced entrepreneurial streak,” said Father Michael Foppiano, DeVack’s pastor at St. Mark in Fallston.
“The Catholic podcast he hosts – and he’s always looking for a new thing, a new avenue to communicate with folks – it’s very well done,” Father Foppiano said. He also has his own website and YouTube channel.
DeVack is very involved in his parish and school. At St. Mark, he is a high school sacristan and he also mentors younger altar servers. He’s involved in peer ministry and helps with confirmation preparation, Father Foppiano said.
Lou Charest, Loyola Blakefield’s director of Ignatian mission and identity, said his first impression of DeVack came during a student body panel that interviewed him. DeVack was a member of the panel and wanted to make sure the new director would be a solid steward of the school’s Catholic faith and identity. “And he was only a freshman!” Charest said.
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