Institute for Pastoral Initiatives News
Alumni benefit from online faith classes
By John LeComte
As a self-employed supervisor in finance for nearly four decades, Cheryl (Fromholt) Brown, '82, takes pride in noticing every detail.
While reading a recent alumni email, something caught her eye.
“In the newsletter for Columbus, there was a sentence about the VLCFF,” Fromholt said. “I looked into it and found the online courses to be enlightening and beneficial.”
Fromholt completed Catholic Beliefs and Let this be Time (spiritual essentials for aging) last year, thus beginning her online faith journey with the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation.
“I found the course on aging helpful with guiding clients at work,” Fromholt said. “I work with a lot of seniors who are going through some of the changes discussed in the course.”
Those changes in the golden years include navigating change and loss, the opportunity to forgive yourself and others and understanding how to let go.
As an active parishioner at St. Joan of Arc parish and current president of the Knights of Columbus Woman's Auxiliary, Fromholt says her ability to give back happened organically through the VLCFF courses.
“The spiritual essentials course enabled me to help others who are dealing with issues of aging,” she said. “Learning from the other participants in the class, as they share stories about their own life experiences, also benefited me, as well.
During her time as a marketing major on campus, Fromholt says the people she met and kept in touch with over the years at the University of Dayton turned out to be the most impactful part of her college life.
Now, Cheryl impacts others through classes at VLCFF and looks forward to deepening her own faith.
To start your faith journey, simple create a profile and register for a course. The next cycle of year-round VLCFF classes will begin March 7. See the list of courses and calendar. Cheryl (Fromholt) Brown '82 lives in Columbus, Ohio, supervising and managing a financial practice focusing on senior needs consulting. Her husband, Gary W. Brown '81, passed away in 2002. Cheryl is one of five children with most of her family living in Dayton and the surrounding area.
