By Alice Huth-Derrah
Michelle Harvey is the newest member to join the St. Elizabeth Seton office staff. Hired at the end of July as the Coordinator of Communications, she comes from Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Parish in Scottsdale, where she served as the point person for communications for over five years. Michelle says cheerfully “I love communicating”, and with warmth and enthusiasm she chats eagerly, as skilled communicators do, about her new position.
Born in South Bend, Indiana, Michelle was raised in both Arizona and Oklahoma and spent most of her formative years in Stillwater, Oklahoma, home to Oklahoma State University (OSU). Baptized Catholic, Michelle is the eighth of nine children and the youngest girl, and describes herself as being “a bit spoiled” as a child. While in 4th grade in Stillwater, Michelle began taking music lessons on the violin. By the 8th grade she set about learning the bass after being given an opportunity for a promotion to play with the school’s chamber orchestra. She says that the bass “felt more natural” and she enjoyed traveling all over the state performing classical music with the orchestra, smiling as she remembers the fun of “riding on floats.” Growing up in a large family meant her parents were kept very busy, and yet she says her folks “modeled Catholicism” and ensured everyone attended weekly Mass. Michelle says her faith “has always worked in my life…through the positive and the negative it has always brought me through it.” Michelle’s father especially was an inspirational force in her life. He held a PhD from Notre Dame and worked hard as a professor at OSU to provide for his family, yet he always found time to “attend every softball game, chaperoned band trips…and attended all events.”
The family moved back to Arizona when Michelle was in high school, and in 1987 she graduated from Horizon, which is part of the Paradise Valley Unified School District. She attended Arizona State University (ASU) and in 1993 received a degree in Broadcast Production from Walter Cronkite’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Michelle’s knowledge and expertise allows her to work in all aspects of modern communication such as creating digital, audio, video, and web productions. She finds her work exhilarating because “it’s never the same thing.” Her duties at St. Elizabeth Seton include the design and assembly of the parish weekly bulletin and maintaining, editing and updating the parish website, calendar, email, and social media. She’s currently planning the recording of homilies in order to publish them as podcasts, something Michelle feels will be helpful for parishioners who wish to view or review specific sermons. Because she wants to “bring people closer to Christ…make opportunities for people to grow closer to Christ in whatever way that is,” Michelle is exploring different methods of offering assistance to parishioners to facilitate and increase their understanding and use of technology. She sees this as a means of “keeping people connected to clergy and good teachers” in all things spiritual.
During her off hours, Michelle enjoys raising her three doggies, Luna, Brisket, and the newest puppy Shambles. She laughs and says mischievously “I renamed Brisket…he’s now Potato because he has no personality” and admits she likes to rename even friends’ and her family’s dogs based upon their personalities. She also enjoys spending time with her 33-year-old son; “We get together at least weekly…he’s a good guy and likes mom’s cooking.” Michelle grills, entertains, hikes “anywhere…Sedona, Pinetop…just being out in nature,” and travels domestically and abroad, having visited Europe a year ago, and credits the “history, culture, and beauty” as being especially enticing. As we part, she smiles broadly and says, “I’m very excited to be at St. Elizabeth Seton!”
