Mr. Assaf is from Rock Island, Illinois. In high school, he gained a great appreciation for the intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church, which sparked an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. From this, a love for walking with others on their paths to Christ and teaching about God through the gift of human reason developed, and he began to discern the priesthood. Mr. Assaf spent three years at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, where these desires were enriched through prayer and study, and he continued to discern God’s will for his life. In seminary, he received his degree in philosophy and grew as a disciple of Christ. He also realized that God may be calling him to pursue a different vocation, which led him to step out of seminary formation. However, the same desires which brought him into seminary persisted and grew, and he felt strongly called to teach. Through friends at Ave Maria University, he discovered Donahue Academy and became convicted that this is where God is calling him to be!