About
Director of Student Activities and Leadership
For Patrick Harris ’90, Carroll College has always been about more than an education—it has been about belonging, caring for others and making sure every student knows they have a place here.
Patrick came to Carroll looking for a close-knit, faith-based community. . But it was his first glimpse of Montana that helped seal the deal.
“I was looking for a smaller Catholic college, and when I saw deer and antelope in the fields driving into Helena, I was sold.”
A Social Work major with a minor in History, Patrick embraced campus life during his time at Carroll. He participated in Pre-Seminary and served as president of his senior class. But one of the greatest influences on his Carroll experience was Professor John Downs.
“John Downs was a person who always made me feel welcomed, cared about and interested in how I was doing,” Patrick remembers. “He was so good at giving students his attention. You knew you were not alone at Carroll as long as John was there.”
After graduating in 1990, Patrick spent the next 10 years working with young people in a variety of roles, serving as Assistant Director of Legendary Lodges, Youth Minister at the Cathedral and assisting with the YMCA after-school program.
In 2000, Carroll approached Patrick about becoming Director of Student Activities. He saw the opportunity as a chance to return to a place that had given him so much—and to continue the kind of care he had experienced as a student.
“We had lost John Downs to cancer, and I wanted to do my best to be someone who let students know they were welcomed, accepted and taken care of at Carroll College.”
Twenty-five years later, Patrick continues that mission as Carroll’s Director of Student Activities and Leadership.
And after all those years, his favorite part of Carroll hasn’t changed.
“The students. The students have always been my favorite part of Carroll College.”
His advice to today’s Saints reflects the same values that have guided his own life and career:
“Live a life of love, honesty and authenticity. It is your only chance to find happiness.”
For Patrick, Carroll’s mission is rooted in welcoming others with love and respect and joining together in the search for truth and goodness. It is a mission he has now spent decades helping bring to life for generations of Carroll students.
“Carroll College has given to me more than I could ever give in return,” Patrick says. “I do not take for granted the goodness of our students.”
From arriving on campus as a young student in 1986 to spending 25 years helping other Saints find their own sense of belonging, Patrick’s Carroll story has truly come full circle.
