During the first few weeks of freshman year, Katie Kaiser had a pretty good sense of what she wanted from her four years at Georgetown. “I said, ‘This is it,’” she says. “It’s been really neat over the last four years to see freshmen have the same experience that I did, saying, ‘This just fits. This is where I need to be.’” Kaiser (COL ’06) is talking about her discovery of a Georgetown tradition that has since become very important to her — the 8 p.m. mass at Dahlgren Chapel, so popular that those who attend are part of a standing-room-only crowd most of the time. Kaiser has been a regular fixture at the mass as a member of the Dahlgren Underground Choir. For the past two years, she has served as its musical director, responsible for selecting the repertoire and running every rehearsal. Kaiser was eager to strengthen her relationship with the church upon her arrival at Georgetown, and she spent her first few weeks on campus “shopping masses.” It was when she heard the mass director’s invitation to turn and introduce yourself to your neighbor, Kaiser says, that she realized she had found her perfect mass. Since then, courtesy of a commitment of 10 hours or more per week, Kaiser has seen the mass’ reputation rise. “The most incredible thing about the 8 p.m. mass is having people come up and say, ‘The 8 p.m. mass is why I came or stayed at Georgetown,’” she says. “Some day I hope I can come back for my 15th reunion and go up and see that they’re still doing the same liturgy and the choir is still doing songs that I still recognize.” Kaiser also gained the opportunity to record a CD with the choir, not to mention two couples’ requests that the group sing at their weddings. In addition to her involvement in the choir, the Freshmen Orientation to Community Involvement (FOCI) group has also been a pivotal part of Kaiser’s college life. FOCI is a week-long pre-orientation program in its 21st year. The program serves as an introduction for new students to community service opportunities and social justice issues in D.C. Upon receiving an application in the mail the summer before her freshman year, Kaiser applied and was accepted into the FOCI program. Two years later, she returned as one of 14 upperclassmen leaders, and this past year she served as a captain, aiming the whole time to bring about some lasting improvements. Over the last two years, Kaiser’s emphasis was on expanding the program in order to offer it to as many incoming freshmen as possible. After much brainstorming, Kaiser saw her group’s efforts pay off. This past year, FOCI added six more freshmen and secured the funding for an expansion, as well as the addition of a 15th leader for next year. Kaiser considers FOCI her favorite activity from the last four years. “The week is so compact and phenomenal,” she says, citing one tradition — spending one night at the Center for Creative Non-Violence, the largest homeless shelter in D.C. — as one of the program’s most worthwhile experiences. “I hope that it continues to be a vibrant jumpstart for the really motivated freshmen.” Kaiser has recently checked off a few more bullet points of the quintessential Georgetown experience — she became a waitress at The Tombs last May, and has since “discovered,” with choir fellow members, the underground tunnels that infamously run under Healy Hall. “I can graduate from Georgetown as a satisfied person now,” Kaiser says. What she will miss most about Georgetown is a place with which any mass choir member is familiar: Dahlgren Quad. As a homesick freshman, though, Kaiser often used the space as a retreat to talk on the phone with her parents. “It got to the point that even if I wasn’t talking to them, I could find comfort there,” she says. In the last few weeks, she has found every excuse to walk through the Quad, strolling by even if it is a bit out of her way. Her immediate future will not take Kaiser far from Georgetown. She plans to work in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp, which she describes as “a year-long FOCI.” Passionate about service and social justice, “Service is something that you embody, not something you just do,” she says. “I couldn’t have gone to a college that better suited me as a person,” Kaiser adds. “I feel like I have been challenged to grow in every aspect of my life, not just academically or in an activity-oriented way but also in how to love other people, how to be a good friend and how to be a productive and contributing member of the community around me.”