ROCKFORD—Christopher Cooper considers it to be “a happy circumstance” that he inquired at the Diocese of Rockford about management positions on the same day that former Bishop Lane Retreat Center manager, Beth Kenagy, gave her notice.

Cooper began in that position on Feb. 2. He grew up in Rockford and graduated from Boylan Central Catholic High School in 2007. He attended Rock Valley College and Western Illinois University where he was a business major in management and accounting. He graduated from Western in May of last year.

At Western, Cooper says he was “very active” at the Newman Center, including being a part of the retreat team and a participant on a service trip to a disaster area. After graduating, he worked part-time at an area bakery while looking at and applying to various companies, none of which felt like a good fit to him.

At one point, he took a close look at what he really wanted to do.

“It took a while before I realized that I enjoy working for the Church,” he says of those reflections.

The retreat center, he says, is doing well. When he was hired, Cooper says he was told to maintain the flow. He adds that he is looking forward to promoting more in-house retreats. Maintenance improvements coming soon include work with the St. Joseph and Sons group to finish redoing the outdoor chapel, and window improvements to the buildings.

In his second week, Cooper says he is still “getting a feel for the place,” meeting the staff and “seeing how they do everything.” He adds that they already have taught him much that he had not learned in college.