St. James the Greater parishioner recognized by National Council of Catholic Women

Courtesy photo/Convention Photography Services

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Leylahni Munguia Ayon (center) receives the Golden Rose award during this year’s National Council of Catholic Women convention. She is shown with NCCW President Elect Amy Kennedy (left) and NCCW President Beth Mahoney.

VERNAL — Leylahni Munguia Ayon got to celebrate her 21st birthday in a special way this year: the Saint James the Greater parishioner was honored by the National Council of Catholic Women with their National Golden Rose Award at the organization’s annual convention in Oklahoma City.

Earlier this year, Munguia Ayon received the Diocese of Salt Lake City Council of Catholic Women’s Golden Rose award, and learned just weeks before the national convention she would be recognized there as well.

“To receive it was unbelievable,” she said of the award. “I was like, ‘There’s no way that I just won a national Golden Rose award out of all people who are nominated.’ That was insane. … It’s such a big honor to be recognized by so many Catholic women, these women who have worked so long in CCW, and have seen it all and have worked with so many different kinds of people for so many years, and they found me, a small-town girl. To be seen for what I do – I was just astounded.”

Munguia Ayon sees the award as being honored for just living her life, she said. “To me, everything I do is just simple acts of living, so to have that all taken and be considered as a representative of young women and Catholic virtues, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s such a big title for someone who just goes day to day living life, you know, following the footsteps of God.’”

St. James the Greater CCW co-chair Ann Forster, who nominated Munguia Ayon for the award, sees it a little differently.

“She is just somebody that stands out,” she said of Munguia Ayon. “You see her reading as lector there at Mass. She’s always been in the choir and coming down to sing the responsorial psalm. She’s just a very grown-up young lady, very competent. I think she’s an incredible Christian young woman.”

“We’re thrilled to have her come into our CCW chapter and maybe be able to reach out to some of these younger women that think, ‘Oh, that’s just for the old ladies,’” Forster added.

Munguia Ayon’s life is filled with service and has been since she moved as a young child with her family to Vernal from Tucson, Ariz. She went to public schools in the area, then attending an online Wyoming college and is now a student on the Utah State University Vernal campus.

Growing up, she regularly participated in Mass and parish activities with her family. Such worship was part of her daily life, but also helped give her a grounding in the faith that should not be under-estimated, she said. “It has become such a part of my life to be able to go every Sunday to Mass, or on special occasions. Even if I go to daily Mass, it is like an extra bonus to my day. I think that seeking that constant feeling of grace, maybe for God, keeps me going.”

The oldest of five children and the only girl in the family, Munguia Ayon works as a behavior therapist in a local clinic for children on the autism spectrum. She serves as her parish’s choir director and was the secretary until recently, when her work schedule necessitated a change.

Although Munguia Ayon’s mother was not able to attend the award ceremony where her daughter received the award, she was “ecstatic” that her daughter was recognized by the NCCW, the young woman said. “She’s very supportive of me through it all and she taught me ‘God chose you for a reason. He saw what you might not see in yourself currently, but he sees that in you, as well as multiple women across the nation,’ and she was so happy.”

At the convention, Munguia Ayon was inspired by the many women she met, particularly by speaker ValLimar Jansen, who encouraged her to use this honor to spread her faith and the message that there is a place for young Catholic women in the DCCW.

“CCW can offer such a family-like love and can show women that we can have fun, but we can also share our faith together, and we’re able to express it our true way, because you’re not limited with them there,” she said. “Everyone is open, and they’re willing to hear you out and talk to you.”

“I feel being in a room full of women that all share the same [Christlike] face – they might not have known you, but they were always so nice, so gentle and caring about you and being in that just raises you up because you feel like you’re part of a militia of women serving the Lord,” she added.

St. James the Greater is a small parish in Vernal where not many young people regularly attend services, but Munguia Ayon would like to change that, she said. Although she is pursuing further education in forensic psychology, Munguia Ayon feels called to a service mission sometime in her life, she said. Several of the women she met at the convention have been supportive of that discernment and have committed to help her realize that goal, she said.

While Munguia Ayon feels honored to have received the National Golden Rose Award, it does not define her and does not make her more important than her peers, she said. “There were people who were nominated around our diocese for the state award, and they were all doing great things as well. So, me getting the award doesn’t mean that what they’re doing isn’t great, because everyone has their own path. An award just sets more of an example for those who think that maybe simple life things aren’t going to get them anywhere.”