High school students from the Diocese of Sioux City were among the thousands from across the country to attend Steubenville Conferences this summer.
 

For Ann Steffen, who will be a junior at Carroll High School, Eucharistic adoration was the highlight. This was her third conference. "It was so cool to see everybody get into it. You could tell that people were beginning to realize what their faith is all about and start to enjoy that," she said.

Steffen said many people go into the trip not knowing what to expect and not necessarily looking forward to it "but once they leave, they want to come back every year that they can. It's such a neat experience for everyone."
 

"Speakers spoke about the love God has for us, the importance of chastity, how to be God's witnesses, how to engage in holy dating, Mary and about the Mass and adoration," he said. "Priests were available for six hours for the sacrament of reconciliation, adoration/benediction was celebrated Friday and Saturday evenings, and the Eucharist was offered each day with Bishop John Quinn of the Diocese of Winona presiding on Sunday."
 

Ahlers said she has had some very powerful experiences in Eucharistic adoration. Because the experiences have always been so positive, she encourages others to go. This year, there were 10 from her parish to attend and she likes the fact that she will be able to continue to share the experience with others.
 

For Brett Sanow, a junior, found it to be very interesting. He recalled how emotional it was when the priest was blessing the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament. Being able to witness the reaction of others to the Eucharist and with his own feeling, it made the presence of God very real.
 

Eucharistic adoration was one of the most memorable parts of the experience. While he has participated in this in the past, he noted that "I have never seen that much energy in adoration."
 

Father Schleisman said his students had many questions about the experience as some youth at the conference were overcome with emotion - crying and some even fainted. "They were seeing a lot of youth go through conversions," he said. "It was a very eye-opening experience for my youth."
 

Father Schleisman used the experience as a teaching opportunity to explain to the youth about the power of the Eucharist and the reaction that can result in opening yourself to the power of the Holy Spirit.