About FL Tech Catholic Campus Ministry

This ABOUT webpage is dedicated to Fr. Doug Bailey and all those who so wholly gave of themselves and their talents in service to this campus ministry. This is a way to say thank you for the opportunity to work with each person, in reaching out to and drawing in from the FL Tech student body through music. I have noted only a few key supporters here as the true list is quite long. But my heartfelt thanks extend to the whole FL Tech Catholic congregation and all the musically talented students who have passed through over the years. It is in their honor that the songs are being offered at no charge to other college campus ministries. We all wanted to share the joy in worship at Mass.

The success that we had in our music is all given in praise and worship of our Lord. It would not have been possible without so many wonderful supporters.

John Henkelman

Music Minister

John is a pianist and composer who has been supporting Catholic and Lutheran congregations in music ministry on the Space Coast of Florida since 1983. One of his spiritual gifts is forming music ministries in new and growing congregations. His efforts at five congregations in the area have supported traditional and contemporary worship in each church community that he has served. His longest held position was as the 11AM Mass music minister for the Catholic Campus Ministry at Florida Institute of Technology, also known as Florida Tech.

At FL Tech, John led a group of international musician students in worship with the congregation each Sunday. The congregation’s repertoire included traditional, contemporary, original as well as music from student countries of origin. John built his ministries on his classical training in piano complemented with a strong emphasis towards improvisational jazz. He enjoys mixing polyrhythms of unusual and odd time signatures with worship music because he was trained on the music of Hank Levy in the Baltimore area.

  • John’s techniques for drawing out the talents of his students is a hallmark of his ministry. Florida Tech students come with the full spectrum of music ability from traditional and classical training to playing by ear. All are wonderfully talented. This leads to a dynamic set of skill ranges and instrumentation in the student groups at Florida Tech each semester.

    The focus of his music ministries is helping each member see their talent and use it in whatever way they can to enhance worship at Mass. He has lead groups with a variety of instrumental mixtures such as: solo violin, up to a full string complement of bass, cello, viola and violin; woodwind mixes, including clarinet, flute, pan flute, bassoon, a full saxophone section and even a bagpipe; brass with trumpet, trombone, baritone or tuba; electric bass; electric and acoustic guitar; mandolin; and full trap set and auxiliary percussion. These instrumental mixtures all combined to compliment solo and choral vocals.

    His ministry was staffed with Florida Tech students and faculty from around the world. The goal was to draw in as many students as possible to enhance the worship experience at Mass. Another hallmark of his Catholic Campus Music Ministry was the composition of a song written with and dedicated to each set of graduating students in the music ministry to capture the spirit of their contributions to the ministry. John also has original music dedicated to many of the servants of Christ who have crossed his path over the years. It is his strong desire to initially share the many original compositions with Catholic Campus Ministries and college students from around the world. The longer-term goal would be to share his music with Catholic family congregations.

    John continues his musical efforts at East Tennessee State University Catholic Campus Ministry.

Fr. Douglas Bailey S.D.S

Campus Minister

Fr. Douglas Bailey arrived on the Florida Institute of Technology campus around 1982. His Catholic Campus ministry and chaplainship started with Mass held in the garage of a house located at the edge of campus and has evolved through his leadership into the campus All Faiths Center and a campus Catholic dormitory with outreach programs for students from freshman to PhD graduates.

Fr. Doug Bailey is an Adjunct Faculty in the Humanities department. He holds a B.A. from Mount St. Paul College; a M.A. from Catholic University of America and a Ph.D. from Florida Institute of Technology. Fr. Doug is well known for his thoughtful homilies, 5-minute catechesis and his bible study leadership. His leadership and instruction on liturgy and worship helped build and support the growth of music ministry. His support was critical to the music ministry success and was very much appreciated.

Fr. Doug has passed the reigns of this Campus Ministry to Fr. Randall Meissen, LC

Anita Barrett

Vocalist, Guitarist and Media Support

Anita began singing with John in various music groups around the Space Coast in 1983. In addition to singing and occasionally playing guitar over the years, because of her publications skills, she supported the weekly PowerPoint presentations for Mass. Her support in so many ways has been most appreciated and the reason the music ministry ran so smoothly and with good participation on Sunday for so many years.

Fr. Robert Hoefner

Assisting Campus Minister

Fr. Robert Hoefner, well known for his thoughtful homilies, offered the Orlando based television mass for 28 years, was the pastor for a St. Joseph's parish church & school for 18 years, and after his retirement, lent his pastoral support to the FL Tech CCM.

Fr. Bob was fluent in English, Spanish, and Latin. He also read French. The Spanish was very helpful with the South American students. Fr. Bob was ordained April 28, 1973, and holds an AA in classical languages from Saint John Vianney, a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Vincent de Paul, Boynton Beach, a Masters in Divinity and Masters in Theology from St. Vincent de Paul, Boynton Beach, a Master of Arts in Liturgical Studies from Catholic University of America, Washington DC. He also studied Spanish at Catholic University, Ponce Puerto Rico. I have been most thankful for his spiritual guidance over the years. He has been a great help to me in both my life and music ministry.

Fr. Bob left this life and joined our Savior in January of 2024.

Eliza Dopira

Cantor, Lead Vocal

Eliza has been a member of FL Tech faculty and Program Chair for the Music Program. She also has led the Concert Choir and String Ensemble. She began singing with the CCM in 2011.

She holds a Graduate Performance Diploma in Opera, Peabody Conservatory Music, Johns Hopkins University as well as a Master of Music in Voice, also from Peabody Conservatory of Music. Her classical performance and vocal training were the keystone in leading the vocals, providing professional guidance and cantor singing at the mass. Her vocal talent and guidance on vocal techniques for the group were most appreciated.

Deacon Tom Stauffacher

Deacon, Faith Formation Lead, Tuba Player

Deacon Tom Stauffacher was first and foremost a tuba player. "It's all about the bass" was his favorite advice to me. He added the Ascension Brass Ensemble (ABE), a quintet to the Christmas Mass which brought a delightful sound. Tom was the principle tuba player in ABE. The Mission of the ABE: Play at Assisted Living and Memory Care Facilities.

He has been a member of the FL Tech faculty in the College of Business since 1994, and holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Montana and a M.S. in Contract and Procurement Management from Florida Institute of Technology.

Tom has also been a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church assigned to Ascension Catholic Church, Melbourne and Florida Tech Catholic Campus Ministries. He leads the instruction of students in the Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults, bringing students into the Catholic faith during the Easter mass. I was always very thankful when Deacon Tom joined us in the instrumental and shared his upbeat appreciation for the music at mass.

Nicole Conradt

Alternate Cantor, Vocal

Nicole has been a local choral singer, singing with the CCM for several years. Her husband is a member of the FL Tech faculty. She is the fine voice that is heard on the sample recordings found on the SONGS tab on this website. Nicole currently sings with the Indialantic Chamber Singers, the Eastminster Presbyterian Chancel Choir, and the Space Coast Symphony Chorus. I very much appreciated her time and talent in making the recordings for this website.

Lynn Jaime

Catholic Campus Ministry Administrative Assistant

Lynn has been the glue that keeps all the Campus Ministry activities going for a long time. She arrived in her current position in 2018. When the music ministry needed anything, she was the one that worked with us to figure out how to make it happen. It is hard to thank her enough for her support from the office. Her predecessors, Connie Yorio and Louise Paige are also to be thanked for their similar support.