How One Woman’s Passion Led to Publication: GIVEN Alumna Clarissa Prisinzano

“I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.” – Psalm 139:14

One of the GIVEN Institute’s goals is to show its alumnae how to unlock their gifts not only for themselves but how to share the gifts with those around them for the glory of God. As a teacher and life advocate, GIVEN alumna Clarissa Prisinzano has shared her expertise in education, writing, and theology for high school students. Coming out in 2027, Clarissa is publishing a bioethics textbook through Ave Maria Press and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) entitled, Wonderfully Made. Clarissa says that Wonderfully Made: A Catholic Introduction to Philosophy and Bioethics is the culmination of her multiple interests and talents as she reflects,

“What once felt like a collection of unrelated interests eventually became the foundation for my action plan.”

Clarissa was born and raised in Virginia Beach, where she recalls having an interest in the pro-life movement from an early age. She says,

“I always had a passion for the pro-life cause in all areas of promoting the dignity of the human person. I recall in 8th grade we had a capstone career project and, while many of my classmates had a typical trajectory, I had chosen ‘Catholic Pro-Life Speaker.’”

In 2016, Clarissa graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio with a double major in English Writing and Theology. She also shares that during college she spent her spring breaks in New York City to attend conferences at the United Nations and advocate for pro-life and pro-family policies.

Two years later in 2018, Clarissa earned her Masters of Arts in Law from Regent University. She also attained her teaching license in Virginia which helped her discern the direction of future professional pursuits. She says,

“The Lord used the experiences of my life to deepen my understanding, providing insights I would not have possessed had I written this curriculum in another season of my life.”

In 2018, Clarissa started working as an English teacher at Pope John Paul the Great High School, which is run by the Nashville Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Cecilia. It was there that Clarissa was inspired by their curriculum in Bioethics. Clarissa explains:

“It had been a brain child of mine so-to-speak to create a program like this after being inspired by the Dominican sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville. They had created the original curriculum at John Paul II in Dumfries, VA. Even though I was an English teacher there, I saw the value that it brought to the school. I had the idea before GIVEN, but it took root as an actual ‘plan’ with GIVEN’s procedure and accompaniment.”

Then in 2021, Clarissa’s idea finally began to take form when she attended the GIVEN Forum at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She began recruiting professors and content specialists across the United States to start developing the textbook material. The GIVEN Institute then invited her back for the 2022 Forum as a grant recipient and an automatic semi-finalist in the OSV Innovation Challenge. Through the OSV Challenge, Clarissa refined her action plan to take it to the next step:

“In 2024, I reached out to Ave Maria Press with the idea and they enthusiastically expressed interest in publication. Unbeknownst to me, the publication timeline coincided with a review from the USCCB Bishop’s framework for high school curriculum.”

Clarissa shares that Wonderfully Made is scheduled to be released to schools in 2027 and is to be incorporated in the USCCB approved high school curriculum as a philosophy and bioethics course.

She also notes the personal nature of developing the textbook. While drafting Wonderfully Made, Clarissa’s life coincided with the lessons she was writing. She shares:

“I realize now that there were so many reasons why I needed to be immersed in the content at this specific time. The development of the end-of-life chapter lined up with the suffering and death of my mother-in-law from cancer. The infertility of dear friends assisted the tone of the reproductive technology chapter. The chapter on openness to life aligned with my role as mother and willingness to embrace natural family planning. In other words, the Lord used the experiences of my life to deepen my understanding, providing insights I would not have possessed had I written this curriculum in another season of my life.”

Please pray for Clarissa as Wonderfully Made launches in 2027 and for the teachers and students who will read it in class!