A childhood marked by instability might not seem like the foundation for a life in Catholic leadership. Yet for Dr. Paul Chutikorn ’19, MA ’21, each twist and turn became part of a providential path leading him to Christ and His Church. With no religious upbringing to guide him, his journey began with a simple but powerful desire: to make dramatic changes in his life and build a better future for his family. What began as a search for order and a more moral life became something far greater—a discovery of the historic truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, and ultimately a calling to evangelize through teaching and leadership.
A Life Redirected
Dr. Chutikorn grew up in what he describes as a hectic environment. His parents divorced when he was only two years old, and he lived with his father until the age of nine. Paul then moved in with his mother, who was a real estate property manager, a profession with the downside of frequent relocation. Unfortunately, she battled personal problems, and as a result, Paul did not have the supervision a child needs. Although he did not get into trouble himself, he hung around with his cousin, who became involved with drugs and gang affiliation. Paul admits that, while not getting involved, he became attracted to the family-like, protective environment the gang brought—albeit destructive.
Paul’s life took a dramatic turn when he became a father at 16. After taking a year off from school to put his life in order, he completed high school and moved his future wife and child to Oregon to be near his sister. He felt a small-town environment was a better and more affordable place to raise a child.
While growing up, he and his siblings had no exposure to any religion at home. In high school, however, his sister joined a Christian youth group and, in Oregon, attended a Protestant nondenominational church. Now living in Oregon, Paul began attending the same church and loved it. He found that it helped him work toward his goal of becoming a more moral person and bring order to his life. His guiding principle was that he did not want his daughter to live the life he experienced, and he was doing everything possible to do something different.
Discovering the Catholic Church
During this time, when attending church and Bible studies, he began to love the person of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, a strong anti-Catholic sentiment within the Bible study classes led him to develop a negative opinion about the Catholic faith. An important moment came when his brother, who was originally a Protestant, fell in love with and converted to Catholicism. Paul and his brother had heated discussions and, with the intention of proving his brother wrong, Paul did research into Church history. As he read, he realized that his brother was actually correct about the Catholic Church being the true legacy of Christ. As he put it, “The early Church looked remarkably Catholic.” He and his wife converted to Catholicism in 2009.
On fire with love for Christ and the Church, he hungered to learn more and share the information through teaching. He enrolled in the Holy Apostles online studies program in 2016, just two years after it was fully approved, after hearing about it from his brother. The program, grounded in principles of Thomistic philosophy and theology, was something Paul had been looking for and could not find at any other college. In 2019, Paul earned an undergraduate degree in Theology and Philosophy.
Still on fire, Paul immediately began pursuing his Master of Theology degree, concentrating on Thomistic studies. This, again, was a new program that had launched in 2019, at the same time he graduated with his undergraduate degree.
Teaching, Leadership, and Providence
After earning his graduate degree, he began working as a teaching assistant (TA) at Holy Apostles, while also maintaining a job as Director of Faith Formation at his local parish. When a position opened in 2020, Paul began his adjunct career as the instructor of Moral Theology.
While holding this adjunct position, Paul pursued a Doctor of Education (EdD), which he realized would enable him to provide for his seven children and offer additional opportunities for him to teach and lead. As with so many of the opportunities that came before, the hand of God was at work again. When Paul was completing this program, Holy Apostles posted a job opening for the position of associate dean. He applied and became the Associate Dean of Online Learning at Holy Apostles in September 2024, while maintaining his adjunct teaching position.
Describing this journey, Paul explains, “I have been very, very blessed. It has not been a smooth ride; it’s been a busy schedule—having seven children, going to school, and working. That has been quite difficult, but the whole journey has been a complete blessing.”