What were your undergraduate major & institution?
B.S. Health & Human Sciences, Loyola Marymount University
What were you doing immediately before coming to STM?
Before coming to the STM, I was serving with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Punta Gorda, Belize followed by an additional year of service with Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, Mexico.
When did you first realize you wanted to pursue graduate studies in theology? How did you know?
I first realized that I wanted to pursue graduate studies in theology when I found myself reading books like A Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Man’s Search for Meaning. I was in a place where I found the things that I was reading resonated a lot with questions I encountered while working with those on the margins. I don’t know if I could have articulated it at the time, but I think there were moments as if I felt these readings helped me to more fully witness a certain spirituality of navigating conflict and difficulties that I saw in the people I worked with. The question that ended up sticking with me was a certain call to not just figure out how to pray in accompanying those that are suffering, but to deeply explore and cultivate how to be prayerful. I think it was partly a call for furthering a critical and informed response to social issues and partly a personal call to cultivate my own intellectual and spiritual curiosities.
What people, experiences, courses, etc. informed this call?
During my time as an undergraduate student, I had done some work volunteering at a food shelter for the homeless community. I remember one day, a Filipina woman coming up to me to pick up some food. She gently received her weekly distribution and very sincerely said to me, “God bless you.” As someone who had not grown-up Christian and wasn’t very exposed to it, I was confused. I had only heard people say that when people sneezed, so I asked her, “what do you mean by that?” She looked a bit surprised, thought about it for a moment, and then replied, “I guess what I mean is thank you and you matter.” This experience was one that has always stuck with me and fostered a curiosity to understand what was behind the language of faith and to sincerely try to explore it. It was what led me to ultimately end up joining the Catholic Church and fostering my own faith journey.
Were there any roadblocks in your discernment process? How did you navigate them?
I think finances are always a consideration when discerning graduate school. In my own discernment process, I dealt with questions of student loans and both the financial and academic implications of being a student again. Could I afford it? Has the part of my brain that remembers academic writing atrophied? Talking to the admissions team and the academic affairs team was extremely helpful both in the process of applying and throughout my program. I felt that I had a team to help me navigate making the program work for me and my particular circumstances.
“I really valued being at an institution that sought to foster community among students and faculty who have now become lifelong colleagues.”
Why did you choose STM for your theological studies?
I chose the STM because of its strong dual-degree programs and because I wanted to be at a Jesuit institution that saw formation just as importantly as intellectual growth in graduate studies. When looking at schools, most of the best ones weren’t near home and so I really valued being at an institution that sought to foster community among students and faculty who have now become lifelong colleagues.
In what ways do you see yourself using your degree?
The MATM degree provided me with a strong foundation to think theologically about current issues and how to approach theology in praxis. Learning how to draw from the rich tradition, formulate critical arguments, and place them in conversation with topics like culture and mental health were valuable in my personal journey of figuring out how to navigate social issues and in my pursuit for further doctoral studies. Practically, it’s also led me to a leadership role where I believe in the mission. In my current work both in Jesuit education and in social work, I find that I still draw from readings, colleagues, and faculty that I learned from in the MATM degree at the STM.
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