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HDS Admissions: Student Blog

Category Archives: What’s It Like at HDS?

Five Lessons I Learned My First Semester at HDS

24 Wednesday Feb 2021

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Classes, Community, Latinx, UU

Editor’s Note: Last fall our first year HDS students made the decision to join our community amid uncertainty brought on by a global pandemic. In this post, MDiv student, Cassie Montenegro, shares some of the lessons she learned in her first semester at HDS.  

Post by Cassie Montenegro MDiv’23 

Photo Courtesy of Cassie Montenegro

Like some of you, I found myself applying to divinity school after taking a less than linear route. I’m a trained attorney, experienced teacher, and former TEDx organizer. I am also a queer cis-gendered Cuban American woman who was raised on café con leche, the Rosary, and Tibetan chanting. And I am a first year MDiv with a penchant for Religion and Literature and a love of sacred space. However, it took me about six and a half years to muster the courage to apply to Harvard Divinity School. As I find myself a few weeks into my second semester, I would do well to remind myself of the lessons learned last semester about the Harvard community, about student life on Zoom, and about myself. 

  1. There is no “right time” or “wrong time” to go to Divinity school. Although joining the HDS community would quickly prove one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, when the time came to leave a profession I loved, to begin a new vocation amidst a global pandemic, the decision was not an easy one. Should I try to defer? Take a reduced course-load? However, the more I networked with and spoke to other current and admitted students, especially those within my Unitarian Universalist faith tradition, I knew I had found my people, my place. 
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Favorite Classes at HDS: Part 2

02 Wednesday Dec 2020

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Field Ed, J-Term, MDiv, Ministry, MTS

Editor’s Note: This post is the final post of our two-part series highlighting some of the wonderful courses that HDS has to offer. Be sure to take a look at part one of the Favorite Classes at HDS series. If you are interested in exploring more of the course offerings at HDS, please note that the course catalog is public! You can check it out here.  

Alex Jensen MDiv’21 He/Him/His 

I would say, for me, Field Education is some of the most enriching coursework I’ve done at HDS each year of my program. Even though it’s a broader class and so site-specific, I would say it’s helpful in integrating thoughts and ideas from other classes into ministry and service in ways I might not otherwise see. 

Jessica Young Chang MDiv’22 She/Her/Hers 

Theories and Methods of the Study of Religion, surprisingly! While it’s an incredibly challenging class, David Holland and the graduate teacher fellows are accessible, thoughtful, and responsive. Also, the content and theory in the class continue to reflect into other work I’m doing in ways that are consistently useful and surprising. It took a lot of effort, but I’m so glad that I took it. 

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Favorite Classes at HDS: Part 1

19 Thursday Nov 2020

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Black Spirituality, Christianity, Classes, Islam, MDiv, MTS, Research

Editor’s Note: With so many course options, it can be difficult for students to narrow down which classes to take during their short time in graduate school. This blog post part one of a two-part series highlighting some of our current student’s favorite HDS classes. You can read part 2 here. Please note that these are just a few of the great courses HDS offers! The HDS Course Catalog is public, you can check out the other courses offered here. 

Reem Shaikh MTS ’21 She/Her/Hers 

“Hadith Jibril: An introduction to the theological, legal, and spiritual dimensions of Islam. I really enjoyed this class because it allowed me to take a break from academia and rather approach religion from a spiritual perspective, which kept me rooted to my love for what I study.” 

Rebecca Mendoza Nunziato MTS’22 She/Her/Ella 

“Moctezuma’s Mexico is an incredible course that has helped me connect to my own heritage while also clarifying my research interests. It has been especially interesting to discuss the differences of social stratification, gender, and pandemics then and now.” 

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Favorite Things about HDS

14 Monday Sep 2020

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Black Spirituality, Classes, Classmates, Community, Community Tea, Conferences, Courseload, Faculty, Harambee, MDiv, Ministry, MTS

Editor’s Note: To celebrate the beginning of classes for the 2020-21 Academic Year, we decided to ask some current HDS students to write about their favorite things about HDS. Most of these paragraphs have to do with community at HDS, so we want to acknowledge how difficult it is for us all to be apart this semester. We’re hoping we can be back in person soon, and we’re excited to work on building community digitally this fall. Please enjoy reading about their favorite courses, communities, and experiences so far. 

Anna Ringheiser, MTS ‘21 

My favorite class my first semester at HDS was Religious Literacy and The Professions with Professor Diane Moore. I loved this class primarily because I had not previously encountered the term “religious literacy,” but I had felt the need for what the term describes in previous professional experiences. Another reason I loved this class was the diversity of ages, experiences, and opinions among my classmates. I was able to learn so much from them, which was helped by the small size of the class and Professor Moore’s teaching style, which gave room for everyone to share their thoughts. 

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Reflecting on My First Year at HDS

22 Friday May 2020

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Classes, Classmates, Community Tea, HDS Choir, music, Noon Service

Post by: Julia Reimann, MDiv ‘22 and Graduate Assistant 

As the year comes to a close, I find myself feeling immense gratitude for the classmates and courses of the first year of divinity school in all its complexity and challenge. This year has been a particularly unconventional first year: moving across the country, joining a new campus community, returning to school, completing the first semester and launching into second, and then returning home and completing the first-year virtually due to COVID-19. This year has been characterized by significant change and frequent transitions, a constant cycle of readjusting. Amidst all the change, my relationships with classmates in our MDiv cohort and throughout the HDS community have been vital to maintaining connection to my educational journey and community amidst the chaos. The small class sizes at HDS and our required first-year courses in the first semester helped to foster close relationships with peers, which have only grown throughout the year. 

Weekly events with community members became even more important to my schedule during second semester as the members of our first-year cohort moved to independently study our particular research interests. The food and time we shared outside of the classroom during Community Tea was a meaningful space to share our experiences with each other, maintain connection to deepen relationships, and grow together.  

Julia and friends perform at HDS’ annual mult-religious
Seasons of Light service //photo courtesy of HDS COMMUNICATIONS 
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Black Religion, Spirituality and Culture Conference at HDS

02 Tuesday Jul 2019

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Black Spirituality, Black Studies, Cheryl Giles, Conferences, Harambee, Sankofa

Post by: Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton, MDiv student, DivEx Alum, HDS Admissions Graduate Assistant 

Editor’s Note: HDS students have the opportunity to plan conferences and events, among which is the annual Black Religion, Spirituality and Culture Conference (BRSCC). As an attendee of the conference, I can only admire the dedication of the students who planned it. Read on for a first-hand experience from one of these dedicated students, Jarred Batchelor-Hamilton (MDiv ’20). Jarred attended the first annual BRSCC during his participation in the 10th Annual Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx) held over three days every fall at HDS. DivEx is geared towards undergraduate students like Jarred who have a commitment to social justice and diversity as well as an interest in exploring opportunities in the study of religion. As an active student on campus, Jarred has continued to support DivEx through volunteer work and has participated in the coordination of the BRSCC conference. Applications for the 2019 DivEx program will be available on our website in mid-July, here. I encourage you to explore this program, which is now in its 13th year. If you are accepted to the program, HDS covers the cost of your visit, including domestic travel to Cambridge from within the United States, housing, and meals. During the program, you will have the opportunity to meet current students, faculty, and staff, attend panels about best practices for the application, learn more about financial aid, sit in on classes, and so much more!  

Other conferences that have taken place in the past academic year and are planned mostly by HDS students include the Gross National Happiness Conference, Ways of Knowing, Sound Education, and the Buddhism and Race Conference. HDS students have also been involved in the planning of Harvard’s LGBTQ Conference.  

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So You Want to Write a Thesis?

10 Friday May 2019

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Academics, What's It Like at HDS?

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Latinx, MTS, Thesis

Post by: Natalie Solis, Current MTS Student, DivEx Alum, HDS Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant  

Solis Thesis 1
Activist Installation against Femicides, across the street from the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City. Photo by Natalie Solis.  

Coming to HDS, I knew that I wanted to write a master’s thesis as part of my MTS program even though it is optional and not required for MTS students, unlike the MDiv program. Since I enjoyed conducting independent research projects in college and will be applying to PhD programs in the fall, I decided that developing an extensive independent research project such as a master’s thesis would be a great opportunity to refine my research skills and prepare for a PhD.

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A Look Inside Shopping Week

15 Friday Feb 2019

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Classes, Courseload, Cross-Registering

Post by: Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS 2020, Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant

In this post, Tessa introduces “shopping week,” a Harvard tradition where students spend the first week of the semester “shopping” for classes they may want to take. Read on to learn more about how this process works and how students narrow down their classes from the countless courses offered to HDS students. 

Spring 2018
Looking forward to a blooming semester. Photo taken by Jonathan Beasley, HDS Office of Communications. 

I was very excited to have my second shopping experience this semester, using the things I learned from last semester to create the best schedule for me. It is always difficult to decide between all the terrific classes at HDS, and once you add in all the courses we can cross-register for, it becomes even harder. In this post, I’m going to share a few insights on how current HDS students plan for shopping week so you can get a feel for how it works and why it is advantageous despite the added pressure of shopping as many courses as you can. In the course of the week, we must shop all the courses we may want to take, meet with our academic advisor to talk about our study plan to receive their approval, and submit our schedule for the semester to the Registrar. It is quite a busy start to the semester, but also a great opportunity to explore classes you might not otherwise know you were interested in.

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January Term in Mexico City

08 Friday Feb 2019

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Internship, J-Term, Latin America

Post by: Natalie Solis, MTS 2020, HDS Admissions Graduate Assistant

We already published one post about J-Term Opportunities, but couldn’t resist sharing Natalie’s J-Term internship in Mexico City, during which she was able to make connections for her research interests in “artivism” across Mexico. Read on to learn more about artivism and to discover the sorts of resources and experiences available for students interested in Latin American and Latinx Studies at HDS.

Natalie 4 Teotihuacan
Photo of Teotihuacan from the top of the Moon Pyramid overlooking the Avenue of the Dead and Sun Pyramid. Photo taken by Natalie Solis.

During the January Term (J-Term), I spent three weeks interning at the VICE Media headquarters in Mexico City (also known as la CDMX, Ciudad de Mexico or el D.F., Distrito Federal) with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). DRCLAS hosts internships in Mexico City during the January and Summer terms, enabling a cohort of students to work and experience daily life in Mexico. Since I am interested in Latin American and Latinx Studies, I was searching for Harvard programs related to Latin America. Taking the HDS course “Moctezuma’s Mexico” with Professor Davíd Carrasco during the fall semester ignited my desire to visit Mexico City, so I was looking for J-Term opportunities to travel in Mexico (check out Professor Carrasco’s interview titled “Exploring Native America”). Since I am of Mexican descent and have familial ties in Mexico City, I was very eager to visit Mexico City for the first time. My J-Term was also personally significant because I had family and friends show me around Mexico City.

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J-Term Opportunities

05 Tuesday Feb 2019

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Classes, HGSE, J-Term

Post by: Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS 2020, Office of Admissions Graduate Assistant

HDS students have the opportunity to enroll in winter term courses throughout Harvard, often referred to as J-Term. While HDS offers its own J-Term courses like Kerry Maloney’s “Comparative Monasticisms,” Tessa sought a course in the Harvard Graduate School of Education to supplement her studies at HDS and reinvigorate her passion for activist work. 

Winter snow and twilight at Andover Hall

A snowy Andover Hall. Photo taken by HDS Office of Communications. 

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