Hello! I am a new Graduate Assistant (GA) for the HDS Admissions Office. I am a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) pursuing a master’s degree in Higher Education and I am so excited about joining the HDS Admissions team this year.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve lived in LA all my life other than the four years I spent in the small town of Hanover, New Hampshire where I attended Dartmouth College. I graduated in 2018 with a degree in Government, however, I have since realized my passion for working in higher education.
Jessica and Luigi taking a drive // Photo Courtesy of Jessica CantosContinue reading →
Hello! My name is Atéha Bailly. I am an incoming MDiv student and I’m happy to be starting work in HDS Admissions!
Photo Courtesy of Atéha Bailly
Before coming to HDS, I spent a year working in Portland, OR after finishing my undergraduate studies in Religious Studies. During this time, I had the privilege of attending the 2019 Diversity Explorations Program. It was an invaluable opportunity in my discernment process, and it allowed me to spend time with a bunch of brilliant and talented students from universities across the country.
During my application process, I was definitely not expecting to be attending school in a virtual environment. I have never taken classes online before, so it likely will be a bit of a learning curve. So far, the faculty and staff at HDS have been understanding of the unique challenges this time of pandemic poses which helped alleviate some of my anxiety about this transition.
Hi everyone! I’m a second year Master in Theological Studies student with an area of focus in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. I’m excited to return to the HDS Office of Admissions for another year of working as a Graduate Assistant!
Just before coming to HDS, graduated from Carleton College in the great state of Minnesota where I was born and raised. Although I majored in religion, I was surprised by my own path—I grew up non-religious and hadn’t been interested in religion before coming to college. I’m non-religious/unaffiliated/whatever to this day, and I’ve found HDS not only a great place to study religion but also to think about how my own identity relates to my work.
While in college, a few experiences cemented my path to divinity school. I started the life-changing work of volunteering as an abortion doula through the Carleton Advocacy Network of Doulas (CAN-DO), which I helped co-found in college. As an abortion doula, I supported patients in-clinic during the procedure. This meant showing up for patients however they needed me—I did everything from holding hands and passing tissues to chatting about Netflix. I could see the parallels between doula work and chaplaincy, and I felt excited by the idea of learning more about hands-on spiritual care and counseling at HDS. I was more interested in the MTS than the MDiv, and I loved that HDS allowed MTS students do field education and enroll in chaplaincy-oriented courses.
Kate moderating a panel of abortion doulas and providers // Photo courtesy of Kate Hoeting
Editor’s Note: Meet Sarah, the Assistant Director of HDS Admissions! Sarah supports prospective students and applicants in their divinity school search. Check out our upcoming webinars during which you can meet Sarah and other HDS folks virtually!
Photo Courtesy of Sarah Guzy
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you?
I’m originally from Evanston, just north of Chicago, and attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan for undergrad where I studied art history and religious studies. At Kzoo, my mentor was an HDS alum, and she encouraged me to consider applying to HDS for grad school in the future. I worked in international education for a few years, including a year spent in Costa Rica working at a study abroad program, and then came to HDS to do the MTS program in with an area of focus in Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion. I’ve been working in the Office of Admissions since graduating in 2015. I love puns, coffee, dogs, concerts, and reading.
Post by Margaret Okada-Scheck, Associate Director of Admissions
Editor’s Note: Meet Margaret, the HDS Associate Director of Admissions! Margaret has a wide range of responsibilities in the office, including leading the planning for our Diversity and Explorations Program, an opportunity for current undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to learn more about the programs offered at HDS. Below you can read about Margaret’s dedication to supporting students, her professional experiences and about her dog, Bingo!
Photo courtesy of Margaret Okada-Scheck
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you?
Hello! My name is Margaret Okada-Scheck (she/her/hers) and I’m the Associate Director of Admissions in HDS Admissions. I’m originally from Queens, New York, and got my BA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. I am Asian American (of Japanese descent), married to a German man, and we have a 15-month-old boy whom we adopted last year.
I’ve been working in graduate admissions for about 12 years and have been in my role at HDS for 2 years. My primary responsibilities include recruiting prospective students, running the communications and marketing for HDS Admissions, and managing the Diversity and Explorations (DivEx) program.
Editor’s Note: Meet John, the HDS Admissions Staff Assistant! When prospective students email admissions@hds.harvard.edu, John is the staff member who responds to your questions. In this article, we asked him a few questions so that you all could get to know him!
Photo Courtesy of John Rzasa
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you want the HDS community & prospective students to know about you?
My name is John Rzasa, and I am the Staff Assistant for the HDS Admissions Office. I have been in the role for a year and a half at this point, and previously worked at the Harvard Law School (HLS) for just over four years. Outside of work, I enjoy writing, watching ‘B’ movies (or lower, all the way down to ‘Z’), and cats.
Hi blog readers! Good news, the HDS Office of Admissions is hosting a raffle to give away five Princeton Review GRE prep books for current and future HDS applicants. As a current student, I remember how stressful preparing for the GRE was for me, but I also know that a good prep book goes a long way. A free GRE book is even better! If you are interested in participating in this raffle, all you have to do is fill out this form by 12:00 PM EST on November 26th when we will pull 5 winners and send them each a copy of The Princeton Review’s “Cracking the GRE: 2018 Edition.”
Hello everyone, we hope you are taking good care of yourselves as you prepare your application materials. As prior applicants, current students, and Graduate Assistants in the Office of Admissions, we know how stressful a time this can be. We’ve gathered quite a bit of behind the scenes information throughout our experiences in each of these roles, so we thought we’d write a blog to help you out. We’ve divided this post into two sections, beginning with a Q+A between Graduate Assistants Emily Rogal and Mikaela Allen and ending with a section featuring Application Myths, also produced by Emily Rogal and Mikaela Allen. Enjoy, and let us set your minds at ease! Continue reading →
Pictured from left to right: K.C. Mcconnell, Mikaela Allen, Emily Rogal
Hello prospective and current HDS Community!
We are K.C. Mcconnell, Mikaela Allen, and Emily Rogal, and we are thrilled to serve as graduate assistants for the Office of Admissions. We work both behind the scenes to prepare for admissions events like DivEx and Theological Education Day, while also serving as student liaisons to answer many of your admissions related questions. If you have time to see the magnificent HDS campus in person, we will also serve as your enthusiastic tour guides. Continue reading →
