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HDS Admissions: Student Blog

Tag Archives: DivEx

What’s at Stake? Important Questions to Consider at DivEx, HDS, and Beyond

26 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Considering HDS

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Applying, Community, DivEx, MDiv, Ministry, Prospective Students, Social Justice

Post by Nathan Samayo

Editor’s Note: This week at HDS we are hosting our annual Diversity and Explorations (DivEx) event, which is a 3-day introduction to Harvard Divinity School and the programs we offer. DivEx is geared towards current undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in exploring divinity school. In this post, former DivEx participant and current HDS student, Nathan Samayo, reflects on his personal and academic background and how participating in the DivEx program has impacted his journey at HDS. 

What a critical time it is to be applying to Harvard Divinity School. A contentious election creeps around the corner whose result could either continue America’s dissonance to its long history of anti-Black racism and xenophobia, or a result that will, as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “let our democracy live another day.” We see on our local and social medias the uprisings from marginal communities and allies who denounce state-sanctioned violence, white supremacy that has seeped into every facet of public life, and the legacy of colonialism that altered the land that white America now occupies. We are becoming products of a historical moment where a pandemic has and continues to alter our ordinary lives, bringing to light how broken America’s systems of education, economy, and healthcare have been operating. All these issues and realities ask a similar question—what is at stake? What values and ethics guide us as we advocate and protest for new tangible conditions in hopes of a reconciled world? These questions will be asked to you if you decide to come to Harvard Divinity School, a community committed to transforming you into the change agent you want to be. 

Photo Courtesy of Nathan Samayo
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Introducing the 2020-2021 HDS Admissions Graduate Assistants: Meet Atéha!

06 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Applying, DivEx, Graduate Assistants, MDiv, Mental Health, music, Student Life

Post by Atéha Bailly 

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.  

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Interview with Margaret Okada-Scheck, Associate Director of Admissions

01 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in HDS Interviews

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Admissions, Advice, Alumni, ask students, Career, Community, Diversity, DivEx, Social Justice

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. 

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Q & A with Malini Srikrishna, President of the HDS Student Association (HDSSA)

27 Monday Jul 2020

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Student Life

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Community, DivEx, HDSSA, Leadership, MTS, SLP, Student Life

Post by: Malini Srikrishna, MTS ‘21 and President of HDSSA (2020-2021) 

Malini (MTS ‘21) is a licensed social worker, entrepreneur and minister of love. Her area of focus is Liberation Theology, Business Ethics and Spiritual Care (an area of focus which Malini created herself). The HDS Student Association provides students a voice in the administrative and policymaking procedures of the School and facilitates discussion among students, staff, and faculty. The elected student officers meet monthly with the Dean to discuss student concerns and issues that affect the entire community and provide opportunities for conversation among students, faculty, and staff through roundtable discussions and Town Hall meetings.  

Malini (MTS ‘21) 
President of HDSSA 
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DivEx: A Year Later

31 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Considering HDS

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DivEx, Events, TED

Post by: Natalie Solis, MTS 2021 

Read on to learn about HDS’ Diversity and Explorations Program as well as Theological Education Day from DivEx alum and current student, Natalie Solis. Please see the bottom of this post for more information about DivEx and TED. 

Solis DivEx photo 2

Natalie Solis, author, in front of Andover Hall, DivEx 2017

Whether you have dreamt about going to HDS for years or are still discerning whether Divinity School is the right path for you, the Diversity and Explorations program is an extremely helpful introduction to HDS. Just one year ago, I was getting ready for DivEx. Now, I am pursuing my MTS with a concentration in Religions of the Americas and working as a Graduate Assistant at the HDS Office of Admissions. DivEx was a crucial part of my journey to HDS. As a first-generation college student and religion major at the University of Southern California, I learned about HDS early in my undergraduate career from professors who attended HDS. Since I am planning to pursue a career in academia, I sought out faculty advice when I was applying to graduate school last year. In speaking with HDS alum and USC Dean of Religious Life, Varun Soni, he encouraged me to apply to DivEx.   Continue reading →

Summers of a Graduate Student

05 Thursday Jul 2018

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

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Classes, DivEx, HDSSA, SLP, women gender sexuality and religion

Post by: Jarred Hamilton, Master of Theological Studies (MTS), Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion; Graduate Assistant, HDS Office of Admissions.

Hi everyone! My name is Jarred Hamilton and I am the new Graduate Assistant for the summer in the Office of Admissions. I am originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and I majored in English and Art History at UNC Charlotte. I am going into my 2nd year of the MTS degree studying a combination of sexuality and medieval forms of sanctity in the high and late middle ages.

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Catching Up on HDS Happenings

17 Friday Nov 2017

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

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AAR, DivEx, Events, TED

Hey everyone! Sorry for the break in posts! We’ve had a few amazing events on campus that have kept us pretty tied up here at HDS Admissions. Continue reading →

Quiet Cambridge Summer Days

18 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by Keith Esposito in Summers

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Campus, DivEx, SLP, SRC

In my experiences, college campuses in the summer are equal parts pleasant and eerie. Pleasant, because the hallways, buildings and sidewalks associated with the stress, crowds and busyness of the semester are now ideal places to take a stroll, enjoy the sunshine, or have a long chat with someone you may just wave to and sprint past when there are papers to write. But at the same time, all that emptiness feels a bit strange, like the calm before a storm or the setting of a post-rapture SciFi miniseries where you’ve been left behind.

This is all a roundabout way of saying that we here at the HDS admissions office have been enjoying the low key summer vibe. But with that being said, summer still has its exciting features, some of which I’ll share in this update post.

hds campus

First, we have welcomed our newest graduate assistant, K.C. McConnell. K.C. hails from the suburbs of Philly and did her undergrad at Bryn Mawr College where she studied Religion with a focus in Gender and Sexuality. She’s an incoming MTS student interested in South Asian Religion, especially Jainism and will also be a Junior Fellow in HDS’s Science, Religion and Culture Program. She joins me, Keith Esposito (third year MDiv, religion and education), and together we are responsible for giving tours to visiting students and responding to student inquiries. Check out our summer tour schedule if you’re interested in visiting campus, or email us at ask_students@hds.harvard.edu if you’d like an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to study at HDS.

K.C. is also currently studying German with the Summer Language Program (SLP), a unique opportunity for current and incoming HDS students to do an intensive class in one of eight languages ranging from Biblical Hebrew and Latin to French and Pali. SLP classes count towards degree requirements, meaning students can take these language classes over the summer to free up their semester schedule or allow more time for advance study. I also did SLP (in Spanish) as an incoming student, and it was a great way to spend a summer.

Last, we have officially launched the application for our Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx). DivEx is a three day program in November for prospective masters students that introduces our graduate programs that span religious and cultural divides. DivEx is geared especially towards current college undergraduates with a special commitment to diversity and social justice. Oh, and best of all, it’s completely free! The application deadline is September 12th, so be sure to reach out to us if you have any questions.

That’s all for now! Check back soon for more posts.

Deepening Discernment through DivEx

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by Samantha Melton in Considering HDS

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Advice, Discernment, DivEx

If I had to describe my journey to Harvard Divinity School, I would refer to the words of Frederick Buechner in Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, in which he states: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Over time, I’ve adopted this understanding of my calling to the world and weaved Buechner’s words through my narrative.

As a high school student, while working at a local non-profit interfaith coffee shop, I remember thriving in an environment that encouraged musings, followed wanderings, and above all, valued global social justice. After graduation, I began to work my way through my undergraduate program, where I brought my musings to a campus that allowed me to grow in my passion for social justice. Eventually, I followed my wanderings to Limpopo, South Africa, where I was able to actively collaborate with local community members in working towards community social justice goals. Near the end of my undergraduate career, my musings and wanderings combined with my passion for social justice, led me to consider the intersection of my deep gladness and the world’s hunger. With these questions, I began to consider continuing my education through the means of Divinity School or seminary, but not without question… lots and lots of questions.

10_4_16_divex_hdscampus

Panoramic View of Andover Hall, Harvard Divinity School

I struggled to decide if my desires were best fit for a traditional seminary or a Divinity School. My hyper-Type A personality had me buried in pro-con lists, researching schools around the country, while continuing to ask where I wanted my theological education to lead me. Last November, in the midst of these lists and research, I found myself as a participant in HDS’ Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx). I approached DivEx with the same explorative attitude, passion, and flexibility that I carried from my previous experiences and here, I discovered the welcoming community, innovative thinking, and tremendous resources that HDS has to offer.

During DivEx, the time I spent in conversation with professors, administrators, current and prospective students, and various other leaders, guided my search for a theological education. It was here that I had the opportunity to sit with other DivEx participants to discern my direction in the world. DixEx has so much to offer: class visits, admissions and financial aid information sessions, and community events that provide an authentic sense of the atmosphere at HDS. In my DivEx experience, my most valuable conversations happened naturally, such as over a cup of coffee, or around the dinner table, where professors and students truly embodied the openness of the HDS community.

10_4_16_divex_participants

Samantha Melton (center) with Angela Counts, HDS Director of Admissions, and 2015 DivEx participants.

These colorful conversations are what I continued to think about months later; I still carry these conversations to my classes today. The direction of my education developed from these friendships. In this space of people devoted to social-justice, myself and my fellow DivEx participants come willing to cultivate conversation, explore musings, and embrace wanderings.

As you embark on the journey of considering theological education, I urge you to nurture your musings, follow your wanderings, and let your ‘deep gladness’ lead you. I invite you to listen as you share a meal with those around you, and use conversations as guideposts in your discernment as you continue to ask where your deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet. If you are participating in DivEx this year, or thinking about applying to DivEx next year, I hope that you find value beyond the surface, and your conversations lead you to clarity in your discernment.

All the best on your journey,

Samantha Melton, M.Div. ’19

From the Navy to DivEx to the HDS Office of Admissions: Meet David Waters, our new graduate assistant!

30 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by HDS Admissions Blog in Transitioning to HDS

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Admissions, Community, DivEx, Harvard Summer School, Incoming Students, Navy

David Waters, newest graduate assistant for the HDS Office of Admissions, has quite the resume. From his time in the Navy to his participation in our Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx), David ultimately chose to attend HDS to study the intersection of religion, literature, and culture. David looks forward to talking with prospective students about the DivEx program and about life at HDS!

David Waters, new graduate assistant for the HDS Office of Admissions. Photo by Elias Igue

David Waters, new graduate assistant for the HDS Office of Admissions. Photo by Elias Igue

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