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Bobby Rivera, MTS '07

Bobby Rivera, MTS '07, focused on Christian theology and theologies of liberation during his time at HDS, and he is now beginning a PhD in systematic theology. Yet, his journey has been anything but traditional. After dropping out of his New York City high school, he completed a GED and entered college in Tennessee, but found himself without the academic tools he needed to complete his degree. He moved back to New York, got a job as a janitor at New York University, and discovered NYU's tuition remission program for employees. While working full-time cleaning residence halls, Bobby completed his degree in sociology, with a focus on social problems in the United States.

His parents are from Puerto Rico, and his father was a Pentecostal minister with a passion for religion and literature, which Bobby inherited: "Even when I wasn't in school, I would try to keep abreast of literature. When I was working as a doorman, I would attend American Academy of Religion meetings. I knew that if I wanted to pursue my passion, I needed to finish my undergraduate degree. That would allow me to study theology full-time."

After completing his PhD, Bobby plans to teach at the university level and to work with undocumented immigrants. He believes that HDS is great place to prepare for public service. "In many ways Harvard Divinity School is on the cutting edge in preparing future scholars and future practitioners of religion who will engage in interreligious and multireligious dialogue. If you are considering such service, HDS can be seen as a microcosm of what's taking place in the larger society."

Profile Posted July 2007. Photograph by Stephanie Mitchell.