Graduate Profile: Peyton Eldridge White, MDiv '23

Message of Thanks  

I would like to thank all my beloved family, chosen and born, who brought me to this particular moment. I am sustained and inspired by my home communities in Tennessee and the radical, weird, experimental, and morally courageous religious communities that constitute my study and of which I take part. I thank my mentors and teachers who have taught me to imagine an expansive and grounded scholarship which attends to real stakes for real people. Particularly, I am grateful to Professors Healan Gaston and Giovanna Parmigiani. I also thank my friends and colleagues who have helped me recognize this school as a site of intense hope, love, and ethical integrity. I thank y’all, I pray for y’all, I love y’all. 

What I Hope to Be Remembered By 

I hope to be remembered as that guy with all the rings. If not that, then I'd like to be remembered as someone who saw their work as a prayer for better worlds to come. 

Future Plans 

I hope to live a life full of art, cool books, and Southern accents. In the fall, I’ll attend the University of Texas at Austin for my PhD in Religious Studies. Among other things, I will continue my work on Rastafari and material culture. I plan to tell stories and look for new genres of kindness and creativity in academic spaces. I plan to bust open the archive and see what comes out. 

See also: Student Activities and Interviews