News & Stories
Graduate Profile: Oorja Joshi, MDiv ‘24
Memorable Moment The time I spent with HDS Muslims in my first year—going apple picking when we barely knew each other, celebrating Eid together, going to the nearby ocean towns, and all the chai times. A second moment is when Professor Rivera said yes to...
Graduate Profile: Mauricio Bruce, MDiv '24
How I've Changed HDS reminded me how much I like being curious. I've remembered how to explore, ask questions, and investigate. I've also remembered my own potential and my own possibility. That's been very exciting. I've also gotten married. Message of...
Graduate Profile: Hassan Ahmad, MTS '24
How I've Changed I have come to realize that the integrity of any university cannot be separated from its heritage. When an institution abandons its intellectual and cultural heritage it becomes bland and interchangeable with any other—in fact, its entire...
Graduate Profile: Maria Dueñas Lopez, MTS '24
Memorable Moment My most memorable moments at HDS were weekly noon services. Every week, a different student group would host a service from their tradition. The hour was always filled with beautiful music, honest reflections, and strong community. At the...
Graduate Profile: Ariella Gayotto Hohl, MDiv '24
How I've Changed HDS is where I learned about the power of love. It started when I suddenly lost my father, the greatest love of my life, right before my third round of finals here. The impact of that loss while being immersed in scripture, faith, and...
Graduate Profile: Joe Rosales, MTS '24
How I've Changed My perception of the self, of my various communities, and of humanity has shifted for the positive. I feel more worldly as I continue to venture on my journey to eventually teach wherever the Lord needs me. Memorable Moment My most...
Graduate Profile: Sultan Ahmed Khan, MDiv '24
How I've Changed HDS has challenged and transformed me in remarkable ways. The richness and diversity of faith traditions at HDS have been formative in my thought process and approach to ministry, broad-based organizing and pursuit of a just world...
Graduate Profile: Daniel Kramer, MDiv '24
How I've Changed I've grown in many ways, but none more important than the undeniable truth that through my experience at HDS, my faith has deepened and my call to ministry has solidified. Favorite Class or Professor I have truly enjoyed nearly all of my...
Graduate Profile: Stephanie Hollenberg, MDiv '24
How I've Changed My desire upon arriving at HDS was to integrate my then-separate loves for spirituality and music, and having made a significant step forward on this journey, I leave with a happy heart. This weaving together has yielded both personal and...
Graduate Profile: Ailih Weeldreyer, MTS '24
Memorable Moment My favorite memories at HDS are centered around community - the wonderful friends I have made while here, and with others in the HDS community sharing spiritual traditions and reflecting on life and vocational paths. I chose to come to...
Graduate Profile: Christian Maloney, MTS '24
Memorable Moment I have had the good fortune to play violin in a number of musical ensembles at Harvard. This spring, I performed with the Lowell House Opera in their world premiere of "The Unknowable." It was a privilege to work alongside outstanding...
Graduate Profile: Shabbos Israel X Kestenbaum, MTS '24
Favorite Class or Professor Professors Jon Levenson, Noah Feldman, Aleksandra Kremer, Shaul Magid, Carleigh Beriont, and Rabbi David Wolpe were the ones who made Harvard such an intellectually enriching experience. It was an immense privilege to learn...
Graduate Profile: Tenzin Gyurmey, MTS ‘24
How I've Changed My time at HDS has been transformative. Having spent the last twenty years in a Buddhist monastery with limited exposure to a multireligious or multicultural environment, being immersed in the diverse religious and cultural atmosphere at...
Graduate Profile: Crow Stacy, MDiv '24
Favorite Class or Professor There are two professors that have made an immense impact on me. Dr. Catherine Brekus, my thesis advisor, who I also took three classes under. Being under her tutelage and mentorship has been an incredible honor and privilege...
Graduate Profile: Tracie Palmer, MDiv '24
How I've Changed I've shed so many protective layers, and I've learned how to stay soft and open to relationship even in those moments of uncertainty and exposure. Memorable Moment One of my favorite moments at HDS was sharing our "death boxes" at the end...
Graduate Profile: Rob Friedman, MTS '24
How I've Changed HDS afforded me two years to focus on both intellectual and personal growth. Intellectually, the courses were bracing and informative. Harvard’s flexibility afforded the chance to take courses at arts and sciences and the law school...
Graduate Profile: Suzanne E. Greco, MTS '24
How I've Changed My journey at HDS has been nothing short of transformative. My beginning semester was a bit rough, having been out of school for decades, but after making it through "Theories and Methods" I realized I could survive almost anything. The...
Graduate Profile: Cara Snajczuk, MDiv '24
Memorable Moment Two strings of memory come to mind. First, I think of the restorative justice circles Deans Melissa Wood Bartholomew and Steph Grayson Gauchel led during my first year. I especially love remembering the spring semester, when we would...
Graduate Profile: Emma Jacquelin Thomas, MDiv '24
How I've Changed This has been such a rich three years! I am so grateful to have found a crew of people who are living the same questions as I have been. It’s been an experience of finding kindred spirits with kindred work to do in the world. Memorable...
Graduate Profile: Brittany T. Paschall, MRPL '24
How I've Changed I have gained more confidence and clarity around my vocations as an educator, organizer, minister, and memory worker. I know now that memory work is my ministry. Memorable Moment My most memorable moment was the "Africana Religions and...
Graduate Profile: Sea Yun Joung, MTS '24
How I've Changed I have grown significantly as a young scholar of historical theology. Increasingly growing through the profound "existential skin" in the questions scholars have asked, I have realized how importantly history and theology interact - not...
Graduate Profile: Kenneth H. Moales III, MDiv '24
How I've Changed Since enrolling at Harvard Divinity School, my outlook has changed significantly. Through rigorous theological studies, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of spirituality and ethics, influencing my approach to various aspects of life...
Graduate Profile: David Holden, MDiv '24
How I've Changed Since starting at HDS, I've experienced (at least) two significant changes: receiving a calling to chaplaincy and spiritual care and reconnecting to Judaism. Memorable Moment My most memorable moment at HDS was the realization during my...
Graduate Profile: Destiny Magnett, MTS '24
Favorite Class or Professor It was an incredible gift to be able to take the course "Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Palestine/Israel” last spring, which also included travel to the region over the summer months. I am so...
Graduate Profile: Cecily Powell Tolleson, MTS '24
How I've Changed When I arrived at HDS, I was overwhelmed with fatigue and self-doubt. Discerning my academic interests as well as becoming comfortable with my own identity and purpose has shown me that my best has always been enough. I have learned not...
Graduate Profile: Claire Mackenzie Rensunberg, MDiv '24
How I've Changed Honestly, I feel more myself since coming to HDS. Courses allowed me to think deeply on matters of traumatic experience, grief, and the resilience of healing. In studying these matters in many of my chaplaincy classes, I found it both...
Graduate Profile: Charlotte McAdams, MDiv '24
How I've Changed I have gained a much stronger sense of self and deeper understanding of ministry in action. Memorable Moment I was involved in the Queer Rites noon service planning all three years. It was beautiful to create a ritual to share with our...
Graduate Profile: Alex Kinsella, MDiv '24
How I've Changed Since coming to HDS, I feel like I am more connected to the intuitive pace of my body and the natural world around me. I now give myself permission to slow down and to recognize the wisdom that comes from the space of presence. Memorable...
Graduate Profile: Shir Lovett-Graff, MTS '24
Memorable Moment One of my favorite memories is the Jews for Liberation Noon Service, held during Sukkot, in which we invited people to put the names of their ancestors in our community sukkah. The ancestors included everyone from Muhammad to Audre Lorde...
Graduate Profile: Daniella Marie Malfi, MRPL '24
How I've Changed While at Harvard, my passions grew, and I began my mission for justice and peace. It was a big moment as a student when I declared to prove that a world at just peace creates a healthier society and improves the health of our planet and...
