New Students Begin Studies

With the start of the fall 2017 semester, eleven new students are beginning their theological studies at Bethany Seminary. Five are pursing an MDiv, three are pursuing an MA, and three are pursuing graduate certificates. In addition, two graduates are returning to complete additional degrees, and one occasional student has enrolled.

One-quarter of the new incoming class members are international, all of whom are living in the Bethany Neighborhood. Two students come from the Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone and Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). A third, from the German Free Church tradition, is spending a year at Bethany through the BCA Study Abroad program.

The following new students have been welcomed to Bethany:

Elena Bohlander, MA – Fort Wayne, IN
Jeff Clouser, Certificate of Achievement in Theological Studies – Mount Joy, PA
Carol Davis, Certificate in Theopoetics and Theological Imagination – Canton, IL
Hassan Dicks, MA – Jos, Nigeria
Steven Headings, MDiv – Comstock Park, MI
Charles Jackson, Certificate in Conflict Transformation – Champaign, IL
Martin Jockel, MDiv – Giessen, Germany
Thomas McMullin, MDiv- Minburn, IA
Katherine Peterson, MDiv – Cincinnati, OH
Jack Roegner, MDiv – Richmond, IN
Paul Samura, MA – Freetown, Sierra Leone

Alumnae Freedom Eastling, CATS 2017, and Staci Williams, MA 2017 are returning to complete an MA and an MDiv, respectively.

This fall also marks the launch of the Pillars and Pathways Residential Scholarship, a program structured to assist students in completing their seminary studies without incurring any additional educational or consumer debt. A cooperative effort between the student and the Seminary, this scholarship covers the gap between the cost of attendance for residential students and the combination of Bethany financial aid and work income the student receives. Recipients commit to living in the Bethany Neighborhood and must maintain eligibility for the Academic Excellence Scholarship. The amount to be contributed by the student can be earned through a certain number of work-study hours and summer employment.

Four members of the incoming class and two current students are the first participants in the new scholarship program. As part of the agreement, they will actively engage in community living and campus activities, meet for group reflection, volunteer a certain number of hours at a local nonprofit, and live within their means with support from the neighborhood community.