STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS The Mert and Betty Cooper Fellowship The Crawley Family Fellowship The Grace Presbytery Fellowship The Clifford J. and Mary K. Grum Fellowship The Betty Wilson Jeffrey Fellowship The Robert W.B. and Shirley Johnston Fellowship The Robert W.B. and Shirley Johnston International Student Fellowship The New Covenant International Fellowship The Trull-Herlin Family Fellowship The Elizabeth Currie Williams Fellowship The Hugh H. and Nancy T. Williamson Fellowship
By Nancy Benson-Nicol
I
’m feeling so blessed to be in Austin, Texas, to study … I can’t explain my gratitude enough,” exclaims Kimberly Mendoza Ramos, a candidate for the MDiv degree and recipient of the Mert and Betty Cooper Fellowship, during an online video call with donors Mert and Betty. “[The fellowship] opened so many doors … it is a testament to God’s grace through it all.” Though she was reared in southern California, Kimberly was born in Henderson, Nevada, where her parents were instrumental in planting the First Filipino-American Presbyterian Church of Southern Nevada. Her father encouraged a teenaged Kimberly to consider preparation for ministry at Austin Seminary after he and their pastor returned from an Asian-Pacific church conference held at the Seminary. Kimberly recalls that he “raved about how great the professors were, how great the campus was, how friendly everyone was.” Years later, her undergraduate professors at Azusa-Pacific University would echo her father’s sentiments. As Kimberly prayed for discernment, she recognized the voice of God revealing to her “the value of a quiet walk with the Lord.” Positioned on a “peacefully quiet campus,
even next to all that is UT [The University of Texas at Austin],” Austin Seminary is, for her, the perfect fit. She adds, “everybody is so welcoming … we’re listening to God’s voice together, in community.” As for future plans? Blissfully, she shares her life with her new spouse, Kayne Ramos. The two were married on campus in the McCoy House Meditation Garden on April 24. (As Kayne now supports Kimberly in her seminary journey, he contemplates future ministry in The United Methodist Church.) Kimberly is on the path to enrolling as an Inquirer in the Presbytery of Nevada. Her current Supervised Practice in Ministry (SPM) internship is with Next Step Ministries, an organization that equips youth for mission partnerships. Her passion for this ministry leads her to consider writing curriculum for youth groups and churches. Teaching in the university setting compels her, along with her sense of God calling her to return to Henderson to serve her home church. Of the possibilities, she marvels, “There’s just SO MUCH!” Mert and Betty Cooper reside in the Texas panhan-
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The Reverend Nancy Benson-Nicol is the development officer for greater Texas and New Mexico. The photo is of merit scholar Kimberly Mendoza and her husband, Kayne, at their wedding in the Maclay Meditation Garden in May. Summer | Fall 2020 | 13
