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Scholars and Leaders Who Serve
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ENOCH ABOI, MTS ’18
“It doesn’t matter whether someone is Christian or Muslim. It doesn’t matter what their ethnicity is. In Nigeria, I will work to see the human being in that person, regardless of the difference, and to be able to connect with them with the respect and dignity that they deserve.”
Pastor Enoch Aboi grew up with Muslim neighbors in Nigeria’s Kaduna state. He also grew up with conflict as his country became more segregated along religious and cultural lines. At HDS, Pastor Aboi learned to embrace difference and be a more effective peacemaker. He plans now to return to Nigeria to help with the ongoing process of reconciliation.
MARGARET BOTROS, MTS ’19
“Premed advisors often treat humanities as secondary and expendable luxuries, but they’re not. This is a study that matters. Religion will impact my practice and the lives of my patients. Being a doctor is not just about ‘Did you deliver treatment correctly?’ It’s about ‘Do you understand?’”
The daughter of Egyptian Coptic Christians, Margaret Botros focused on fulfilling the course requirements for admission to medical school as a student at Harvard College. In her senior year, though, she took a course in the study of religion, fell in love with it, and enrolled at HDS. Botros, who worked part-time at a laboratory in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Nephrology, both as an undergraduate and during her first year in the MTS program, still plans to go to medical school and says that religious studies will make her a better doctor.
ZACHARY DAVIS, MTS ’19
“We need to have a better grasp of where our ideas come from and how they are manipulated by other forces, so that whenwe are called to evaluate something, we’re ready to do the duty of a citizen. Being a citizen is a sacred calling, and we can’tbe faithful to it if we don’t have the historical knowledge and intellectual tools to exercise good judgment.”
As a Mormon from southern Utah, Zachary Davis learned that divinity schools were “places of dangerous speculation on the road to atheism.” After working on HarvardX online courses for HDS professors Laura Nasrallah and Diane Moore, though, he found himself drawn to the critical study of religion—and to HDS’s commitment to knowledge for the betterment of the world. At HarvardX, he also saw the power of technology, which inspired him as a new student to create “Ministry of Ideas,” an educational program that The Guardian calls “simply the best podcast out right now.”
ETHAN FALLEUR, MDIV ’19
“As a queer man in the church, I hope that I can be what trans actress Laverne Cox calls a ‘possibility model.’ She’s a black trans woman, phenomenal actress, and she said,growing up as a black trans person, she didn’t see people like her on TV or in books and movies. We’re starting to see a lot more queer clergy and LGBT-affirming churches, but that fight is not over. So if I can be, to use her words, a possibility model for somebody, then that’s the best I could hope for.”
Ethan Falleur grew up Catholic and gay in the heart of America’s Bible Belt. He came out while a student at Dartmouth College, where he studied religion and music. His family was supportive, but many friends back home were not. “I remember posting on Facebook for National Coming Out Day,” he says, “and watching the number of friends go down because people were not comfortable associating with me as an out gay man.” Falleur came to HDS to pursue ordination in the Episcopal Church, where he wants to serve as an example for LGBTQ youth.
JILL GAULDING, MDIV ’20
“Thousands of years ago, Buddhism called out the three poisons—delusion, attachment, and aversion—and told us that we’re making things up inside our heads, and that it’s really important to be aware of that. It’s the same basic insight about how we operate as human beings that we get from cognitive science, and it’s vital for public policy around things like discrimination.”
The co-founder of the nonprofit legal and policy advocacy organization Gender Justice, Jill Gaulding works to eliminate inequality based on gender bias. A graduate of MIT, Gaulding came to HDS to complement her knowledge of cognitive neuroscience with Buddhist insights to get a richer understanding of perception and discrimination.
MAFAZ AL-SUWAIDAN, MTS ’18
“People say, ‘I want to challenge the patriarchy.’ Of course I want to challenge the patriarchy. And when I read—the fact that I’m doing this—it’s already being challenged. I see very clearly that my gaining knowledge does serve the world.”
Mafaz Al-Suwaidan grew up in Kuwait and came to HDS to study religion and culture, with a focus on Islam. A creative writer and journalist, she explores various Islamic texts and their relationship with religious and cultural identities. This year, she continues her studies in Harvard’s doctoral program.
