4 minute read
Scholars and Leaders Who Serve
ENOCH ABOI, MTS ’18
Advertisement
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
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
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
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
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
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.