Class of 2023
What work or ministries have you been involved with since graduation?
I worked with Good News Jail and Prison Ministries at Tulare County Jail as the Lead Women’s Chaplain. It was extremely fulfilling as I was given such a large open door of opportunity to share the gospel and practice the intricacies of doctrinal teaching. I ministered in experiences with a lot of repentance, forgiveness, theodicy, and other hard questions.
Now I work and spend a lot of time as a chaplain at the newly built Palomar Health in Escondido. I give my full attentive presence to patients in the midst of death, cancer, orthopedic diagnoses, victims of violence, traumatic accidents, labor and delivery, and everything in between. I am a crucial and honored part of the interdisciplinary care team because of my training at Westminster Seminary.
I have encountered every theological question and concern a human spirit could think to ask. My knowledge from WSCAL enriches and gives systematic roots to my answers and ministry. I love my job because I am able to show up in love and draw people closer to Christ in the hardest times of their lives. I wouldn’t be able to do this without my degree.
Have you pursued/completed further education since graduation? If so, where?
The gold standard education for long-term chaplaincy is to complete a Clinical Pastoral Education. I will be completing my internship at the University of Minnesota and my residency at Mayo Clinic starting January 2nd. 400 hours are required for completion and some hospitals require this for their staff chaplains.
How has your seminary education been valuable in your current vocation (or any vocation since graduation)? Has it been valuable in ways you weren’t expecting?
I can sustain the hardest of situations because I have worked through a systematic foundation of who Christ is. I am able to do much more than comfort, pray with, and encourage my patients. I teach them. I teach them the profound systematic relations woven through the fabric of Scripture with the proof texts which feed their souls in special revelation from God through inherent Scripture. My seminary education has equipped me to be a useful tool of tangible reform in our world. I am not just giving food, water, light comfort, or a gentle prayer. I am now able to give spiritual eternal bread, undeniable historical information, and Truth.
What would you say to a woman who is currently considering seminary education at WSC?
Life is not as short as we may think. We should invest in ourselves to be a better tool for the Kingdom of God, it is worth it to be on the front lines of God’s work, both for those we help and for our own faith. The material I learned at Westminster Seminary is priceless. Reformed theologians really do take the utmost standing for superior theological doctrine, they are the masters at studying the scriptures, history, philosophy, and systematics. Westminster gave me three full years to fall madly and deeply in love with Christ. The professors are masterly skilled at teaching and make it relatively easy to digest and grasp the material. If you feel called to have and share more life and love for the Kingdom of God in your days on this earth starting at Westminster is a great way to build a strong foundation for fulfilling that call.
