Tag: PhD Student Profile

Area of Study: Christian Education and Congregational Studies

Adriana (Dri) Rivera, M.Div. is an educator with a love for the stories of the city and her people.

Area of Study: Pastoral Theology, Personality and Culture

Tasha’s current research interest seeks to explore the deleterious role of capitalism in Western Christianity, elucidate the immense suffering this relationship has caused, and create a moral imperative for Christians to divest from this system

Area of Study: Theological and Ethical Studies

Emanuel is pursuing doctoral studies to construct a theology of mestizaje that recaptures the history of colonization, reshapes conceptions of metiza/o identity, and informs ecclesial pursuits of justice.

Area of Study: Pastoral Theology, Personality and Culture

Andrea Clark Horton is a gifted teacher, speaker and pastoral counselor whose passion is equipping and empowering God’s people to live triumphant lives.

Area of Study: Biblical Studies

Yichen’s research interests include the Johannine literature, particularly the Gospel of John and its reception history, metaphorical expressions, and the cross-cultural interpretation of the New Testament from her Chinese perspective.

Area of Study: History of Christianity and Historical Theology

Interspersed with various endeavors in Christian ministry – including work in evangelism through the arts and community theatre – Susanna’s unconventional journey to doctoral studies is a testament to her transferable skill set, diverse life experience, and adventurously expectant approach to discernment.

Area of Study: Pastoral Theology, Personality and Culture

Myron Krys’ current research interests include finding ways to help people who have been traumatized in the church heal from harmful theologies.

Area of Study: Pastoral Theology, Personality and Culture

Marshaé is interested in the topic of religious syncretism or queering religion, resiliency, and cohesive self-identity. Additionally, she is being trained as a clinical therapist, with an emphasis on spiritually integrated care for LGBTQIA people of color.

Area of Study: Theological and Ethical Studies

Kristen’s research interests explore intersections of creation, spirit, materiality, and place. She is particularly interested in developing a theology of water that connects persons, places, and the experience of baptism through the life of the Holy Spirit.

Area of Study: Biblical Studies

Khen Chum, from Myanmar (Burma), holds a master of theology from MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo, Norway, a master of divinity from Myanmar Institute of Theology in Yangon, Myanmar, and a bachelor of theology from Chin Christian University in Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar.

Area of Study: Christian Education and Congregational Studies

Gina’s current research interests include the spiritual lives of African American girls, particularly nurturing their identity development through Womanist and emancipatory pedagogical methods.

Area of Study: Christian Education and Congregational Studies

Garam’s research interest is Korean women’s identity formation from an East Asian Postcolonial Eco-Feminist perspective.

Area of Study: Theological and Ethical Studies

Bryson’s work looks at the ways in which Christian theologies come to inform carceral realities in the lives of Black and dispossessed persons.

Area of Study: History of Christianity and Historical Theology

Alex Parrish studies American religion, and his current projects focus on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women missionaries.

Area of Study: Liturgical Studies

Rev. Whitlock is a practical theologian currently focused on intergenerational liturgy.

Area of Study: History of Christianity and Historical Theology

Peter’s research focuses on the development of theological anthropology and soteriology in the 4th and 5th centuries, as well as the early articulation of Wesleyan theology.

Area of Study: Pastoral Theology, Personality and Culture

With formal education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (BS, Psychology), Wheaton College (MA, Theology), and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (MDiv), I am pursuing interests through the PhD in Pastoral Theology, Personality, and Culture focusing upon transformative learning for ministers such as clinical pastoral education, health inequity as it impacts black people, healing from trauma, and the impact of hearing, holding, and sharing stories.

Area of Study: Theological and Ethical Studies

Dwayne is interested in the “passing narratives” within the African American tradition and how such narratives make for the elasticity, transgression, and destabilization of boundaries and facilitate, possibly, the reimagining of what it means to be a human being shaped by a praxis of polychromatic fellowship.