Graduation Draweth Nigh
I feel slightly narcissistic for posting this, but it's going on the SLU Communication Department website, so I might as well give you all a sneak preview. The format of the questions was predetermined by the department.
The one thing I will remember from my education is...
…that theory can and should be pragmatic. Theory can offer us new ways of understanding how human persons co-create meaning, but it can also offer us opportunities to put our philosophy into practice. At its best, theory has the potential to enrich and improve the human experience of communication.
I plan to take my education forward with me into...
…graduate studies in historical/systematic theology. I would like to continue my research in modern papal rhetoric and the official public discourse of the Catholic Church. I am also interested in the 20th century development of Catholic doctrine before, during and after Vatican II, and theologians such as Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), whose writings and speeches I examined in my thesis.
The qualities I have discovered in myself are...
…personal resilience, a deep interest both in people and in ideas, a love of wisdom, a willingness to allow my studies to change my life, and an intellectual curiosity that is quite interdisciplinary.