Sunday, March 29, 2009

Who We Are: Kate


Along with Sandra, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you joining us on this blog, and hopefully on campus next year. I am a few weeks (and several papers) away from finishing the first year of my M.Div degree. Although I was raised in suburban Philadelphia, I now hail from Chicago, where I am pursuing ordination with the Episcopal Church. In fact, I just received postulancy status in the Diocese of Chicago this week! (As the Episco-babble belies, I am also enrolled at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale - the Episcopal seminary attached to Yale - where I will complete a Diploma in Anglican Studies alongside the M.Div.) For me, YDS is a professional school - I've come here to gain the skills and knowledge I need to be a parish priest.

I attended University of Chicago for undergrad, majoring in Anthropology and Linguistics. Like quite a few of you, I took almost no religion coursework in college. After school I worked for two years as a college admissions counselor, and still get random calls and emails from schools in Dallas and Albuquerque as a result. My life since coming to New Haven has included slightly less travel, but infinitely more potlucks.

Hope to see you soon!

-Kate Spelman

About the photo: First of all, I have very very few photos of myself which don't include a) other people b) something totally insane. (For clarity's sake, I've used a photo from category B for this exercise.) This one was taken during my YDS-sponsored trip to El Salvador over spring break, during which I traveled around with nine other YDS folks and ate some delicious Pollo Campero. The chicken and I are waving hello to you.

Who We Are: Sandra


Welcome and Greetings from the Elm City! My name is Sandra Valdes-Lopez and I, along with the talented, creative, and amazing Kate Spelman will be your BTFO coordinator. I'm looking forward to introducing the Yale Divinity School community to you all, and I hope that your time with us will be characterized by transformative academic, spiritual, social, and emotional growth.

Now some information about me: I hail from beautiful, sunny, southern California where I resided until the completion of college. I attended Pepperdine University, double majoring in Psychology and Religion, and am currently focused upon how spirituality can be utilized as a coping tool in clinical practice. At Yale, I am working on a Master of Divinity, ecstatic to find myself weeks away from completing my second year in the program. Academically, I have primarily devoted my attention to pastoral care and ethics courses with the professional intention (and hope) of taking this acquired knowledge and applying it to further study in clinical psychology.

With that brief introduction out of the way, I'd like to restate my welcome, and emphasize that Kate and I are available as additional resources to assist in your transition to the Divinity school community and life in New Haven. Please feel free to ask us any questions and to share any concerns.

Have a blessed and peaceful summer.

Looking forward to Orientation in August,

Sandra Valdes-Lopez

Congrats and Welcome!

If you've made it over here, you're probably one of the newest members of the Yale Divinity School community. On behalf of all of us already here on the quad, congratulations!

This blog is intended for the use of the 2009 BTFO coordinators to update new admits. We'll be planning BTFO over the summer, and will use this site to add new information, updates, and to answer any questions you have. We'll try to get a variety of student voices onto the blog, and will be asking you for your opinions and input as we put together the world's best orientation.

Stay tuned! And if you ever have any questions, leave 'em in the comments. We'll do our best to keep on top of those.