Janice Kristanti - Master of Theology
What brought you to Saint John's Graduate School of Theology and Seminary?
I'd like to start with the fact that the SOT/Sem found me through the Newman Center. After I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Psychology, I spent one year working with children with autism in Minneapolis. Throughout that year, the questions I had about God, Christian faith, and the understanding of the human person kept coming back to me. I was a student minister throughout my senior year at the Newman Center in Minneapolis, so I had assumed that those questions arose from my ministry. As I went down the path of a Psychologist, I found that psychology did not provide me with deeper answers to those questions. Consequently, I began seeking out those answers in Theology. It was a beginning step towards faith seeking understanding.
How will you be spending your time once your coursework is complete?
I am looking forward to traveling with my family to Chicago after graduation. Also, I'll be most likely to stay with them during the first month of summer in southern California. I can't wait to spend my days under the sun doing outdoor activities, leisure reading, and spending time with my loved ones.
.
What are your future goals and plans?
I have been discerning a doctorate Theology program in World Christianity with a focus on inter-religious dialogue. I plan to continue this ongoing discernment after graduation by taking a gap year from school. Meanwhile, I hope to find a job that allows me to use my passion for theology, higher education, and intercultural learning.
How do you hope to use your degree?
The Benedictine value of hospitality (Let all... be received as Christ. RB 53.1) instills in me a sense of sacredness in encountering others. I hope to embody this value in my ministry and academic works.
