The integration of my theological studies with clinical social work through the M.A./M.S.W. program was an opportunity to integrate my whole self into my vocation as a campus minister. My time at the the Clough School of Theology and Ministry and the School of Social Work at Boston College showed me how theology and social work must honor the lived experience of the client and minister. As I embraced and explored my identity as a gay Catholic working in ministry, I gained invaluable skills for ministerial work. I had a supportive community of mentors, faculty, and friends, who accompanied, challenged, and guided me through three years of rigorous academics, internships, and ministerial formation. The CSTM offered the rigorous theological education I needed at the foundation of my ministry, while at the same time, the M.S.W. program provided me with the language around mental health and trauma and the counseling skills to better support, accompany, and minister to people. I became a better minister because the dual degree allowed me to integrate my whole self into all that the program offered.
One of my most meaningful opportunities for integration came when I facilitated a faith sharing group for LGBTQ+ undergraduate students as part of my social work placement. At the intersection of theology and social work, I utilized trauma-informed practices to accompany queer students struggling to find a place of belonging along their faith journeys. This experience taught me the importance of creating and holding space for praise and protest, joy and grief, celebration and lament, and the power of storytelling to claim one’s truth as beloved. I learned how to hold space for the complexity of faith and to provide compassionate care to those in need. The CSTM and SSW afforded me opportunities like this in which I integrated my studies through praxis, affirming my identity as minister.
When I graduated in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, my anxiety for what was next took on a new layer. Nonetheless, I trusted in what I had learned from the M.A./M.S.W. program and pursued campus ministry. I believe my dual degree set me apart for jobs as I interviewed. I found a director of campus ministry position at an all-girls Dominican high school. While I never expected to work at an all-girls school, I enjoyed the experience and put my two degrees into practice ministering to students during a global pandemic. After two years in high school ministry, I transitioned to my current role as chaplain/campus minister at Loyola University Chicago’s Health Sciences Campus, where I facilitate a service-immersion program and provide pastoral care to medical, nursing, and graduate students.
In working with professional degree students, I help them integrate their spiritual, intellectual, and professional lives in hopes that they become more authentic and compassionate healthcare providers. It is a niche population to minister to. As I’ve held space for these students, I’ve heard harrowing stories of students losing a patient for the first time, working long hours on the surgery rotation, or providing care to newly arrived migrants, in addition to stories of academic stress, loss of a loved one, or friendship conflicts. My ministry colleagues and I provide intentional ways for students to reflect on their studies, their chosen career, and who they are becoming. Using my ministry skills grounded in social work best practices, I am able to sit with and accompany students through the joys and challenges of their lives.
I am grateful for my time in both programs and the relationships that shaped and formed me as a campus minister. My theological training at the CSTM emphasized the ways in which I am called to serve and care for those on the margins in pursuit of liberation and justice. My clinical training at the SSW challenged me to examine the systems that oppress and marginalize, helping me better understand and empathize with what my students might be experiencing. Continued integration of my degrees through praxis allows me to honor all that has been, especially those who I ministered to in my time at BC, and to minister with hope for a more just and compassionate world.