Semester 3 Week 6

          As I am now a junior Religious Studies major here at Loras College I really need to start thinking about my future and what I intend to do with my major.  I suppose I should note here that I am seriously considering adding a Philosophy major because I am almost done with my Religious Studies major and I have already taken some of the classes needed.  Anyway that is just a side note.

          There are many different career options that are possible with a Religious Studies major.  Some of them include graduate school to pursue a doctorate in many different aspects of theology, parish work such as a director of religious education, a youth minister, director of RCIA, liturgical coordinator, marriage ministry or other sorts of specialized ministry.  There are also volunteer options such as a volunteer at Catholic camps, the Peace corps, etc.

          Obviously each of these different options requires different skills.  Graduate school would require a strong academic background in Religious Studies/Theology and study skills as well as a good GRE score and letters of recommendation.  Plus a strong will is necessary for continuing on education and a vision of where you want to go with your graduate degree.  I think the Religious Studies program at Loras prepares students very well for graduate school.  The classes are always very high caliber and challenge me to the utmost especially in writing a paper and developing a thesis, which from what I have heard, you do a lot of in graduate school.  Also, during senior year Loras has a 6 credit hour thesis students can complete if they are seriously considering going onto graduate school which can help one get into graduate school.  Plus, the student faculty relationships on campus are very strong and personal so the professors are always helpful for knowledge and guidance because of how well they know their students.

           As for parish and volunteer work, it seems that not only grades or involvement of certain activities seems to be the only thing important, but hands on experience.  This is where the Religious Studies practicum I think comes into really helping students out.  It gives experience to the student, but it also forces them (in a good way) to connect their daily experiences with what they learned in the classroom through evaluations and journals.  It also helps students make connections with the parish/school community for potential jobs in the future.  As for class work I think Loras lays a good foundation for ministry in what they teach.  We get a great and broad background of knowledge of Catholic theology and beliefs, through classes such as Christian Sexual Morality, Catholic Social Teachings, Sacraments, The Catholic Heritage, Introduction to Theology and Religious Studies, and many other classes.  We also get a good biblical foundation through classes such as Jesus and the Gospels, God’s Literature, Does the Land Belong to Israel?, Wisdom of the Prophets, and others.  The only thing that I think maybe could be added to the Loras curriculum is some classes on ministry within the Church.  But, I know that a class about foundations of ministry is being added for next semester which will be a great addition.  

          To be honest I do not know what I would like to do with my major, the ideas I have seem to change every week.  But, I do know I want to graduate (haha) and as of right now I have no desire to go to graduate school to pursue a doctorate, so it is a good thing I have many other options.  Right now I am leaning towards possibly working in catechism in some sort of aspect in a parish whether in RCIA or religious education.  Young adult and adult ministry also really interests me.  I am excited to see where the Lord leads me and the experiences still to come in the Religious Studies department at Loras College.   

Semester One: Week 6

            As a Religious Studies Major, I hope to learn more about the Catholic tradition that I have grown up in and the other faith traditions I may or may not know much about already. I expect that there will be a lot of reading and challenging topics to study and overcome with this major. Most of the reading material should be brought up in class, sometimes in large or small group discussion, sometimes in reflections, and on handouts (if applicable).

I get these expectations from classes I have taken in the past: Intro to Theology and Religious Studies, Seasons of the Sacred (the Honors section), and Why Am I Catholic? (in high school). Each of these classes had a fairly demanding load of reading and challenged me with projects, papers, and topics that I had to research online and in books and dig up information from previous experience and knowledge.

In Intro to Theology and Religious Studies with Dr. Osheim we had large and small group discussions daily about the readings and every once and a while we would get a hand out that helped expound on the discussions and notes on the readings. We also received study guides formatted like the test which really helped me to know how to prepare for each test and to know what to expect, even though I did not get a very good grade on the first two. With each new professor I encounter, sometimes it takes me a while to get used to their teaching style and as the semester went on, I got more and more comfortable with the style of the class and did better on each assignment and test.

In Seasons of the Sacred with Dr. Pitt we had large group discussions daily and occasionally broke off into smaller groups for activities and discussions. We received very few handouts, but there were extremely helpful along with the diagrams drawn on the board to copy into our notes. I did a lot better on the tests in this class than I did at the start of Intro to Theology and Religious Studies, but I had a different professor and different test formats, so I expected to have different results and was pleased.

Why Am I Catholic? caused me to truly question why I was a Catholic and provided me with opportunities and tools to research the Catholic traditions outside of class and dig deep down inside to find out what was truly appealing to me about my faith. This class required a lot more reading than my other classes in high school, but it prepared me well for what college theology classes would be like. It pushed me to question and deepen my faith, which ultimately led me to make the decision to become a Religious Studies major.

My family raised me Catholic and I never dreamt or thought of doing things differently. When I became old enough to ponder why my parents had raised me the way they did, I knew that they raised me into the faith that they believed so strongly in and there had to be a good reason. Faith, Catholic faith to be more specific, has always been a big part of my life because it means so much to my parents. I know there is a lot I have left to learn about the Catholic faith tradition and all other religions and I hope and expect that through the courses of the Religious Studies major I will learn a lot more about all faith traditions.