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Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell

Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (3)

Part Three: Should I Attend Grad School? Or What was I thinking?

Thank-you to Michael for sharing his story/thoughts with us! Note: To explore sharing your story/thoughts as a testimony to God and an encouragement to others, please read Want to write for the ESN blog? and email ESN with a proposal. ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, editor.

What counsel would I give someone who is considering grad school? First, think about it in terms of vocation. If your vocation, or expanding your vocation requires you to attend grad school, then I think it is definitely something that should be considered. There are some vocations which by their very nature require more education or advanced degrees. While it might seem like these are artificial constraints which are intended to keep people out of particular professions, they do at least bring to the surface who are willing to put in the extra time and effort. No one can deny that it is sacrifice, and it can be expensive, but if God truly does call people to particular vocations which require education, then grad school is something that God does expect for some people.

Second, think about grad school as much from the perspective of what it is going to expect of me as what I can get from it. We can all endure momentary pain for expected future benefit. But grad school is not just about what I can gain, but about what is expected of me. In that case it is not just about a degree, but about what it means to have the degree. For me, it was not just about having a PhD, but about what it meant for me to be a PhD holder. That principle is the same for all degrees. It means staying current in your field. It might mean continuing education to maintain certification. Whatever it is, it is part of having the degree and you should enter into grad school knowing that expectation at the end. [Read more…] about Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (3)

Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (2)

Part Two – Being a Graduate Student

Thank-you to Michael for sharing his story/thoughts with us! Note: To explore sharing your story/thoughts as a testimony to God and an encouragement to others, please read Want to write for the ESN blog? and email ESN with a proposal. ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, editor.

When I entered grad school, I entered with a sense of purpose that was in my mind akin to the idea that the Puritans had of vocation or calling. Attending a Catholic university, I realize that many use the word vocation in strictly religious ways, but the Puritans viewed all of life as religious, and so all of life should be understood as vocation. I had been involved in the vocation of teaching, but not at the place where I felt I was fulfilling my true calling. I was going to grad school with the intent in my mind to complete that calling, to fulfill my vocation. But shortly upon arriving at grad school with the above ideas in my mind, I realized I needed to change the way I thought about my own vocation. So, what changed in my own self-understanding about the vocation of academia?

First, I realized I had to become a scholar if I was going to take seriously the vocation of an academic. In the first six months, I shifted my thinking in a variety of ways, not the least of which was changing my vocabulary from studying theology, to being a theologian. While this change might be subtle, it was a reflective way for me to begin to think of myself as a scholar, not just a teacher. I do think there is not enough emphasis placed on the development of the craft of teaching in doctoral programs, but I needed to do a reset of my thinking about my own place in scholarship.

I came into the program with very vague ideas of what I wanted to study, and I had no real settled person who I wanted to study under. My previous work had been very general, and I liked thinking about things in big picture terms. But I soon realized that to become a scholar meant mastery, not just generalized knowledge. I was very fortunate that in spite of my lack of vision, God saw fit to bring both a great mentor to study under and a theologian whom I could study in depth whose papers were close to my current location. My studies have opened doors to present papers and work on writing articles about my research which I never envisioned when I began the program. If we as evangelicals are to fulfill the vision that Mark Noll laid out, it is necessary that we become scholars. I needed to learn that lesson. [Read more…] about Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (2)

Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (1)

Introduction

John Williamson Nevin. Source: http://www.fandm.edu/past-presidents. Retrieved 11/24/2013.

After several months of connecting on-line, I had the privilege of meeting Michael in Lancaster, PA. What brought him to my neck of the woods? His research on John Williamson Nevin (1803 – 1886). John Williamson Nevin not only taught in the seminary of the German Reformed Church in America in the mid-nineteenth century, but also served as the president of Franklin and Marshall College. Furthermore, he was a friend to James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States. Did you know that Buchanan lived in Lancaster, PA? Please join me in welcoming Michael to the growing family of Emerging Scholars contributing to the blog. If you’re interested in joining our blogging team, please read Want to write for the ESN blog? and drop me a line with a proposal 🙂 To God be glory!

 

Part One – Returning to Grad School

Thank-you to Michael for sharing his story with us! ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV, editor.

In the spring of 2011, I did something that many would consider to be foolish, I resigned my job so I could return to school to work on my doctorate. This might not seem like such a big deal, except that it had been nearly twenty years since I had been a full-time student. It was not that I had been out of education entirely; I was a high school theology and history teacher and principal in various Christian schools. I enjoyed my work as a teacher and a principal, but I had long desired to teach theology at the post-secondary or graduate level. But to be able to do that, I needed to go back to school to get more education. Additionally, I felt like I had reached a point where I needed to get more education to advance in administration on a secondary level. So, I was in a position where I needed to go back to school; the question then became a matter of which direction I was going to pursue as my life vocation. [Read more…] about Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (1)