What Do You Do with a Religion Degree?
Pluriverse
By Jessica Easter and Gbemi Abon
Haley Tyrell ‘22:
After her graduation from Cal Lutheran last Spring, Haley Tyrell, a biology major and Theology and Christian Leadership minor, began a master’s degree in Bioethics at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
During her last two years of undergraduate work at Cal Lutheran, Tyrell had the opportunity to work as an ER medical scribe and learn about the interdisciplinary field of Bioethics, leading to her current field of study.
“I now have the opportunity to engage and discuss complex ethical issues through applying law, religion, history, and philosophy to healthcare,” she says of her graduate pursuits.
Tyrell has already gained amazing opportunities in her master’s study, including faculty-led research with a future publication, and a direct path to her future plans: a combined MD/JD program leading to a career in both medicine and law.
“I will always be thankful for my four years at Cal Lu and the knowledge and connections it provided me that have led me to be where I am today,” she says.
Jaclyn Holtz ‘22:
Since graduating from Cal Lutheran in Spring 2022, former religion minor Jaclyn Holtz has been working at Higher Vision Church as the Youth and Young Adults’ Administrative Assistant, while pursuing her master’s degree in Ministerial Leadership through Southeastern University.
“Once I finish my master’s, I hope to pursue youth ministry full-time as a youth pastor!” she told Pluriverse.
Holtz believes that religion and theology are in her work every single day. She has the opportunity to encourage youth and young adults in their own walk with God while incorporating what she learned during her time at Cal Lu.
“My religion minor was extremely helpful because it equipped me with practical leadership skills in ministry that I use every single day, and academically I felt extremely prepared going into a seminary program,” she reports.
Her favorite part of graduate school is new opportunities to learn and be challenged from people pursuing ministry all around the world.
More
- What Do You Do with a Religion Degree?
November 2, 2022Religion majors and minors (and professors) everywhere are used to answering the perennial question from well-meaning relatives and friends: What do you do with a religion degree? We interviewed two of our recent graduates about their current vocational pursuits, and how CLU prepared them for these vastly different, yet equally inspired paths.
- $180,000 in Cal Lutheran incubator grants
September 21, 2022California Lutheran University has awarded its first Dorfman Incubator Grants — a total of $180,000 that will provide hands-on educational opportunities for students while helping four alumni and a professor launch their startups.
- Realizing a personal victory
May 23, 2022When Kathie (Schaap ’89) Hale met her husband Rich 23 years ago, she was only a casual runner. “The farthest I had ever run was 3 miles,” she said. “But he was doing these 50-mile epic adventures. That was one of the things that drew me to him.”