An Ode To Ursinus And Candler

Ahhhh, what a GLORIOUS day!

My dad called me this afternoon and said he was firing up the GRILL tonight for dinner - did Bruce and I want to come over?

The word "yes" has never come out of my house faster.

Grilled chicken with homemade barbecue sauce, egg noodles tossed in butter and soy sauce and steamed veggies.

The smoky grilled flavor was amazing!

Delicious.  My dad said he wants to make more appearances on my blog, so hopefully he'll share his barbecue sauce with us?

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I haven't participated in one of Kelly's Show Us Your Life in awhile, but today she invited people to share about their alma maters and I HAD to link up!  I absolutely love the college and graduate school that I graduated from and can't wait until I have some money to give back to their awesome programs.  Both schools did so much to shape the person and the minister that I am today - and I have some absolutely incredible friends because of them as well!

College

I graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.  Collegeville is in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes from Philadelphia and 15 from King of Prussia.  Ursinus is a small liberal arts school - about 1,350 students when I got there but it's grown a little since then.  It is historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ.

Our claim to fame:  J.D. Salinger went there!

Ursinus was definitely one of those schools where I could be a big fish in a small pond.  I was on a first name basis with the president of the school and was welcomed into the homes of my chaplain, academic adviser and research adviser.  I was the lead saxophonist in the jazz band and got to play in some really neat small groups.  I was the president of the college chapel and spoke at our baccalaureate service.

Because of my position in the chapel and my role as one of the outreach coordinators in the leadership office, I went to several conferences throughout my time at Ursinus.  I traveled all across the country for free!

Well ... nothing in life is free! :)

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy & Religion.  I was really proud of myself at graduation - I graduated as a member of the Whitians Women's Honor Society, on the Dean's list, cum laude and the recipient of the Paisley Prize.

I went straight from college to graduate school, which was definitely the right decision for me.  In September of 2007 I started at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  I was a southerner!

Candler is a Methodist school, but they do a really good job of giving their non-Methodist students a well-rounded education.  I loved the fact that we were part of Emory University and I had access to some of the courses in the other graduate schools and their libraries!  I came out of seminary so humbled and so prepared (as prepared as you can be, I suppose) for ministry.

I graduated with a Master of Divinity with a concentration in Leadership in the Church & Community.  Candler doesn't graduate their students with honors, but I was really proud of this degree.  It was a difficult program!  I'm now finishing up my requirements for ordination in the United Church of Christ!

I absolutely love my alma maters.  Yes they have their quirks, but don't all schools?  I would absolutely recommend either one of these schools for someone looking at small liberal art colleges or seminaries.  Please feel free to comment or email me (sarahelizabethweaver[at]gmail[dot]com) with any questions!

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See my other Show Us Your Life Posts here!