Disciples Divinity House

Four individuals have been named Disciples Divinity House Scholars for the 2013-14 academic year, which began September 30. They are Keri Anderson, Doug Collins, Judith Guy, and Hye In Park, all MDiv students. Recognized for their leadership potential and academic promise, they are each receiving full tuition at the University of Chicago Divinity School (60% funded by DDH), rent-free use of a study-bedroom at the Disciples Divinity House, an annual $4,000 stipend, and an additional named scholarship award. They join 13 continuing Disciples House Scholars in an exceptional program of scholarly and professional preparation.

Keri Anderson is a 2009 summa cum laude graduate of DePaul University, Chicago, where she majored in Catholic Studies and wrote her thesis on "A Contemporary Response to Theodicy." Last year, as the Neighborhood Liaison at her home church, Glen Oak Christian Church in Peoria, she helped to build relationships that address spiritual and practical needs of its neighbors (primarily low-income households). "I visited neighbors' homes and helped to connect them with the outreach services our church provides, and I partnered (on behalf of Glen Oak) with other groups already present and active in revitalizing and transforming the Peoria East Bluff Neighborhood." During high school and college, she worked at, and then directed, a summer camp for low-income at risk children (grades K-8) through the Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service. After college, she was a foster parent for two years at Casa de Esperanza in Houston, Texas. She is the recipient of the Rolland and Laura Frances Sheafor Scholarship.

Doug Collins graduated from Eureka College in spring 2013 with a major in Philosophy and Religion and a minor in Spanish. His numerous leadership awards and recognitions include selection as the 2012 Eureka College Lincoln Laureate, Disciples Leadership Fellow, Eureka College Leadership Ambassador, President of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, and election to the fraternity's national Order of the Sphinx. He was a college Residential Advisor and served as Assistant to the Chaplain at Eureka College. He had internships in the General Church (with GMP Sharon Watkins), regional church (helping the Oregon region on their use of social media), and in his home congregation (First Christian Church, Albany, Oregon). Service learning opportunities have taken him to Otavalo, Ecuador, to the Taizé community in France, and to Costa Rica. He is interested in congregational ministry and in new church planting. He is also the author and illustrator of a children's book. He is the Oreon E. Scott Entering Scholar.

Judith Guy is a 2012 magna cum laude Philosophy and Religion honors graduate of Eureka College. She wrote her honors thesis on the relationship of philosophy and theology as encountered in Tillich's appropriation of Heidegger. Last year she taught English in the Republic of Georgia. She was a Eureka College Ministry Fellow and a Phillips University Legacy Scholar throughout college. At Eureka she served as President of Disciples on Campus, Eureka Leadership Ambassador, Residential Advisor, and Peer Educator, and chaired homecoming activities. She studied abroad at the University of Hyderabad in India and at Sophia University in Tokyo, and visited ecumenical monasteries in Europe. She interned at University Christian Church, Fort Worth, and with the Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) summer camping program. Her father and her mother are ministers, as are other members of her extended family. She is the William N. Weaver Entering Scholar.

Hye In Park is a third-year MDiv student from Gangwon-do, South Korea, and a 2011 Bachelor of Theology graduate of the elite Yonsei University in Seoul. She joined University Church, Chicago, during her first year. Last year, she completed field education at First Christian Church of Downers Grove, Illinois, where she also placed her membership; she also became a House resident and participated fully in Monday programs, including Disciples History and Thought. DDH provided assistance so that she could attend the North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD) Convocation in California last summer, the CCIW Regional Assembly last fall, the Seminarians' Conference in March, and the General Assembly in Orlando this summer. She became eligible for full DDH funding this year. She is interested in pursuing additional studies—possibly PhD work in theological anthropology or additional studies in psychology—that address suffering and postmodern Christian identity formation. She is a William Daniel Cobb Alumni/ae Scholarship recipient; she was also awarded NAPAD's Soongook Choi Scholarship.