Posts Tagged ‘graduate school’

March 27th, 2013 by admin

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“How Far Can I Soar?”

“How Far Can I Soar?”

Seraphine Kapsandoy Jones

Having suffered religious persecution and losing a parent at a young age, Seraphine Kapsandoy Jones has had her fair share of trials. But the 35-year-old native of Kenya says she doesn’t worry about things she can’t control. She focuses on her faith, goals, and opportunities to serve. Now, the doctoral student at the University of Utah helps inspire, empower, and motivate women to soar high.

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February 6th, 2013 by admin

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A Champion for Diversity

A Champion for Diversity

Sui Lang Panoke

As the founder of a consultancy that prepares and promotes women and minorities in politics, Sui Lang Panoke is trained to find opportunities for organizations to improve their representations of these groups. She sees her love of the Church as complementary, not in contradiction, to her professional training. As a single mother and Relief Society president in her Washington D.C. ward, Sui Lang shares her testimony of the Church’s divine organization and the opportunities the gospel gives each member to grow in her own relationship with the Lord.

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January 30th, 2013 by admin

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Lisa’s Courage

Lisa’s Courage

Lisa Hansen

As the composer and lyricist of “Nephi’s Courage,” Lisa Hansen’s influence is felt in Primaries across the Church. But it is her work as the leader of a gay choir in Utah County that now occupies much of Lisa’s time. As a Marriage and Family Therapy graduate student at BYU, Lisa is a counselor for gay LDS youth and the author of a curriculum for LDS families of gay youth.

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November 28th, 2012 by admin

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As a public health officer in the United States Air Force, Janice recently completed a year-long “hardship” tour at Kunsan Air Base in Korea. She is now stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and her military career has also included a six month tour in Afghanistan during which she assessed every medical station. Janice discusses the importance of fasting and prayer in her work, and the meaningful role of the Church in her service career.

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October 30th, 2012 by admin

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The Intimate Side of Marriage

The Intimate Side of Marriage

Jennifer Finlayson-Fife

As a psychotherapist practicing in Chicago, Jennifer understands how important sexual intimacy can be to healthy, honest marriages. Jennifer professionally helps LDS women find ways to overcome cultural and psychological barriers to sexual desire, and shares some of her wisdom in this interview.

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October 10th, 2012 by admin

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The Power of A Snowflake

The Power of A Snowflake

Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill

Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill has dedicated her professional life to the study of peace and how to bring peace to the lives of women around the world. Both as a professor of psychology at Fordham University in New York City for 30 years and as the director of the Women’s Research Institute at BYU for 16 years, Bonnie has demonstrated the power of one to inspire kindness and love coupled with a fierce fight for women’s freedoms.

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September 5th, 2012 by admin

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Fostering A Love of Science

Fostering A Love of Science

Crystal Croshaw

Crystal came from a tumultuous upbringing, passed from foster home to foster home before settling with her grandparents as a teenager. It wasn’t until she was a young single mother that the missionaries knocked on her door and brought a whole new light into her life. Now she is a successful cellular molecular biology professor, a devoted mother, and advocate for women. Crystal embraces every opportunity to teach others the joys of science, of being a woman, and of the love Jesus Christ has for them.

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June 27th, 2012 by admin

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Since her childhood days in Alberta, Canada, Dana Allison has been an advocate for women, and now she has dedicated her life to saving other lives: those of new mothers in underdeveloped countries. The 32-year-old executive director of Women’s World Health Initiative shares her experiences starting a nonprofit, transitioning to married life in England, and her hopes for women everywhere.

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May 9th, 2012 by admin

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A Humanitarian at Heart

A Humanitarian at Heart

Suzanne Harwood

Suzanne Harwood didn’t always want to be a nurse. In this article, she explains how she felt guided to nursing and how that decision has affected her life and the lives of countless others in Guatemala, India, TImor Leste, Mozambique and beyond.

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April 25th, 2012 by admin

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Goodness Has A Lunge to It

Goodness Has A Lunge to It

Catharine Platt McGraw

Raised in Bahrain and Dubai as the daughter of a falconer, Catharine had early exposure to the life cycles and rituals of animals, which deeply informed her understanding of the gospel. Today, she embraces the complexity and messiness of life, believing that answers to spiritual questions come from lifelong wrestles with God and interaction with other members of our church communities.

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March 1st, 2012 by admin

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A Woman of Character

A Woman of Character

Susan Easton Black

A popular professor at Brigham Young University, Susan Easton Black was the first female full-time professor in the school’s religion department. When Susan become a single mother to three sons, she was forced to evaluate how to best provide for her young family. In her academic pursuits, Susan rediscovered her childhood love of church history stories and has crafted a vibrant career for herself which includes her most recent publication, Women of Character, which profiles a hundred well-known LDS women through our history.

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February 14th, 2012 by admin

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Judy Dushku has built a life and career that suits her unique identity, although some may perceive contradictions in the multiple facets of her life: she was a single mother of four children who managed to introduce her children to world travel and people of many cultures; she is a stake Relief Society president whose husband is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she is an accomplished academic and the founder of a nonprofit in Uganda that works with survivors of war. She describes how her life has evolved, the choices that have shaped her path, and the importance of sisterhood along the way.

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January 13th, 2012 by admin

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Flunking Sainthood

Flunking Sainthood

Jana Riess

Jana Riess was baptized in her final year of study at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her career plan to be a Protestant pastor derailed by her conversion, she now is an editor for a religious publishing house, teaches college, and writes about religion. Her most recent book, Flunking Sainthood, is a memoir about a year’s journey through spiritual practices.

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November 29th, 2011 by admin

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Joanna Brooks has emerged as an important commentator on Mormonism for mainstream media. In fact, this year Politico named her as one of 50 commentators to watch in America. She is currently the Chair of the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University. She writes about Mormonism and politics for Religion Dispatches and is the author of askmormongirl.com.

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July 28th, 2011 by admin

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…Somewhere He Opens A Window

…Somewhere He Opens A Window

Dagmar Patricia Kollmeier

As an ambitious young lawyer pursuing her doctorate at The Hague, The Netherlands, Dagmar was introduced to the Church through her roommate. After serving a mission at age 29, Dagmar landed her dream job on the Yugoslavia Tribunal at The Hague, only to give it up when she was specifically recruited to work instead in the Church’s public affairs department for Europe. Now as a mother and wife, Dagmar still works part-time as a general counsel to the Church in Frankfurt, Germany. It has sometimes been painful and lonely for her to follow those doors that have been opened to her and leave behind those that have been shut, but she believes the Lord is aware of her and is making use of her tremendous skills.

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June 22nd, 2011 by admin

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A Different Kind of Pioneer

A Different Kind of Pioneer

Bindu Sudhir Sabbavarapu

Bindu Sabbavarapu joined the church in her hometown of Visakhapatnam, India, in the face of cultural and familial barriers. She married another Indian Mormon and together they are striving to pursue lives that bear witness to their families of the goodness of the gospel. Soon after her marriage, Bindu immigrated to the United States, where she and her husband are pursuing advanced degrees and raising their 10-month-old baby girl. Although the gospel transcends culture, Bindu’s interview reflects the challenge of practicing a religion in a nation where Christians and Mormons in particular are a significant minority.

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June 9th, 2011 by admin

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Dressed for Success

Dressed for Success

Athelia Woolley LeSueur (CK)

When health challenges derailed CK’s dreams of being a dancer, she resourcefully pursued another interest, fashion design, which led her to start her own business: the modest dress company Shabby Apple. CK’s vision for her company stems from her belief that fashion can be a powerful tool for emphasizing women’s femininity and even their spirituality, as well as a tool for charitable giving. Recently married at 32, CK reflects on how the process of starting her own company has led to her mature views on marriage.

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April 20th, 2011 by admin

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Julia Klebingat grew up in Riga, Latvia, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Introduced to the Church when Brigham Young University’s Legacy Dixieland Band performed in her hometown, she married at 19 and attended Ricks College. Julia recounts the culture shock she experienced getting married, joining the Church and moving to the United States in such a short time, and the blessings that have come into her life since that time. She is preparing to move from Frankfurt, Germany, to Kiev, Ukraine, to serve alongside her husband, who will preside in the Ukraine, Kiev mission.

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March 23rd, 2011 by admin

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In Perfect Harmony

In Perfect Harmony

Liz Shropshire

Liz Shropshire is the founder and director of the Shropshire Music Foundation, which provides free musical instruments and instruction to former child soldiers and refugees in Kosovo, Uganda, and Northern Ireland. Since 1999, more than 10,000 young people have participated in Shropshire Music Foundation classes.

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March 9th, 2011 by admin

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The Mind of A Mother

The Mind of A Mother

Lia Collings

A student of Latin and Greek and a budding education reformer, Lia Collings is already engaged in teaching her three young daughters about these things she loves. Lia takes inspiration on how to intertwine her scholarly and motherly pursuits from the passel of mothers in her New Haven, CT, branch. She solicited and compiled a book of essays about their experiences, which she entitled Choosing Motherhood.

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