Looking back, it seems so obvious now that what I was seeking in my studies was the understanding of community. There are so many facets and disciplines within religious studies, but I really believe (and I think my beloved professors would agree) that community is and was the throughline of studies, both in the academic sense, and in what I was able to build.
The peers and colleagues I had at Georgia State formed one of the closest, kindest, and most supportive communities I’ve had in my life. Those connections endure to this day. I also brought this understanding of community into the work I performed after the completion of my degree. Working in communications for a global NGO, which I owe in large part to the nonprofit management concentration of my degree, I was exposed to so many communities across the globe, and I think the single most important thing I brought with me to this work was the empathy and ability to put myself in people’s shoes that I cultivated in my studies.
I am now pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland, and my writing is deeply informed by the work I did prior to this, which in turn was informed by my time at Georgia State.
So while my studies were never anything less than engaging, stimulating, and exciting, what I’m the most grateful for is the community I was gifted. Even as I write these very words, I can hear the sound of their mirthful laughter at my hilarious jokes, and see the nodding of their beautiful heads at my sage words. My eyes mist from the golden glow of memory, and my heart is warmed by the radiance of their smiles that I see when I close my eyes. Ahh yes, I see them now, waiting in the rooms of my memory palace… Hello friends…"
Ryan Mixson, MA 2017, Concentration in Nonprofit Management
MFA Student, University of St Andrews