During my high school years, I began a religious inquiry that led me to embrace the theology of the Reformation. I had been raised in a Christian home, but I was freshly drawn to Presbyterianism because it demands meticulous attention to the text of Scripture and manifests an elegant systematic theology. As I learned more about my newly adopted tradition, I naturally desired to share that experience with others, and so I began preparing to become a clergyman.
After graduating from CCA in 2000, I journeyed 800 miles to Lookout Mountain, Georgia to attend Covenant College, where I earned a B.A. History. The experience shaped my thinking immeasurably. Because Covenant is an official denominational college (PCA), I learned both to challenge and to appreciate the beauty of what was then my tradition through what was then my particular discipline, historical research and writing. The benefit of my undergraduate education, therefore, was not merely the accumulation of facts but the maturation of a posture toward life which appreciates intricacy and subtlety and which refuses to gloss complication and contradiction. Though I entered Covenant with a monochromatic vision of the world, I departed with an increasingly colorful and detailed mosaic.
After graduating from Covenant in 2004, I accepted an internship position at my home church, Colleyville Presbyterian, where I served from 2004-2005. There I experienced both the joys and the demands of daily ministry alongside fellow staff members. I remain in awe of those whom I witnessed investing themselves in the work of the Church, but over that year I learned that their calling was not my own. During that same year, I had returned to teach at CCA, and I found that teaching suited me. During my three-year tenure at CCA (2004-2007), however, my carreer path led me away from CCA because I desired to pursue a Ph.D. and because of a piece of advice I received from Louise Cowan, who told me, “If you want to work with people and to gain mastery over your curriculum, then teach in high school. But if you want to work with texts and ideas and to quest after wisdom, then teach in a university.” At the time, I wanted to pursue the latter. Still, I treasure the memories of working alongside colleagues (some of whom were my former teachers) who devoted themselves fully to their students and who firmly believed in the enduring value of the liberal arts.
My graduate work had already begun in the summer of 2005 at the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, where I attended a class called “Tragedy and Comedy”. The class launched me into the graduate program at UD, which I continued for two years while still teaching at CCA. Graduate education continues to sharpen my thinking, reading, and writing. During the 2007-2008 school year, I began full-time graduate study and completed a Master’s degree in English. In 2008, I continued my studies by enrolling in a doctoral program in literature at UD.
While at the University of Dallas in 2010, I came into full communion with the Catholic Church. My reasons for making this decision were manifold, and I am reminded of Cardinal Newman’s famous answer, that the reasons for his own conversion were “not the kind of thing that can be properly explained between soup and the fish course.” My decision was, however, made as a result of a number of influences that I can list. First, I encountered devout Catholics at UD who shattered my preconceived notions of Catholic piety. I studied the life and writings of St. Thomas More, who later became my confirmation saint. Most importantly, I realized that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ. On Easter Vigil 2010, I received the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.
At present, I teach English at The Cambridge School of Dallas while continuing my doctoral studies.
