Religion Department | RPE Students

STUDENTS: PROJECTS & PERSPECTIVES

Religion and Public Engagement concentrators embrace Wake Forest’s core value of study and work pro-humanitate–for humanity. They want break out of the Wake Forest bubble and make a difference in the world; and they want to be paid for what they love to do. They are passionate about their academic work, their internships and their futures.

Katie Bradburn

’13 Religion & Chemistry

Internship: Summer 2011, “Spirituality and Medicine: Modernization and the Traditional Marpuche Culture” (Chile)

“The RPE concentration has given me a new set of lenses through which I can view the world. In order to engage successfully with those around us, we must seek to know and understand them deeply. Such knowledge and understanding is found by learning about their worldview, or as the Mapuche of south-central Chile would say, cosmovision, which is deeply sewn into their being. When this great task is accomplished we can truly religiously engage with the public successfully, in an interfaith manner, and accomplish more together than we could ever imagine doing on our own.”

Erin Cassidy

‘12 Religion and Art

Internship: Summer 2012, Red Dog Gallery, Community Outreach Coordinator

“I declared a concentration in Religion and Public Engagement because I am interested in seeing communities heal and flourish, and have seen outreach attempted in problematic ways throughout my life. RPE provided a way to learn about and discuss real community problems, and work towards positive change alongside my peers, professors, and other community leaders.

My courses in RPE have helped me realize how religion can be grounds for mutual understanding and cooperation to pursue justice in the world. My professors have challenged my own assumptions, and allowed for me to actually get involved in the community and get my hands dirty, so to speak.”

George Aldhizer