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Religion & Philosophy Department

Alumni & Careers

Religion & Philosophy graduates often go on to further career training in graduate studies. They also find careers in church leadership, non-profit organizations, community development, counseling, business and more. 

Religion Alumni Spotlight

Recent Religion alumni now in seminary:

Duke Divinity School—Grayson Hicks, ’17 and Timothy Hale, ’16;

Emory University’s Candler School of Theology—Mary Sue Renner, ’17

Other alumni include:

Anne Marie McLean, 2014; M.T.S., Candler School of Theology, and currently working on M.L.I.S., University of Alabama; Music and Media Desk Coordinator, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University

Rachel Witt, 2013; M.Div., Duke Divinity School; Associate Pastor, Oak Ridge (TN) United Methodist Church

Elizabeth Wassum, 2012; Program Coordinator for Community and Donor Relations, Brunswick Community College, North Carolina

Richard Aylor, 2011; M.Div. Princeton Theological Seminary; Chaplain Resident, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, NC

Timothy Best, 2011; M.Div. Duke Divinity School; Pastor, Madam Russell UMC, Saltville, VA

Alexandra Veatch, 2010; Creative Communications and Event Manager, Highlands Community Services, Abingdon, VA

Andrea Reily Rocha, 2007; M.Div., Boston University School of Theology; Regional Missionary in Latin America for United Methodist Women, United Methodist Church

Zachary Dresser, 2005; M.A.R., Yale Divinity School, and Ph.D., American Religious History, Rice University; Placement Counselor, Southern Teachers Agency, Charlottesville, VA

Jamie Turner Henthorn, 2005; Ph.D., English Studies, Old Dominion University; Assistant Professor of English, Catawba College

Joshua Ashton Hill, 2003; M.Div., Yale Divinity School; Chaplain and Theology Department Chair, Holderness School, Plymouth, NH

Laura Lambert McLean, 2003; Associate Director, Youth and College Connectional Ministries, Holston Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church

Chalmer Harper, 2002; General Manager, KWFC Christian Radio, Springfield, MO

Robert Thomas, 2001; Consul-General at U.S. Consulate General, Montreal, Canada

Wil Cantrell, 2001; M.Div. Duke Divinity School; Associate Pastor at Concord UMC, Knoxville, TN, and author of Unafraid and Unashamed: Facing the Future of United Methodism

Christy Bonner, 2000; M.Div., Candler School of Theology, and D.Min., Louisville Presbyterian Seminary; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Hospice Chaplain, Chattanooga, TN

Michael Turner, 1997; M.Div., Candler School of Theology, and Ph.D. in American Religious History, Vanderbilt University; Associate Professor of the History of Christianity and Wesleyan Studies, Memphis Theological Seminary

Phillip M. Sherman, 1996; M.Div. and Ph.D in Hebrew Bible, Emory University; Associate Professor of Religion, Maryville College, and author of Babel’s Tower Translated: Genesis 11 and Ancient Jewish Interpretation

Jennifer Coulter Stapleton, 1996; M.Div., Iliff School of Theology; Manager, Communications, Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, D.C.

Philosophy Alumni Spotlight

Lillian Minx, ’15, artist, Abingdon, VA

Sarah Welch, ’13, graduate student, George Mason University

Jonathan Jonas, minister, State Street United Methodist Church, Bristol, VA

David Graybeal, Methodist minister

Alex Johnson, attorney

Nik Snyder, graduate school, Ohio State University

Meet Our Alumni

  • <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/156-stewart-whitmore-plein"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,400,300/29_1dee3c8e17be67fe60d501abf5d16fd1_f73851.rev.1491320868.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,400,300/29_1dee3c8e17be67fe60d501abf5d16fd1_f73851.rev.1491320868.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,400,300/29_1dee3c8e17be67fe60d501abf5d16fd1_f73851.rev.1491320868.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="400" data-max-h="300" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/156-stewart-whitmore-plein"><p> Stewart Whitmore Plein (’82) Becomes Rare Books Specialist</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Stewart Plein (E&H ’82), Assistant Curator for West Virginia Books & Printed Resources & Rare Book Librarian at West Virginia University, has received her certification in rare book librarianship from the University of Virginia’s renowned Rare Book School (RBS), the top professional development program for rare book and special collection librarians, rare book sellers and collectors.</p><p> “Rare book librarianship isn’t for the faint of heart,” said Tom Congalton, an RBS instructor. “There is an enormous barrier to acquiring the necessary knowledge and practical experience required to be an effective special collections librarian, and it isn’t always easy to know where to start. Stewart has the energy, the motivation and the tenacity to go out and acquire that knowledge in order to master a subject that isn’t always inclined to reveal itself easily.”</p><p> Jay Cole, senior advisor to the president at WVU, applauds Plein for her dedication to the Rare Book Room and work to enhance the academic environment at WVU. “The library is the heart of any university and information circulated by the library is a university’s lifeblood. Within our wonderful Libraries, WVU is very fortunate to have an outstanding Rare Books Collection, with items from William Shakespeare to Isaac Asimov,” Cole said. “We are equally fortunate to have a rare book librarian such as Stewart Plein, whose passion is matched only by her expertise.”</p><p> Stewart’s love of books took her from reader to researcher to bookseller to librarian. She says she had a career direction change after attending a seminar for antiquarian book dealers in 2003. She decided to volunteer at the West Virginia University Library in Morgantown, and ended up an assistant to the Special Collections Librarian.</p><p> At E&H Stewart had a double major in history and religion.  She then earned her degree in library science at the University of South Carolina before succeeding her mentor, Harold Forbes, as Rare Books Librarian and Assistant Curator of West Virginia Books and Printed Resources, and as Assistant University Librarian. She has duties in the Downtown Campus Library and the West Virginia & Regional History Center, both in Morgantown.</p><p> She is also extensively published. Her work covers a wide range of topics, including the impact of art and design on the marketplace and nineteenth century book manufacturing and technology; books as historical artifacts; the cultural impact of books; dissemination of ideas and rare book pedagogy as primary resources for undergraduate research; 19th- century publishers’ book binding design and manufacture; the history of Appalachian law books and newspapers; and the impact of book binding design and the development of stereotype in Appalachia.</p><p> Stewart said the most inspiring part of the RBS course came from a guest lecturer who raised the question about how to go forward with collecting rare material. “It gave me a new insight into the future of book collecting institutionally. It’s about looking ahead rather than back at things we already have.” As a result, she is focusing on materials that are now becoming rare. For example, there is a growing interest in items from the 1940s through the 1990s that already are becoming scarce despite being mass produced. For instance, WVU Libraries recently acquired a collection of magazines (or zines) that were published in San Francisco by West Virginia poet, Sutton Breiding, in the 1970s. “Zines have become quite collectible,” Plein said. “They were just things that were traded between friends, they didn’t really have a production run, they were printed off on mimeograph machines, but they documented important pop culture moments so they really need to be collected or we’ll lose them.”</p><p> She is also turning her attention to what has long been an under-represented area in the rare books collection, the works of African-American West Virginians from late 19<sup>th</sup> to early 20<sup>th</sup> century.</p><p> West Virginia was home to many of the nation’s most important African-American activists and leaders: Booker T. Washington, author and educator; Carter G. Woodson, author, historian and journalist; Anne Spencer, Harlem Renaissance poet; and J.R. Clifford, Civil War veteran, newspaper publisher, co-founder of the Niagra Movement with W.E. B. Dubois, and West Virginia’s first African-American attorney.</p><p> Stewart says introducing students to primary sources with rare books is the best part of her work day. “I never tire of seeing that moment when a student’s eyes light up when they handle a rare book for the first time!”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/156-stewart-whitmore-plein" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
  • <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/696-sue-hubble"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,600,450/346_2fb4c0f25780206e3e6c55979f2ecc13_f5894.rev.1500314840.webp 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,600,450/346_2fb4c0f25780206e3e6c55979f2ecc13_f5894.rev.1500314840.jpg 1x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,600,450/346_2fb4c0f25780206e3e6c55979f2ecc13_f5894.rev.1500314840.jpg" alt="" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="600" data-max-h="450" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/696-sue-hubble"><p> End of an Era </p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Sue Thompson Hubble (E&H ’69) just retired from a life of service to the United Methodist Church. On January 31, she was embraced by the congregation at Dublin United Methodist Church for almost 40 years of service to that church. Previously she served State Street UMC in Bristol and St. Paul UMC in Wytheville. She was hired to work at Dublin by Rev. Henry Holt (E&H ’54, deceased).</p><p> Current Dublin UMC pastor, Rev. Don Hanshew (E&H ’96) delivered a sermon about the fruits of the spirits (Galatians 5:22-23) to make a point that Sue’s influence on her church and her community  had been fruitful in all the ways we are called to be so. His children’s sermon reminded the youngest congregation members to leave a lasting, positive imprint on those around them – the way Sue has.</p><p> After church, Sue’s family members and congregation members gathered to tell stories and laugh.  Never afraid to be the subject of the joke, Sue even told a story on herself about her first staff meeting at State Street when they were discussing a Bible study on “euthanasia” – and she listened awhile before asking what the “youth in Asia” had to do with end-of-life decisions. Rev. Hanshew said, “It’s not that Sue is perfect…she is one of us…and she has loved us through our imperfections the way we have loved her through hers.”</p><p> Church members were eager to let Sue know much she was appreciated. Former DUMC member Monica Hoel (E&H ’85) noted that Sue’s long career at DUMC had made her an integral figure in the lives of several generations of church members. “I met Sue when I was I was a kid, and I always tell people that she helped raise me. And no matter how old I get, I still go to Sue for guidance.” Beth Howe Ratcliffe (E&H ’85), still a member of DUMC said, “Susie has been there for every good and bad thing that has happened in our family. She is always there for anything we need. She’s family.”</p><p> Sue was gracious in her acceptance of the accolades, telling the congregation, “I’ve seen God in each of you, and I’ve experienced heaven on this earth.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/696-sue-hubble" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
  • <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2485-catherine-wiedman"><picture class="lw_image"><source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.webp 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.jpg 3x" data-origin="responsive"/><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.jpg" alt="Catherine Wiedman, E&H Class of 2017" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,115,1876,1989/5777_Catherine_Wiedman_Headshot.rev.1545251220.jpg 3x" data-max-w="1876" data-max-h="1874" loading="lazy" data-optimized="true"/></picture></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2485-catherine-wiedman"><p> Catherine Wiedman is the Communications Coordinator for the Fairfax Bar Association.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Catherine Wiedman graduated from Emory & Henry in 2017 with degrees in Mass Communications and Philosophy.</p><p> She has wasted no time putting her education to work, and in August of 2018 she became the Communications Coordinator for the Fairfax Bar Association (FBA). The FBA is a professional organization with more than 2,000 practicing attorneys who serve in the Commonwealth of Virginia.<br/><br/> Catherine’s job is to oversee all digital and print media relating to the FBA, draft weekly newsletters to membership, and design flyers, programs, informational sheets, and other marketing materials for organization events. She is also in charge of social media posts and the organization’s website.  And she designs and oversees content for a quarterly magazine.</p><p> Catherine’s college experiences included serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Whitetopper and interning as a reporter for the <em>Smyth County News & Messenger</em>. But she says those things really helped prepare her for what she’s doing in the professional world. “There’s no way to really prepare for the world after graduation, but my experiences at E&H, specifically in the Mass Communications department, definitely provided me with the knowledge and confidence I needed to land this position and succeed in it. My job allows me to use many of the skills I gained in college and express my creativity in order to help people. I think that really exemplifies what we were taught in the MCOM department (but don’t tell Dr. Finney I said that!).”</p><p> (Dr. Mark Finney, by the way, is a mass communications professor at Emory & Henry.)</p><p> She is also busy in her community serving as a volunteer kitten snuggler at the Fairfax County Humane Society.</p><p> Catherine says the best thing about her job is the chance to make a lasting impact on her community.</p><p> “The work I do for the FBA directly affects our efforts in the community. I communicate with our members to gain donations for our Pro Bono program and recruit volunteers for court tours. The FBA offers many wonderful benefits to Fairfax County, and every day I get to communicate those programs in effective and creative ways. Attorneys also send us gift baskets sometimes; that’s pretty great.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2485-catherine-wiedman" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>