#1: Snapshot Cristina Ferri
- Where do you call home?
- Home is next to my puppy. Buddy. More specifically, we live in Cranston, RI.
- What program are you part of?
- I am currently in the MACF program but hoping to switch over to MDiv soon.
- What drew you to NPTS?
- I was really nervous about doing an online curriculum for something that really requires relationships. I attended the orientation in person and got to meet the staff and that truly solidified for me that I was home and a part of something bigger than just staring at my computer screen at home. Over the course of my time at NPTS, intensives and Midwinter courses have been extremely important in order to continue having real life experience and build up relationships with other students.
- What brings you joy in ministry?
- The biggest joy I find when God keeps connecting the dots. My heart has always felt closest to those who feel alone or discarded by society. With the ministries I am involved in, I am constantly able to show people they are loved and walk with them in building up their relationship with God. It’s truly a joy when someone asks me to pray for them. For me, it’s another dot that God is connecting to bring us closer together in His kingdom.
- If you could immediately become an expert in something, what would it be?
- I would love to be able to be fluent in both musical instruments and languages.
- What is one random fact about you?
- I daydream about starting a Retreat Center/Bed & Breakfast in Iceland.
Snapshot #2: Ali Calikoglu
- Where do you call home?
- Since 2017, I have lived in Mount Prospect, IL. Beforehand, I lived in Istanbul for seven years. Although I adopted both Mount Prospect and Istanbul as my home, I think that my real home is where I spent my childhood. And that is a small and pretty city on the northern coast of Turkey, called Ordu.
- What program are you part of?
- I am in Master of Arts in Theological Studies.
- What drew you to NPTS?
- As a matter of fact, I did not know anything about NTPS before. After I decided to continue my education in Seminary, I checked the schools around me in google map. And I found several schools in Chicago. North Park was one of them. I checked the website of the university and found out that NPTS has a long experience in Theological Studies. Then, without losing any time, I filled the application for the MA program.
- What brings you joy in ministry/studying?
- Learning the experiences and thoughts of people in history brings me joy in studying. To discover their culture, lifestyle, and theological reflection makes me really curious and joyful.
- If you could immediately become an expert in something, what would it be?
- I am really into the listening to the piano and have been doing that for almost seven years. But I do not know how to play it. So, If I could immediately become an expert in something, it would definitely be playing the piano.
- What is one random fact about you?
- Some of my friends and I founded a journal in Turkey and published almost for a year. Hayalperest, the name of the journal, was about art, history, theology and religion. Even though we had great success in a year, due to some issues we stopped publishing Hayalperest.
Snapshot #3: Dana Huang
- Where do you call home?
- San Jose, California has been my home for the last 5 years!
- What program are you part of?
- I’m part of the IGNITE Cohort Program as part of the Pacific SouthWest Conference. I’m working towards a Masters in Christian Formation
- What drew you to NPTS?
- The ease of earning a degree and the affordability of the program. I am still able to work full time in ministry and work on my seminary education at the same time.
- What brings you joy in ministry?
- I love to see students come alive in prayer and experience God’s healing and the fullness of life He has for them. One of my favorite things to do is to help students listen to the voice of God for themselves and help them discern what He is saying. When students have those experiential encounters with God, faith becomes more real to them.
- If you could immediately become an expert in something, what would it be?
- I’d want to be fluent in Mandarin Chinese. It’s my 10 year goal to reach conversational fluency. I’d love to skip the hard part of that process!
- What is one random fact about you?
- My hands are the same size as most 4th graders.