Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
I came in as a Biochem major
and I took a couple of
biology courses and really just fell in love with biology. So I switched to
a Biology major.
I've always been Pre-Med so I was following that path and
Bio fits really well with that. And then in the fall semester of my
sophomore year
I took professor Kumiko Endo's "Intro to Buddhism" course
as well as Dr. Julie Byrne's "What is religion?" into religion class.
And I just really fell in love with the professors and the department
and the subjects that I was learning. And the religion major here's
pretty flexible--they're willing to work with you and fit it into
what you're doing. So I became a religion major
the fall of my sophomore year.
I talked to people in different apartments that
really were focused on learning about people and culture and I was recommended
to look into global studies. So this semester I picked up a Global Studies
major as well.
and the religion major is not the theological study of religion,
it's the academic study.
And so we learn about what people believe
and how they take those beliefs and incorporate them into their daily lives.
There's really not a more useful major out there
because everybody you meet, religion affects them in some way.
They either have their own faith, they practice their own faith, or they
don't subscribe to a faith.
All those things are really important. And for people that
do have a faith it's usually a pretty big part of their life;
understanding what they believe, and practices that they do,
what they can and can't do according to their faith--that's really important at
making a lasting connection and a good impression on somebody when you first
meet them.
I was talking with Dr. Ann Burlein in the religion department
about possible internships where I could get credit for the religion department.
She and I had met a couple times and emailed back and forth, and I had actually
just started taking her "Buddhism in America" class, so
one day she said to me, "I think I might have a really good
opportunity for you. There is an alum of Hofstra
named Koshin Paley Ellison,
who cofounded with his partner the
New York 's Zen Center for Contemplative Care."
He suggested to me the foundations program that the Zen Center offers.
The foundations program
is pretty much an intro to chaplaincy training,
to become a certified chaplain.
It's a course, a graduate level course, that runs from September to May
and we meet at the Zen Center in Manhattan
one Friday and Saturday a month.
We went on a four-day retreat
at the Garrison Institute upstate
in the month of October for Contemplative Care Retreat.
And I also do clinical hours at Beth Israel Hospital.
It kind of just fell together really well that this worked with religion,
it worked with people,
it was clinical hours in the medical field and there was
plenty of interaction between doctors, nurses,
all the medical faculty that works in the hospital
but as well as patients. The chaplain work I'm doing in the hospital
it's the extern work I'm doing with the pastoral care department.
Its non-denominational, but the Zen Center teaches contemplative care
from a Buddhist lens. So, it not only was religion
in medicine, but it was also Buddhism, so it really was a just perfect fit.
When I volunteer at Beth Israel, I go in once or twice a week.
I go to the two floors that I am responsible for
and I see the head nurse and ask for
a list of the patients and then I just go from room to room
and introduce myself, say, "Hello, I'm Michael from pastoral care. How are you doing,
how are you feeling today?" And just start conversation with them. It's really
whatever the patient wants to talk about, if they want to talk about anything.
I also meet with family members
and also with the hospital staff if they are needing to talk.
After graduation, I'm going to take a
year break and teach English abroad
through a couple programs I've been looking out with Dr. Burlein.
Preferably in India, that way I can study Buddhism and
Indian religion, Indian philosophy in the actual area.
And then after that I'd like to go to grad school and get a master's in either
Buddhist Studies or religious studies.
And then after grad school, I'm planning on going to medical school.