The Women Scholars and Professionals Podcast

“Even though it looks like other people are better prepared, God has gifted this to you. He is with you and you have an amazing opportunity. Don’t miss it because you’re concerned about how you might not be prepared or that you feel like you’re in over your head. Just take what you can from that situation and appreciate it.” — Erin Devers Social psychologist and professor Erin Devers joins us on t...

“Do not put off rest or relaxation. Learn how to weave it in throughout your day. Schedule it as if it was another class or lecture you had to attend.”  — Tracie Braylock Holistic nurse educator Tracie Braylock joins us on the podcast to discuss stress, faith, and how to care for your whole body. What would change for each of us if we started the school year from a place of rest and relaxation? Au...

“Focusing on truth, goodness, and beauty first takes us outside of ourselves...but also it also changes who we are and how we are and how we do what we do.“ — Karen Swallow Prior Reader, writer, and erstwhile professor Karen Swallow Prior joins us on the podcast to discuss vocation, literature, and spiritual formation. What does it mean to have a calling and how does one begin to discover it? Kare...

"I start off with trying to make sure the student knows someone is looking forward to seeing them." — Jana Young How do you prepare to successfully kick off a new school year? Listen in on our first in a series of episodes where we answer some of your Dear Mentor questions. Hello, dear listeners! To start us off this August, we’re offering a re-broadcast of one of our favorite episodes to kick off...

“I think this would be a perfect time to choose to trust God with your future and with your present and just spend some time with him in nature, with other colleagues in prayer, in the word, etc.“ — Dr. Denise-Margaret Thompson Four esteemed guests join us on the podcast to discuss how we can reflect on this school year and enter into summer from a place of spiritual vitality. What does it look li...

“Doing your PhD is ... there's a lot of pressure for sure, but you never get that kind of space and time [again] to focus on a single project. As soon as you leave ... there are so many other demands in your time. The privilege of getting to sit with a topic for years and have so many people invest in the work that you're doing and speak into it and help you to improve it — it's so wonderful. I wo...

“Show up as your authentic self. Please don’t mold yourself into what you think you ought to be or how you think you ought to be received. Just be who God has called you to be, because when you do that, you give other women permission to be themselves, and I want my daughters to have that.”  — Nicole Massie Martin Executive leader and author Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin joins us on the podcast to...

“The pastor’s wife, in many ways, embodies the history of the Protestant church….Refocusing on her and putting her at the center helps us to understand the bigger picture of the role women play in church history and how women are overshadowed by these patriarchal structures.”  — Beth Allison Barr Historian and professor Beth Allison Barr joins us on the podcast to discuss women’s leadership in the...

“One of the practices I use a lot in clinical supervision with burned out and stressed therapist or academics is asking people to remember why we got into this work in the first place, remembering back about the original hope and intention for my life with this work. What was God’s call on my life?”  — Terri S. Watson Psychologist and professor Terri S. Watson joins us on the podcast to discuss th...

“I managed to divide myself in half. We can let our lives run on parallel tracks, and that is one way people deal with things. But it’s not healthy because the trains will collide.”  — Ruth Bancewicz Science and faith professional Ruth Bancewicz joins us on the podcast to discuss the integration of faith and science and the way churches can help. How does a scientist find space to express their fa...

“I like to think of bread-baking more in terms of liturgy than in terms of recipe.” — Kendall Vanderslice Author, baker, and theologian Kendall Vanderslice joins us on the podcast to discuss the way baking bread offers a gateway to prayer, theology, and community. Have you ever tried the spiritual practice of liturgical bread baking? Author, baker, and theologian Kendall Vanderslice joins us on th...

“If we were all created in the image of God, all of us who look so different...there is so much more to learn about God. So, I get one step closer to knowing God from exposing myself to different people...” — Khristi Lauren Adams Author and youth advocate Khristi Lauren Adams joins us on the podcast to discuss the theological insights we can learn from experiences of Black girlhood and how these t...

“What does success mean to you? What does that look like? What is yours to do? What isn't yours to do?” — Tracey Gee Author and consultant Tracey Gee joins us on the podcast to discuss the value of knowing our own desires and the barriers that get in the way of this knowledge. How do you respond when a friend asks, “What do you want?” Whether it is a simple question of choosing a restaurant for di...

“Find your Elizabeth. Find the person who sees the gifts in you and names them. That’s really significant.”  — Jerusha Matsen Neal Author and professor Jerusha Matsen Neal joins us on the podcast to discuss the importance of place as we consider the spiritual implications of climate change around the world. In our world today, the effects of climate change have become more and more inescapable. Bu...

“Do what you do with love. Whether you’re gonna teach physics coming out of Cambridge and Harvard or whether you’re gonna go teach first-year English at your local community college — do it your best and do what you do with love..”  — Julie Lane-Gay Author and horticulturist Julie Lane-Gay joins us on the podcast to discuss the ways the Book of Common Prayer has transformed her spiritual life. As...

“Do what you and your family need. Let go of the cultural and even the church expectations. Just take time to behold — to behold the wondrous mystery of Christ among us and Christ in us and Christ born for us.”  — Leslie Leyland Fields Author and writing teacher Leslie Leyland Fields joins us on the podcast to discuss the beautiful messiness of Advent and the joys of writing one’s own story. As we...

"We need to be cautious about hyperbole, about dramatizing things before they are reality. One of the major issues we are facing in politics for a decade or more now is the erosion of truth, the erosion of fact based information and that comes in lots of different forms and lots of different directions, but the misrepresentation of one another and the ways that fear is evoked in people is extremel...

“I love the relational dimension of teaching, where you get to meet someone at the point of their curiosity or openness, right at their learning edge, and help them into a place of seeing something more complexly or shifting a perspective in such a way that it changes something, for them and for me. It feels magical to me. It still does, after so many years. I think teaching is a pastoral ministry...

“The core message for leaders is that before you do anything, that relationship with the Lord is the central piece.... The Lord loves you independently of anything you do.”  — Sheila Wise Rowe & Nicholas Rowe Authors Sheila Wise Rowe and Nicholas Rowe join us on the podcast to talk about the inner work required to lead as a secure and healing-centered person.  What does it take to invest in ou...

“The biggest thing is to affirm ourselves and not wait for anyone or any room or anyone with any degree or any letters behind their name to affirm our voice and to say that our voice matters. We need to say it to ourselves and for ourselves.”  — Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez  Author Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez joins us on the podcast to talk about cultivating communities that offer a sense of safety...

“If you have two choices, go with the one that’s going to ask you to become a larger person, not the one you think you are capable of doing in that moment. That would be my advice to women…. Do the thing that you don’t think you can do right now and ask God to make you adequate for that.”  — Shirley Mullen Author and Houghton University president emerita Shirley Mullen joins us on the podcast to t...

“When I practice receiving the love of God, opening myself to receive the love of God, I’m blessed by that encounter, understanding that God is love. He is the very essence of love. The very essence of God is love.”  — Barbara L. Peacock Author and spiritual director Dr. Barbara Peacock joins us on the podcast to talk about the ways attending to the care of our souls impacts our lives.  How can we...

"Your education is not just about the knowledge-acquisition, it’s not just about the degree at the end, but it’s also about your formation. How would God speak to you through whatever class you’re in, whatever program you’re in, through the community of scholars you’re a part of? Be looking for that too." — Rob Dixon Authors Amy and Rob Dixon join us on the podcast to talk about encouraging women...

"In your heart of hearts — your deepest conviction — do you believe that God is sufficient for your need? Because if we don’t, it’s treating perfection like an idol in our life. We can become enslaved to the point where it distorts us." — Joanna Meyer Listen in on our summer book club interview as Women Scholars and Professionals director Karen Guzmán conducts an online discussion with author Joan...

"You're someone who's smart and who's capable and God has plans for those gifts." —Dr. Jennifer Holberg What is the best advice you've heard about starting the school year? Listen in to some of the wisest moments from our podcast in this special back-to-school episode. We’re looking toward a fresh school year and thinking especially about those of you who might be looking for some tips and tricks...