I’ve got so many happy memories from my REL classes. But honestly, as nerdy as it sounds, I’ve gotten the most joy from writing my research papers for my religion seminars…Just the activity of being deep into your books at the library, and finally the “aha” moment comes and the writing comes out exactly like you need it to. I remember how happy and proud of myself I felt after I finished my first research paper for Religion and Empire – it was a defining moment for me for sure.

– audrey ashdown

Why did you major in Religion?

Coming to UVM, I had no plan to study religion. During freshman year, I was in the LASP program as a Humanities Scholar and took Professor Borchert’s class Religion: Ghosts in the City. Quickly into that course, I remember thinking that I had no idea religion courses were like this. I was pleasantly surprised. I kept pondering adding Religion to my degree and eventually made it my minor, but I kept enrolling in more and more religion classes…until eventually my minor was done. I had no plan to stop taking REL classes and it fit well with my Global Studies major, so I added it as another major! It was one of the best decisions I made in my academic journey.

Where do you imagine yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully doing something that I love! Over the next few years, I’d like to keep seeing the world and learning. After that, I’d like to help people in one way or another. I’m not sure if that will take the form of a more career-based role or something more unstructured. Also, I’d love to get more people interested in the study of religion, so I hope to explore what that may look like for me!

Imagine a first-year student has asked your advice about REL courses. What’s the one she shouldn’t dream about missing? Why?

Religion and Empire with Prof Morgenstein Fuerst! I have come to love REL seminar courses and the unstructured approach to learning they offer. For me, Religion and Empire was one of my favorite classes that I’ve taken at UVM. With Religion and Empire, you learn how related the two are and you gain a lot of context about how the world works. Plus, you learn that when it comes to imperialism, you’ve got to question everything!

If you could write any book, what would it be?

I love learning about Morocco and/or North Africa, so definitely something related to that. My first thought would be some sort of combination of art history and religion. I’d love to look at sacred spaces (places/buildings) across Morocco while analyzing the history of religious diversity across the country. In my free time, I love to watercolor and draw buildings. So a dream would be to illustrate and write my own book and document these sites myself. Maybe one day!

Any fond memories of the Department you want to share?

I’ve got so many happy memories from my REL classes. But honestly, as nerdy as it sounds, I’ve gotten the most joy from writing my research papers for my religion seminars. Thanks to these REL seminars I’ve learned how much I enjoy the research process. Just the activity of being deep into your books at the library, and finally the “aha” moment comes and the writing comes out exactly like you need it to. I remember how happy and proud of myself I felt after I finished my first research paper for Religion and Empire – it was a defining moment for me for sure.

Anything we missed? Anything else you want to say?

I encourage anyone and everyone to take a REL class, I promise they are worth it! In my opinion, it’s misunderstood as an academic field and quite more broad than one may think. Try something new, take a REL course!