The Department of Religious Studies & Classics is happy to announce the winners of the Fall 2025 Lionel Rombach and Ora Bretall Scholarship Awards.
Ora Bretall Scholarship Awardees: Mykelti Nuamah and Stephanie Warnes
Lionel Rombach Scholarship Awardee: Edith Craig
Read (in their words) how majoring in Religious Studies has enriched their lives and studies:
Religious Studies has given me a way to understand people beyond labels and assumptions. I chose this major because I have always been interested in how belief, culture, and identity shape the way we see the world and care for one another. Through my classes, I have learned to look closely at stories, histories, and lived experiences, and it has changed how I think about community, ethics, and empathy. I have enjoyed being part of a field that asks big questions and gives space for many perspectives. Studying religion has helped me grow not only as a student, but as a future healthcare provider who wants to approach others with curiosity, respect, and compassion. It has reminded me that understanding people’s backgrounds and beliefs is an essential part of understanding their humanity.
-Mykelti Nuamah, Religious Studies for Health Professionals (RSHP) Major
Religious Studies has become one of the most meaningful parts of my education because it has allowed me to understand how people make sense of their lives, cultures, and experiences through stories, symbols, and beliefs. I have always been curious about theology and the human experience, and studying religion has given me the tools to think more thoughtfully about why people believe what they do and how those beliefs influence culture, behavior, and identity. I chose Religious Studies after realizing how much joy I found in engaging with material that examines meaning, morality, tradition, and the ways humans have expressed these ideas across time. I’ve come to appreciate how essential the academic study of religion is for understanding the whole person. What I have enjoyed most about the major is the way it encourages open-minded discussion and invites students to consider multiple perspectives with empathy and curiosity. I believe the academic study of religion is important because it helps us better understand both the differences and the shared experiences that connect people, allowing us to engage with the world and with one another with greater compassion and insight.
-Stephanie Warnes, Religious Studies Major
Religion has always been fascinating to me. I grew up surrounded by people with wildly different relationships to religion and was always interested in how impactful they could be! I came into college unsure of what I wanted to study, but determined to at least take some Religious Studies classes in the meantime. Of course that quickly spiraled into Majoring in it! The energy each teacher I had brought to their subject was infectious and I found my longtime fascination with Religion developing into a real desire to study it and learn everything I could! We are so lucky to have a staff full of professors who are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their fields. The study of religion is important for countless reasons, from the societal impact they have to the deep personal meanings they can carry. However, for me, the academic study of religion is important because it shows us how people learn to be, how stories and care have shaped societies, conflicts, and knowledge. Religions are the root of how we come to understand the unexplainable and contextualize living, and studying that is a never ending exploration of how people fall in love with life.
-Edith Craig, Religious Studies Major