The Department of Religious Studies and Classics is happy to announce the winners of the Lionel Rombach and Ora Bretall Scholarship Awards for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Awardee for the Ora Bretall Scholarship is: Roland Swedlund .
Awardee for the Lionel Rombach Scholarship is: Violet King.
Congratulations to our outstanding Religious Studies majors!
Read (in their words) how majoring in Religious Studies has enriched their lives and studies:
Roland Swedlund:
I transferred to the University of Arizona as a Studio Art major. I thought I would minor in Religious Studies to take some classes on Buddhism because I have always wanted to learn more about it. I decided to add Religious Studies as a second degree when I realized that the academic study of religion is a mind-expanding tour that spans the globe throughout history and intersects with every aspect of life through a variety of academic approaches. Every single course has been totally engaging and challenged me to become a better reader, writer, and thinker.
Violet King:
I chose to major in Religious Studies because I’m interested in different ways to view consciousness and the human experience. In this major, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with Buddhist monks, experts in altered states, neuroscientists specializing in religious experiences, practitioners of traditional medicine, experts in mystical poetry, and people from all different religious traditions. I will be leaving the university a much better person than I came in, and I believe it was largely due to the worldviews I explored in this major. There’s no better way to explore what it means to be a person, what it means to be part of a community, or what it means to live in the world so much as to study religion.