The Dialogue Institute re-established its graduate internship program* this fall, and enthusiastically welcomed Jessica Sitek, a Ph.D candidate in the Temple University Department of Religion, into the role for the 2016-2017 academic year (and hopefully beyond!).
Jessica completed her M.A. in Religious Studies at Temple in 2010, specializing in the philosophy of religion and interreligious dialogue. She served as a field researcher with the DI (Spring 2012) and as a program associate for the DI's Study of the U.S. Institute (Summer 2015). For the past few years she has been an adjunct faculty member at Macomb Community College, teaching comparative religions.
More recently, she experienced the transformative potential of dialogue through an international fellowship with KAICIID, an intergovernmental organization based in Vienna, Austria which promotes the use of dialogue globally to prevent and resolve conflict, and enhance understanding and cooperation. Having completed her fellowship earlier this year, she is now serving as chair of the KAICIID Fellows Network Executive Committee, helping to direct and organize activities for fellows that reinforce relationships and foster collaboration, while also supporting continued training and development. Click here to see Jessica's KAICIID profile.
"My interest in interreligious dialogue began when as a youth engaged in my own community, I started observing how social and environmental issues brought people together from all sorts of backgrounds to work for the common good. How we can connect as human beings despite perceived boundaries," Jessica says. "This interest continues to grow for me."
Jessica has returned to the graduate program at Temple, and to the DI, to explore how dialogue applied to healthcare can transform the relationship between caregivers and recipients. She will be working on a variety of projects for the DI.
* the internship program is made possible by a $25,000 grant from Temple University, as well as generous donations from individual donors
