Welcome to our new student-led episode series, Engaging in the Field: Student Stories from Field Education, that will be posted on Sundays during spring of 2021. One of our Divcast student interns, Evelyn Archer-Taminger, M.Div. ’21 is taking over the host role for this series. She connects with other current residential Master of Divinity students to tell stories of their experiences with Duke Divinity School’s Field Education program. Field Education is a required component of the M.Div. degree and serves as a valuable companion to classroom academic work. Students serving in contextual learning in a variety of placements including in churches, nonprofits, agencies, and in hospitals as clinical pastoral care interns nurtures growth both in their vocational discernment and in their spiritual lives.

In this first episode of the series, “Growing in Your Call,” Evelyn speaks with senior residential M.Div. students Kari Martin and Kyle MacDonald. Each has had a range of experiences with field education and weaves together how the placements they served in grew them in unexpected ways. Kari grew up part of a non-denominational church in Virginia and pursued placements at Duke where she could be formed in church settings affiliated with both the United Methodist Church and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While Kyle, came to Duke from Kentucky with tons of music ministry experience and grew his idea of what kinds of ministry God might be calling him into. Enjoy Evelyn’s conversation with her colleagues Kari and Kyle.

Due to the ongoing complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, pre-enrollment discernment opportunities for incoming students may be limited or eliminated. The Office of Field Education will make an official determination by April of 2021.