Christina Leone Named First Lavan Scholar
June 5, 2007
Christina Leone, a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Memphis and an active member of the Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church has been awarded the first Spencer and Susan Lavan Scholarship for Excellence at Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Leone says she will forego her studies at the University of Memphis in order to attend Meadville Lombard full time and pursue what she has quietly always wished to do: be a minister.
“I never admitted it, that I wanted to be a minister,” said Leone who says she grew up “unchurched.” “Even as a kid, I would build churches for my dolls,” she laughed. But, because she did not grow up linked to any religious faith, she thought it odd to think she should be a minister. This lead her to pursue what she thought was the next best thing for her: a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Southern Methodist University in 2004, and then her doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Behavioral Medicine.
Leone says she will have completed her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology when she begins at Meadville Lombard in the fall of 2007, and that many of her colleagues at the University of Memphis think she is, well, “crazy” to walk away from this program. But Leone says she doesn’t feel as if she is so much walking away from one goal as walking toward her life’s dream: to minister in a way that feels authentic and in the faith tradition she finally found five years ago—Unitarian Universalism.
Leone says while she believed she was meant to be a minister, she never found a denomination she was passionate about, even though she attended many different churches during college “desperately seeking a religious community.” Then she found the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, “with the ever-fabulous Laurel Hallman” about five years ago. “When I discovered Unitarian Universalism, it was such a relief,” said Leone, “to find a church community that was open-minded, loving, and accepting.”
When she moved to Memphis to attend graduate school, Leone began attending Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church and began volunteering in a number of ways: as Interim Religious Education Director, Religious Education Teacher, OWLS (Our Whole Lives Sexuality) Educator, Worship Associate and Religious Education Committee Chair. She also volunteered as a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader in Cordova, Tennessee, even though she did not have any children of her own in the troop.
Lee Barker, President of Meadville Lombard, says he selected Christina Leone as the first Lavan Scholar from the applicants provided to him from the faculty because of her doctoral work as well as the practical orientation of her desire for ministry.
“The Lavans were hopeful that this scholarship would increase the depth of scholarship at Meadville Lombard,” said Barker, “and there’s no question in my mind that their intention was to elicit applications of the caliber of excellence such as Christina Leone’s.”
The Lavans are delighted with the selection of Leone as the first Lavan Scholar. “We look forward to getting to know her in her continuing path to ministry,” said Dr. Spencer Lavan, who served as president and dean of Meadville Lombard from 1988 to 1996. Susan Lavan adds that Leone’s “work with youth in the church as well as with children at a professional level will be an inspiration to the entire Meadville Lombard community.”
Leone says this scholarship is an enormous vote of confidence for her. “I knew I could do this, that at least academically I’d be fine. But I grew up in a home where I didn’t go to church and to have the members of this faculty and the Lavans tell me they believe I’ll be able to succeed as a minister, that’s just not something I expected. I am extremely grateful for the generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Lavan and the Meadville community for this opportunity.”
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Contact:
Tina Porter tporter@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 ext. 236
