Stephanie Raby-Reeger is honored to be the
recipient of the Student of the Fall 2016 Semester award. She does not often think of herself as a
leader, but is honored to have left a positive impression on fellow
students and faculty.
Raby-Reeger is
terminally hopeful that our world will know a time when humanity can peacefully
coexist, and is also deeply aware that it is in the friction between knowledge
and ignorance that people are able to demand accountability of
character in order to stimulate positive change. It is from this foundation that she has found
herself desiring to study humanity in all of its expressions. As both an anthropology and religious studies
major, in her first junior semester she is working towards being a
bridge-builder. In this capacity, she is
hopeful to help others to understand each other, as many scholars
strive to do.
As she developed her undergraduate education agenda, she realized that no study is truly complete without religion. Even though she does not currently identify with
any specific religion, religion has profoundly
influenced her life. It is in everything we do, ingrained in how we
think—whether we like it or not. For
many, it is a solemn responsibility; for others, a source of pain and
suffering, or a source of healing and rejuvenation.
As a member
of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council, representing the student body of the
Religious Studies Department, Raby-Reeger is hopeful that she can encourage prospective IUP
students to join the Religious Studies Department in building these many bridges. We are living during a time when these
bridges are needed—now possibly more than ever. As Nelson Mandela once put it, “No one is
born hating another person because of the color of his[/her/their] skin, or
his[/her/their] background, or his[/her/their] religion. People must learn to hate, and, if they learn
to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human
heart than its opposite.”