The community celebrated incoming students with words of welcome, reflection, and hope
September 2025 – Drew Theological School celebrated the arrival of its newest graduate students during the annual hybrid Fall Matriculation Service, a cherished tradition that marks the official beginning of their academic journey.
Students were welcomed into the Drew community and invited to sign the 150-year-old matriculation book, a rite of passage linking generations of Drew scholars. The service reflects the Theological School’s enduring commitment to academic excellence, spiritual formation, and community engagement, setting the tone for a transformative experience.
Dean Edwin David Aponte greeted the incoming class of nearly 100 students, who represent 10 states and 12 countries. The class spans four continents from locations as near as New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, and as far as Iowa, Oklahoma, South Korea, Argentina, The Gambia, and Kenya.
“Matriculation at Drew Theological School means a celebration of beginnings,” said Aponte. “We pause to consider the importance of embarking on this path of learning together.”
University President Hilary L. Link, PhD, also extended her welcome. “Follow your own heart, think across themes and disciplines, and help be the solution for our world’s great challenges,” she said. “You have been called here to learn and grow in order to do just that. I am thrilled to be on this journey with you all.”
The matriculation address, “Weaving Otherwise: From Diagnosis to Dialogue,” was delivered by Assistant Professor of Religion, Society, and Ecofeminism Elaine Nogueira-Godsey.
“Your journey here at Drew Theological School is a liminal space—between the person you were when you arrived and the person you are becoming,” said Nogueira-Godsey. “The liminal space is the perfect workshop, the perfect loom, for learning how to weave otherwise. Your task here is not merely to acquire knowledge to perfect the art of diagnosis. Here we undertake the difficult, sacred, and ultimately joyful work of weaving our many threads, our many stories, into a shared tapestry of a more just, more compassionate, and more interconnected world.”
Prior to the signing, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Robert Seesengood shared the rich history of the Matriculation Book and its symbolic importance. Each student who signs it, he noted, adds their name to the same record as Drew’s inaugural class, bridging the past and present.
“What’s your name? What’s your story?” Seesengood asked. “I enjoy inviting you to come and add your name to this story that we’re telling together.”
