Browsing by Subject "Religious leadership"
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Item Aisha Fall Interview(2022-10-10) Institute for Diversity & Civic Life; Department of Religious StudiesThis interview is with Aisha Fall, a Senegalese-American Muslim in Chicago, IL. Aisha shares memories from her childhood, including friendships, schooling, and travels to Senegal and France. She describes her time at UTSA and her involvement with the MSA there. While there, she attended the Muslim Children Education and Civic Center where she became a leader on the Youth Committee. She talks about her experience there and the influential people she worked with.Item Neil Blumofe Interview(2021-03-16) Institute for Diversity & Civic LifeThis interview is with Rabbi Neil Blumofe, leader of the Agudas Achim congregation at the Dell Jewish Community Center. Rabbi Blumofe speaks about what the future may look like for congregations that want to maintain the benefits of online worship while eventually returning to traditional services. He considers the challenge of balancing a plurality of needs and perspectives in a community of diverse voices.Item Ora Houston Interview(2022-04-06) Institute for Diversity & Civic Life; Department of Religious StudiesThis interview is with Ora Houston, a long-time civil servant and former city council member in Austin, TX. Ora describes the influences of her early life, like her mother’s social work, her education, experiencing Jim Crow segregation, and her exposure to and choice of religion. She talks about her involvement in the Episcopal church as a lay leader and how her religious convictions influence her work to uplift the voices of underrepresented people. She discusses her years of civil service and her four-year term in the Austin city council representing District One.Item Saleem Shabazz Interview(2021-12-22) Institute for Diversity & Civic Life; Department of Religious StudiesThis interview is with Saleem Shabazz, a retired postal worker and Air Force veteran living in Longview, TX. Saleem tells about his childhood, describing his family dynamics, the places he lived, and being Baptist in his youth. He talks about travel and work in the Air Force and being exposed to different cultures and beliefs. Saleem discusses converting to Islam and his experience of the hajj. He also talks about his engagement with his Muslim communities over the years, including being and imam for a time, and his observations on social and political change in the US.Item Shuchita Chaitanya Interview(2021-04-22) Institute for Diversity & Civic Life; Department of Religious StudiesThis interview is with Brahmacharini Shuchita Chaitanya, a monk in training at the Chinmaya Mission of Austin. Shuchita tells the story of how her questions about happiness, balance, and goodness led her toward the path to monkhood. She describes the process of taking a Vedanta course through the Chinmaya Mission in India, and how she decided at the course’s end to take the yellow robes of a monk in training. Shuchita also talks about acclimating to her duties in Austin and getting to know her community before and during the pandemic.