Senator Scott: Finding community and connection

  1. Student spotlight: A second chance at seminary
  2. Student spotlight: Pay attention to the “bread crumbs”
  3. Student spotlight: Relationship leads to Union
  4. Student spotlight: The twisting path to seminary
  5. Student spotlight: Longtime educator yearns to learn more
  6. Student Spotlight: Dana Purdom digs deep
  7. Alec Powell: The Unconventional Call
  8. Kate Meeks: Theology & Food Justice
  9. Nancy Myer: Lifelong learning
  10. Senator Scott: Finding community and connection
  11. Colleen Earp: Camping, conservation, and chickens
  12. In “Reference” to Paula Skreslet
  13. Paul Smith: From police officer to pastor
  14. Heather Woodworth Brannon advocates for housing justice in Richmond

Student Spotlight

BY MOLLIE TRAINUM

Senator Scott was a teacher for 13 years until a significant life event led him to move to three different cities, change career tracks, and further his education.

In 2014, Scott says he hit a low point; his marriage fell through, he lost his job, and found himself behind on bills. Through this time, however, Scott says “I learned and grew a lot… I realized I had been struggling with depression. I realized my need for God on another level.” Scott knew he needed a change.

This change took on the form of a move to Mexico, where Scott taught middle and high school students for three years. While in Mexico, he began reading the Bible and found himself craving spiritual community, and he found it in the form of an online small group through Elevation Church. His first small group consisted of a group of women who he says, “became my sisters and mothers in Christ… they helped stabilize me and put me on solid ground.”

Upon his return to his home in Atlanta, Scott says he had a clean slate to start over. He started his own small group through Elevation for men across the world, and after applying for jobs in Charlotte, Scott decided to move again. Although he found a job at a Christian private school, Scott realized that he needed to go back to seminary, a process he began at Columbia Seminary in previous years.

Union’s emphasis on social justice and work through the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation appealed to Scott. Still “looking for real community and connection,” Scott says that Union Presbyterian Seminary “just felt like home.”

Scott hopes to use his Master of Divinity degree to do “intercultural community activism and social justice work,” potentially back in Atlanta, or even in an international context. He has not planned too far in advance because he believes that knowing exactly what you want to do is “not necessary, and maybe even an impediment to hearing from God” when it comes to seminary.

“Be prayerful,” Scott says. “If you’ve heard the call to educate yourself, to prepare yourself for the next step… that’s all you need to go to seminary.”