Tricia Vesely: Finding Union, Handstands, and Hebrew

Faculty Spotlight

BY EMMA NORTH

When Dr. Tricia Vesely (Th.M.’07/Ph.D.’17) began auditing Professor of Old Testament Samuel Balentine’s class on the ministry of exegesis at Union Presbyterian Seminary in 2005, she had no idea it would lead to a master’s degree, a doctoral degree, and a teaching position at Union. What moved her especially was Dr. Balentine’s message that the point of education is to give back.

“Union was so instrumental in shaping who I am and moving me from just being someone who thought the academic life was great in the sense that I could just sit in my room and study privately, to seeing it as a vocation and a calling and a way to serve others,” Vesely said.

Dr. Tricia Vesely

Vesely went on to get her Master of Theology in 2007 from Union and then complete her Doctor of Philosophy with Union 10 years later.

In her dissertation, she explored the book of Job in the Old Testament which she found to be rich and filled with many questions about suffering. It will be published as a book in 2019 and titled “Friendship and Virtue Ethics in the Book of Job.”

During the writing stage of her Ph.D., Vesely began teaching Hebrew at Union. Initially, she was a reluctant Hebrew learner at Calvin Theological Seminary in Michigan. She was terrified and tried to put it off as long as possible. Classes with a great professor there eventually changed her feelings so much that she later became a teaching assistant to Union Associate Professor of Bible and Biblical Languages E. Carson Brisson.

“Learning Hebrew opened my eyes to the complexity of the Bible and the many voices it contains; it’s a very rich text,” Vesely said. “You could spend your whole life probing it and never get to the bottom.”

Teaching Hebrew has only helped further her understanding of the language and she continues to work as an adjunct professor for Union.

When she’s not teaching Hebrew, Vesely is working for the Richmond Ballet as an accompanist helping dancers practice with live piano music; leading the soprano section for her church choir; and working as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University teaching “Introduction to Religion, Gender and the Bible, Global Ethics and World Religions, and Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.”

Vesely says her four jobs balance each other. “I love working for a small school like Union where everybody knows me,” Vesely said. “It’s wonderful.” The diversity of people and courses at VCU are also exciting to her. And being an accompanist and soprano section leader allows her to explore her artistic side. “The music keeps me grounded,” Vesely said.

One of her other many loves is travel, which began when she was in middle school and has continued throughout her life. “I love learning about different cultures and meeting different kinds of people,” Vesely said.

Earlier this year, she helped organize and lead a “Tour of the Reformation” for Union in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The tour took Union alumni and Presbyterian church members to Germany, Switzerland, and France to walk in the footsteps of the reformers.

Her travels have developed a distinctive trademark. Vesely has her photo taken while doing handstands all over the world. “Once I started, it kind of just became a thing,” Vesely said. “I noticed more recently that if I travel and don’t put a handstand picture up I’ll get comments from people asking where it is.” Some of the notable places that “handstand” out are the pyramids of Egypt and the Eiffel Tower. Her handstand skills come from her background in gymnastics and dance. She keeps them sharp by taking yoga, ballet, and a hand balance class.

For Tricia Vesely, finding Union in 2005 helped her to find a path for her future. She found her calling to be a professor while studying and teaching at Union. “Once I started teaching, I knew this is really what I want to do.”

Top photo: Dr. Tricia Vesely doing a handstand in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park