
Numerous encounters with Wesley occurred during his undergrad studies. “I was very involved with the United Methodist-Protestant campus ministry at AU and our chaplain was a Wesley alum and we were a PMM site for a number of Wesley students during my undergrad career. When I was a sophomore, I took Music and Social Justice at Wesley with Dr. Guenther through cross-registration."
“Nevertheless, I was reluctant to apply to Wesley,” said Ian. “I felt like Wesley would be too comfortable, too easy and close to what I was used to. Chip [Aldridge, then Dean of Admissions] finally wore me down and got me to apply, and while I was participating in the scholarship weekend, I had a realization at the Tidal Basin. I had fallen in love with DC; DC became home for me. I found a community in DC … so I chose Wesley.”
Things we don’t know about Ian? “My first job was a Little League umpire,” he admits.
What words move Ian? You need look no further than the tattoo on his arm. “In 2017, I went on a choral tour of Poland with the AU Chamber Singers (that trip also served as my intercultural immersion requirement). On that trip, we sang René Clausen’s setting of a prayer attributed to Mother Teresa:
“Help me spread Your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and light. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may be only a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I know will feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only You.”
"I've carried that prayer with me ever since, even getting part of it tattooed on my arm. It has come to be foundational to my understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,” said Ian. #music #SUTI #tattooedprayer #FacesofWesley
Join Ian and our many students and graduates who have found in Wesley a seminary that supports students following their passion to serve God and others in many expected and unexpected ways.
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Faces of Wesley is a weekly profile of one of the members of our Wesley Community - faculty, students, alumni, staff, administration and other friends of Wesley. You can read it weekly on our Facebook or Instagram platforms or on our website's home page.