“I stay in touch with my fellow alums. In particular, a few of them are still my prayer partners, and they are people I can go to with anything and know I have their loving support, confidence, and advice in any situation.”

How often in a job can you focus on only one area? You may want to be a chaplain, campus minister, pastor, or missionary. Or you may want to minister in a single area—pastoral care, counseling, preaching, administration, evangelism, or teaching. Life, however, is rarely so neat. To prepare for her multifaceted ministry, Elizabeth Trexler ’05 earned her joint Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work degrees from Pittsburgh Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh. “Strategic planning is key when working with any organization, and the M.S.W. program prepared me for that in so many ways,” says Elizabeth. “Add that to a theological background, and you have a great combination.”

Following her call to Seminary, Elizabeth explains that she did not choose Pittsburgh Seminary; God did. Elizabeth says, “I listened to His call and for more than a year didn’t know why I was here. Then I went on a mission trip through the Seminary’s World Mission Initiative and found my calling as a missionary. I saw God move mountains in people, saw prayers answered immediately, and saw that our God is a global God and cannot be fit into a box.” After graduation, Elizabeth became a full-time missionary in Southeast Asia. She now serves as Associate Director of Catholic Campus Ministry at Bloomsburg University.

As a Catholic at a predominantly Protestant seminary, Elizabeth worked with faculty to personalize her education. “I was able to do many independent studies, find alternative books for class, and dive into my own faith while learning Protestant theology,” she says. “Professors were invested in my education and took time to foster it.”

 

“I stay in touch with my fellow alums. In particular, a few of them are still my prayer partners, and they are people I can go to with anything and know I have their loving support, confidence, and advice in any situation.”

How often in a job can you focus on only one area? You may want to be a chaplain, campus minister, pastor, or missionary. Or you may want to minister in a single area—pastoral care, counseling, preaching, administration, evangelism, or teaching. Life, however, is rarely so neat. To prepare for her multifaceted ministry, Elizabeth Trexler ’05 earned her joint Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work degrees from Pittsburgh Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh. “Strategic planning is key when working with any organization, and the M.S.W. program prepared me for that in so many ways,” says Elizabeth. “Add that to a theological background, and you have a great combination.”

Following her call to Seminary, Elizabeth explains that she did not choose Pittsburgh Seminary; God did. Elizabeth says, “I listened to His call and for more than a year didn’t know why I was here. Then I went on a mission trip through the Seminary’s World Mission Initiative and found my calling as a missionary. I saw God move mountains in people, saw prayers answered immediately, and saw that our God is a global God and cannot be fit into a box.” After graduation, Elizabeth became a full-time missionary in Southeast Asia. She now serves as Associate Director of Catholic Campus Ministry at Bloomsburg University.

As a Catholic at a predominantly Protestant seminary, Elizabeth worked with faculty to personalize her education. “I was able to do many independent studies, find alternative books for class, and dive into my own faith while learning Protestant theology,” she says. “Professors were invested in my education and took time to foster it.”