Alumni Featured in Print and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Alumni of Christendom’s graduate school are making waves in the realms of print and talk radio, with Melissa Maleski (‘14) recently being published in Homiletic & Pastoral Review, while Stephanie Pacheco (’12) will be featured in an upcoming interview on SiriusXM satellite radio. Both have made impacts on the Church since graduating from the college, revealing the widespread value of an M.A. in theological studies from Christendom.

Students of varied ages, from early-20’s to retiree age, seek out Christendom’s M.A. in theological studies program, as a means of complementing their previous education or giving them a theological understanding they never had before. Maleski, who previous earned her B.A. in cultural anthropology, saw Christendom’s M.A. program as both “rigorous and balanced in its scope,” helping her to become a director of religious education earlier this year.

Maleski is a writer as well, with her Master’s thesis at Christendom recently catching the attention of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, one of the oldest and most well respected pastoral magazines in the world. They published a timely, adapted portion of her thesis this past week, giving Maleski the opportunity to present Church teachings on marriage and sexuality, according to both the Song of Songs and Pope Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, for a much-wider audience.

Many Christendom graduates, like Maleski, become avid, and popular, writers upon graduation, with Pacheco joining those ranks as well. A mother and freelance writer, Pacheco has been featured in Crisis Magazine and America Magazine, as well as Zenit and EWTN. An article on Catholic social teaming in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol recently brought her into contact with SiriusXM’s Catholic station, which will soon be featuring her in an upcoming interview on the topic of inter-religious dialogue.

Pacheco, who previously graduated from the University of Virginia, believes that Christendom uniquely prepared her for the success she’s currently having in the world of Catholic media, thanks to its atmosphere of total and fearless Faith.

“I learned deeply of the Catholic tradition in the Fathers, in St. Thomas Aquinas, and also in the recent Magisterium, and saw professors unafraid to approach opposing ideas and the faith itself with rigor and honesty,” said Pacheco, who was the valedictorian for Christendom’s 2012 graduate school commencement ceremonies.

“Most importantly, I learned to see, as Aquinas did, any scrap of truth or goodness in even a wrong argument. By doing this, we can pull the best of an idea out of a mixed or even a rotten bag and seek truth wherever it may be, because all truth is ultimately from God. That’s the approach I try to take to contemporary issues in my articles and on my blog as well,” said Pacheco.

The alumni of Christendom’s graduate school are known for their impact on the Church and its followers, with many becoming professors, authors, catechists, and even heads of religious orders. To find out more about Christendom’s graduate school offerings, please visit christendom.edu.