Back in the Game

So it's been quite awhile since my last post. I have been busy with a lot of things since my last post. I completed my Master's thesis, my first triathlon, a second year of Ancient Greek, a year of Latin, and I went to Rwanda and Egypt. Before I left for Rwanda I sent in PhD applications to Florida State University, Indiana University, Fordham and The Ohio State University. To make a long story short, this was an extremely bad year to be applying to PhD programs. Most programs significantly cut the amount of applicants due to funding. I was not accepted to any of the four programs I applied to.

That sort of brings me to today. When Professor Larry Welborn (one of my recommenders/2nd reader for my thesis) found out that things didn't go well here, he presented me with an opportunity to continue my research at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. I am currently weighing my options. I have the choice of doing the program from here in the US or moving to Sydney. And of course this all depends on my acceptance and funding considerations. I will be applying to begin in January of 2010. Before Dr. Welborn contacted me, I had nearly given up on getting my PhD. I essentially began making new plans for a new future that did not include academia. To have someone like Dr. Welborn believe in my abilities and my research has been a blessing. Not only is Dr. Welborn an extraordinary scholar, but he is a wonderful human being and a good man to know.

Now I will start on a new adventure, which has lead me to start posting again. Dr. Welborn has encouraged me to extract a portion of my thesis to submit to an academic journal. This will help to secure funding at Macquarie as well as help me get my feet wet in this wild world of Biblical Studies. Also, since the program is a "British style" PhD., I will need to submit a brief dissertation proposal. So as it goes, I have gone from literally no writing, to a lot of work, all needing to be completed in the coming months. Needless to say, it is time to get back to writing, thinking and hoping. I will update the blog as I continue to develop my research into a publishable article and as I organize my dissertation proposal.