Introduce Yourself!

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by Chip, Mar 30, 2009.

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  1. Paradigm Shift

    Paradigm Shift New Member

    Greetings Esteemed DI folks,
    I've been off and on using this site for some good reviews and to learn about higher education places and what all the shenanigans of different countries use to term their standing.
    Been a great help and finally after about 2 years decided to sign up for an account and just post some questions or possibly try to contribute what I can from where I'm from.

    Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback.
     
  2. Brian

    Brian New Member

    Greetings all!

    I decided to make an account here and possibly give some advice to people based on my experiences in academia. I have a motley background since I have two brick and mortar degrees (undergrad in psych and doctorate in business psych) as well as three online graduate degrees (finance, strategy, and law). They're from a mix of US and UK schools too, so I may be able to provide additional perspective there too!
     
    newsongs and Maniac Craniac like this.
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Welcome. Please begin doing so right away. Thanks!
     
  4. jannw

    jannw New Member

    Hi! Greetings from Germany. My name is Ian!
     
  5. franklyeasy

    franklyeasy New Member

    Hi everyone, this forum is very picky about what I can post for some reason. Can one of ya'll help?
     
  6. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Welcome.

    What are you trying to post? The spam filter is especially strict when assessing new users, though as you've already seen, it's far from perfect in correctly identifying threats.
     
  7. franklyeasy

    franklyeasy New Member

    Hello, thanks for your quick response.

    I usually type up my responses in Word and then paste them in, but I guess it doesn't like that.

     
  8. Paradigm Shift

    Paradigm Shift New Member

    Wow, thats a lot of degrees you have. Where do you find the time to do all these, also the concentration needed?
     
  9. SG Rindahl

    SG Rindahl New Member

    Retired from the Army after a career first as a paratrooper and then (after getting out, going to seminary, going through the ordination process, and returning) a priest serving as a chaplain.

    Deployed (as a chaplain) with 1-5 CAV, 1CD, Oct 2006-Jan 2008.
    Most prized decoration from the Army is my Master Parachutist Badge.

    BA (History) - Excelsior College (Albany, NY)
    MDiv - Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX)
    ThM (Anglican Studies) - Cranmer Theological House (Houston, TX)
    MTh (Preaching) - Spurgeon's College (Course work and Research Supervision), in London with U Wales Cardiff (Degree Awarded)
    DMin (Ministry During Times of Trauma) - Spurgeon's College (Research Supervision) with University of Chester (Degree Awarded)

    Initiated the PhD at Oblate School of Theology (San Antonio, TX) - left it, as the program did not match my desired research focus as much as I initially anticipated when applying.

    Currently pursuing the STM at Nashotah House (Nashotah, WI). Although the Nashotah program is does not require a focus for the STM, my coursework and research focus is Ascetical Theology.

    When in New York, I taught for SUNY as an adjunct at their Empire State College.

    Final assignment in the Army was as a curriculum developer/writer and instructor at the Army Medical Department Center and School (now Center of Excellence) in the Department of Pastoral Ministry Training. In that position, I wrote and taught the curriculum: Providing a Ministerial Response to Moral Injury

    I am the founder and director of Warriors on the Way (501c3). Warriors on the Way is a purpose designed pilgrimage program taking combat veterans on the Camino de Santiago for the sake of PTSD/Moral Injury Healing.
    www.WarriorsOnTheWay.org

    I am also currently an adjunct for the online seminary NationsU.

    The MTh dissertation and the DMin thesis (as well as some of my other writings) can be found here: https://esc.academia.edu/SGRindahl
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Welcome to the forum, Fr. Rindahl. Warriors on the Way sounds like a wonderful organization.
     
    SG Rindahl likes this.
  11. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    Hello, all. I have a wife and two sons. My work background is mostly in real estate and warehouse/distribution management. I like to take ugly houses, fix them up, and sell them. Have done 60 or so.

    I'm in Texas. Could say I am a redneck. Maybe. I like guns and trucks, and in the past year I've eaten hog, nutria, deer, squirrel, coon, gator, duck, coot, LOTS of crawfish, and possum. Ha. I do NOT like crowds of people, or being in big cities for very long.

    Hobbies: watching movies, gardening, collecting international coins, travel, hunting, fishing. Have been to 47 of the contiguous 48 states, and 10 or 11 countries. We are planning an extended trip to Europe, in 2022. Mostly the Balkan Peninsula and up to the border of Poland, then flying over to Spain and Portugal to cap it off. 20-25 countries, hopefully. I speak Spanish okay, should be fluent by the time we go on the trip. We lived in Central America for a couple of years, and I played state-side in a "Mexican" amateur baseball league for many years. We hope to move back to Central America in less than 3 years.

    I enjoy reading. Usually about 3-6 books per month. I am also, little by little, working on Encyclopedia Britannica's Great Books of the Western World.

    Finally, I am libertarian..... anarcho, even. Also atheist.
     
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  12. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Also known as You're Not The Boss of Me: The Ideology.

    Welcome to DegreeInfo!! :emoji_relaxed:
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    If you had to pin me down with a term it would probably be "voluntaryist". I'm not much a theist, but I'm sort of "ethnically Episcopalian", if you catch my meaning.

    Where in Central America? A number of my PT friends have recommended Panama.
     
  14. GregWatts

    GregWatts Active Member

    I am unfamiliar with Cranmer. Few questions: How was your experience? Would you recommend? Do you need to be a practicing Anglican to study? Is the school accredited (couldn't see anything related on their web-site). Thx
     
    SG Rindahl likes this.
  15. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    Gracias.
     
  16. SpoonyNix

    SpoonyNix Active Member

    Voluntaryist works, too.

    We were in the central valley of Costa Rica. After we go back to CR, I will probably get us permanent residency in Panama and go back and forth.... eventually.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  17. SG Rindahl

    SG Rindahl New Member

    I finished the program at Cranmer in 2013 so my answers reflect the experience I had at that time.

    First point - Cranmer is the one degree I have, which is not accredited (or reviewed as RA equivalent by a NACES member). Cranmer provided me the opportunity to have a formalized program of instruction in Anglican Studies providing background and education I needed as a result of my transition into Anglicanism.

    To answer your other questions :

    My experience with them was positive. Communication from staff and faculty was timely. The materials covered gave me the education in Church History, Sacramental Theology, and other Anglican/Sacramental Christian matters, that was missing from my SBC seminary experience. The program was via distance education using recorded videos - honestly the videos are, to me, the weak-link as the production value is low (camera on a tripod recording while the course is taught in residence). Some professors are better than others (but that is true anywhere). Overall the syllabi could be rather sloppy (although when asked for clarification from the offending profs the answer were clear and came quickly). The writing requirements were substantially higher than at Southwestern Baptist but not as stringent as at Spurgeon's College/U Wales/U Chester.

    Would I recommend? The bottom-line answer to that is maybe. The school has some ardent supporters in Anglicanism and, as has been mentioned in a few other threads, denominations often set their own standards, which (at least to them) transcend accreditation. The program is thorough enough. The program is quite flexible (which I needed at the time). The program is reasonably inexpensive. If you are an Anglican who does not need an accredited degree (not planning to be a Military or VA chaplain for example - my MDiv punched that ticket so Cranmer worked for what I needed) then the Cranmer program can be an excellent choice. If you are looking for an organized program of study for personal enrichment, Cranmer can meet that need (an SBC friend did the program with them to learn more about things his SBC MDiv did not cover). There are a few aspects that are done elsewhere. The formation a someday to be ordained priest obtains at Nashotah House cannot be matched (you are in the daily rhythm of the Church all day everyday). That cannot be done via distance or even a good hybrid program. If you intend to serve outside of Anglicanism, Cranmer can have limited value. That will depend on the denomination and what they expect of their members of clergy.

    No, you do not need to be an Anglican but I refer you back to my last point of the previous answer - it may not be a degree that is useful to you if you intend to use it elsewhere.
     
  18. ArielB

    ArielB Member

    Hello all! I've been lurking on this forum for quite some time and finally decided to register.

    I don't have a degree, but I've been to three colleges but never finished. Despite that, I've done VERY well in my career... but, I recently decided to go back to school. Finishing my BA at Arizona State (online) then will be looking at MBA programs. Why? Just because. I don't need it at this point, but it has always bothered me that I never finished. I'm hoping the fourth time is a charm (Term A is ending and I have all A+'s, so at least I'm starting off well).
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  19. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Sounds great! Thanks for de-lurking!

    Which MBA programs are you considering?
     
  20. ArielB

    ArielB Member

    My criteria are:

    1). AACSB Accredited
    2). GMAT/GRE waiver possible
    3). Can finish in one year
    4). Fully online
    5). $20k or less

    I've found 9 schools that meet the criteria. Leaning towards West Chester in PA or LSU Shreveport. I wouldn't mind spending more and continuing at ASU, but it requires the GMAT. It's also a 2 year program, but since it's ranked really well (Top 30 for the Brick and Mortar and #5 for online according to US News) I'd do it.. I just don't want to take the GMAT since I rarely do well on standardized tests.
     

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