Graduate Profile: Alejandra Salemi, MTS '22

May 16, 2022
Alejandra Salemi, MTS '22
Alejandra Salemi, MTS '22, Courtesy photo

HDS communications reached out to our 2022 graduating students to hear from them in their own words about their experiences at HDS, the people who've helped and inspired them along their grad school journeys, and their plans for the future.

Memorable Moment

Starting this program in fall 2020 during Zoom school was so incredibly challenging. But even still, during the past two years, both remotely and then eventually in person, getting to be in classroom settings and in conversations with colleagues and classmates has always carried a bit of magic. Jumping into divinity school having never formally studied religion was such a huge challenge, but every semester it was really special to be surrounded by other students who provided so much perspective and passion.

Taking a class with Cornel West, attending lectures and special events with incredible scholars across a wide range of fields, and getting to meet other classmates who work so fearlessly to voice their passions and perspective has been incredible.

HDS also allowed me to get inside the greater Harvard network and allowed me to find a research position at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, which has been the most impactful campus job I have ever had.

Message of Thanks 

I would like to thank my family for the love and support they have offered me over the past two years and through my journey in higher education. Mostly, I would like to thank my mom who has taught me that education is one of the most precious things we can pursue. To my best friend, Jesus, your love and partnership over the past year and a half has been one of my greatest sources of joy, and I am so excited where life will take us together. To my chosen family in Cambridge, Kaum, Amanda, Anca, and the other friends in the proctor community that have made my time on campus so fun. To my soul sisters, Lesedi and Anna, women who have encouraged me and uplifted me while teaching me so much about myself and the most sacred parts of life.

Thank you to Drs. Natalia Linos, David R. William and Gloria White-Hammond for your mentorship and guidance in the exploration of scholarship and curiosity of the intersection of religion and public health.

And lastly, to the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, your support and belief in me during this journey made it possible for me to explore and grow as a person and as a scholar.

Future Plans 

I will be starting a doctoral program at Duke University in population health sciences. I am excited to continue exploring passions that started here at HDS and expand my understanding of the intersection of public health and religion, and of how religion is a social determinant of public health.