Journeys of the Soul: HDS Recognizes Awe-Inspiring Alumni with 2024 Gomes Distinguished Honors

Each year, the HDS Alumni/Alumnae Council (AAC) recognizes exceptional graduates and one Friend of the School with the Peter J. Gomes, STB ’68 Distinguished Alumni Honors. The award, given in memory of the late Reverend Gomes, celebrates community members whose excellence in life, work, and service pays homage to the mission and values of HDS.

This year’s theme, “Journeys of the Soul,” honors those who contemplate the wide array of knowledge that can help shed the limitations of earthly perceptions and connect humanity to the transcendent.

“With this theme, we seek to honor those who, throughout various systems of belief, are dedicated to lifting the veils that obscure our ordinary state of being and illuminate expanded experiences," says Sahar Shahid, MDiv ’17, the Alumni/Alumnae Council chairperson. “These honorees are known for asking and exploring some of humanity’s deepest questions: Where did we come from? What are we doing here? Where are we going? And what is the meaning of it all?”

This year, the Council recognizes the following honorees:

Stephen J. Jenkinson, MTS ’81

Stephen Jenkinson, MTS ’81, is a culture activist, ceremonialist, author, family man, and farmer. He is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School. Apprenticed to a master storyteller when a young man, he has worked extensively with dying people and their families, is a former programme director in a major Canadian hospital, and a former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school. Since co-founding the Nights of Grief and Mystery project with singer/songwriter Gregory Hoskins in 2015, he has toured this musical storytelling ceremony across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Stephen is also the subject of the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary, Griefwalker, and is the author of six books, including the award-winning Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015).

HDS recognizes Stephen Jenkinson as a Gomes Honoree for helping people navigate grief, exploring the liminal space between life and death, and connecting humanity through ceremony and storytelling.

Melinda Mott Krokus, MDiv ’04

Melinda Mott Krokus, MDiv ’04, is an Islamic scholar and Sufi practitioner in the Ansari Qadiri Rifai Tariqa who teaches comparative religion courses at Marywood University (a Catholic institution in Scranton, PA) through the lenses of spirituality and ecology, environmental justice, health and healing, and women and gender studies. Her ethnographic fieldwork has taken her to Turkey, South Africa, Mauritius, and across Europe examining the intersections of sacred texts, lived religious experiences, and spiritual formation through Sufi poetry. She is committed to sharing an understanding of Islamic mysticism and engaging in interfaith dialogue in service of a just and equitable world for all beings.

HDS recognizes Melinda Mott Krokus as a Gomes Honoree for contributing to religious literacy by building an understanding of Islamic mysticism and ways that different faith traditions can offer inner tranquility as well as care for the outside world.

Elizabeth Rovere, MTS ’95

Elizabeth Rovere, MTS ’95, is a clinical psychologist, RYT-200 BodyAwake Yoga Teacher, and podcast host in New York City, where she has a private practice and teaches Lectio Divina and Cintya Bhavana at the Nalanda Institute of Contemplative Science. She is keenly interested in experiences of wonder and awe as profound potentiates of individual and social transformation. In 2023, Elizabeth launched a podcast and production company called Wonderstruck (wonderstruck.org) to focus on wonder, awe, and extraordinary experiences, and she is an executive producer of the documentary film The Heart Revolution. Additionally, Elizabeth has hosted international summer symposia for the past three years, as well as salon dinners bringing together independent scholars, practitioners, artists, celebrities, and cross-disciplinary academics to practice, ponder, teach, and connect.

HDS recognizes Elizabeth Rovere as a Gomes Honoree for cultivating wonder and bringing beautiful mysteries to light through the exploration of wisdom, consciousness, and the sacred.

Helena Soholm, MTS ’02

Helena Soholm, MTS ’02, is a transpersonal psychologist and a Korean shaman. She has been a clinician for the last 18 years, and in her practice, she integrates indigenous healing systems with Western theories of psychology in supporting the healing and growth process of people navigating the complexities of technologically advanced societies. As a healer and teacher, Helena facilitates soul and ancestral initiations through ceremony and ritual. She collaborates with healers and artists around the world, offering shamanic ceremonies in North America, Asia, and Europe. 

HDS recognizes Helena Soholm as a Gomes Honoree for honoring ancestors across many traditions and creating pathways for people to gain awareness of their greater purpose.

As they have in years past, the AAC also honors a non-HDS graduate as a Friend of the School.

“We are overjoyed to recognize Diana Eck, PhD ’76, as the 2024 Friend of the School,” says Chandra Mohammed, associate director for alumni relations. “As a beloved teacher, exceptional leader, and champion of pluralism, Diana has brought the study of many traditions—and their exploration of the transcendent—to life here at Harvard and beyond. Diana is being recognized for shaping the study of religious pluralism, fostering dialogue across differences, and illuminating the power of spiritual journeys through the study of Hinduism.”

The Alumni/Alumnae Council will celebrate the 2024 Gomes Honorees during an event on Thursday, May 9. To learn more about the AAC and alumni news, please visit the Alumni & Friends website.

Please note that space is limited. Complete the online RSVP form by Thursday, April 25, to register for this special celebration. Email alums@hds.harvard.edu with any event-related questions.
 
—by Amie Montemurro, HDS Senior Communications Officer