BY AARON WASSERMAN

In print | Published January 27, 2005

Earlier this month, Liza Anderson ‘05 was named Swarthmore’s first-ever recipient of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship. One of twelve scholarship winners chosen from a national applicant pool of 220 current students and recent graduates, Anderson will use the scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Ecumenics from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

In her graduate program, Anderson will study interfaith relationships between Christianity and other religions through a combination of fieldwork and coursework, which will help her gain further experience in developing interfaith community programs.

Anderson has been the college’s interfaith intern since her arrival here, and for over three years has organized events between Swarthmore students’ religious organizations and local Episcopal churches, where she has made presentations about Muslim-Christian understanding. She has also researched interfaith relations in the Philippines and Egypt while an undergraduate.

While in Dublin, Anderson hopes to have an internship with a bishop or at a cathedral, and to preach in the Anglican Church as she did in Cairo, Egypt while studying abroad there during her junior year. The scholarship also encourages its participants to travel internationally and Anderson hopes to travel to Jerusalem and return to Cairo.

Anderson’s interest in interfaith dialogue stems from what she described as a “quirky religious background.” Though a member of the Anglican Church, she was only confirmed this past April and has intensely studied Islam and Judaism.

She chose to enter the Anglican Church because of its principles of acceptance. “The Anglican Church combines a lot of the tradition of the Catholic Church that I really love — the Seven Sacraments and the liturgy — but there’s more flexibility in social issues, like gay marriage.”

From her perspective, multi-religious understanding is central to the Christian faith. “I would argue that ecumenical and inter-religious relations are an inherent Christian obligation, not something tangential to Christianity,” she said. “This was a way of relating which was humble, immediate, personal and vulnerable. And so in our relationships with one another we must act similarly … Christian communities should be places of radical welcome.”

Protestant Religious Advisor Joyce Tompkins, Anderson’s mentor, commended Anderson for her work. “I don’t know anyone as young as Liza who’s done as much as she has,” she said. “I’m impressed with her depth of passion and the breadth of her knowledge. She passionately cares about bringing people of different religions together — finding common ground and building bridges.”

Fellowships and Prizes Advisor Christina Dubb echoed Tompkins’ comments. “Liza is an extremely diligent student. She’s very excited about making a change in the world and her record says that,” Dubb said. “She’s really focused on interfaith dialogue and she’s so excited about it that she travels around the world to further her work.”

Dubb expressed hope that Anderson’s achievement will raise campus interest in the Mitchell Scholarship, which, though nationally prestigious, does not receive many applications from Swarthmore students. “I hope that more people will get interested and see that it’s attainable and an exciting opportunity,” she said.

The Mitchell Scholarship, inaugurated in 1998, is a national scholarship program that supports one year of graduate study in any academic field offered at an institution of higher learning in Ireland or Northern Ireland. According to its Web site, the scholarship is “intended to familiarize and connect the next generation of American leadership with the island of Ireland.” The program provides tuition, housing and stipends for living and international travel expenses. It is named after former Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) in honor of his contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process.

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