No matter what carreer path people pursue after they graduate UA, the ability to think critically about problems in their broader context and find a wholistic solution is invaluable, and it’s a skill that many REL majors nurture as undergrads, such as Jade Kelso-Teel, an REL alumnus now working in IT. His experiences in REL helped him develop skills to analyze the larger context, enabling him to start building solutions to tech issues rather than simply troubleshooting the immediate problem. [...]
No matter what carreer path people pursue after they graduate UA, the ability to think critically about problems in their broader context and find a wholistic solution is invaluable, and it’s a skill that many REL majors nurture as undergrads, such as Jade Kelso-Teel, an REL alumnus now working in IT. His experiences in REL helped him develop skills to analyze the larger context, enabling him to start building solutions to tech issues rather than simply troubleshooting the immediate problem.
When Jade enrolled in “Intro to Religious Studies” during his freshmen year, he wanted to challenge himself with a field he wasn’t familiar with. Jade became pressed by the “meta-ness” of the academic study of religion and the concept of functionalism. Midway through his time at UA, he continued to enjoy being connected with REL; he noted how professors made a point of getting to know their students, and how students got to know each other outside of class. He also liked the discussion-based nature of REL classes. For all these reasons, he decided to add Religious Studies as a major.
In his career as a Religious Studies student, Jade also explored the overlap between Religious Studies theory and the digital world in “Digital Humanities” with Professor Wieringa. In that class, Jade and his classmates learned about data visualization and analysis and website development, all while learning about the systems of power and interests behind them. In the following semester, Jade took his REL Capstone with Professor Loewen where he learned about the limitation of data, like what it can and cannot portray. In both courses, Jade acquired applicable technical skills while learning about their greater context in the world, which contributes to his career in IT.
Jade is currently a Senior IT Systems Engineer at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikidata, among others. In this position, Jade is responsible for maintaining business systems and integrations as well as creating automations connecting the systems that support the Wikimedia staff in their work maintaining the infrastructure that powers Wikipedia and other projects. He began to develop these skills as a Tech Assistant in the Student Center during undergrad. After graduation, he worked with Professors Peacock and Peterson of the history department to support their book/online project, A Deeper Sickness (2022). Following that project, Jade worked in IT for a couple of firms, including LinkedIn, before landing at the Wikimedia Foundation. To stand out in his work, Jade says that it’s important to keep technical skills sharp and approach problems with deep curiosity, teasing out the broader context, and demonstrating care for the people involved – beyond just troubleshooting problems and finding a fix.
Jade works remotely and enjoys the flexibility offered by remote work. A workday for him involves digging into complicated system issues escalated to him by the IT helpdesk team, building integrations using APIs, attending meetings pertaining to large-scale system projects, and meeting with his Systems team to strategize about future initiatives. Jade enjoys the mixture of technical “brain” work, requiring him to analyze the deeper “why’s” of problems and the impact of possible solutions on extant systems and processes.
But what does this have to do with Religious Studies?
REL inculcated deep curiosity and an appreciation for finding the larger context in Jade, not to mention a penchant for writing and communicating his ideas (and spinning up a wicked data visualization in Tableau). In life, the critical thinking skills Jade developed in REL continue to help him navigate our present day. He always wants to know what’s behind the face-value issue or solution and if a given approach to a problem addresses the core question. What’s present? What and who’s missing? What interests are at play? What assumptions are we making? What context are we operating in? In his career, knowing to ask these questions and pursue the answers moved Jade beyond troubleshooting and into solution-building. Finally, he has found that the critical thinking skills he honed in REL, and the ability to understand that his perspective is not the be-all and end-all in many situations, has strengthened his ability to empathize with others.
This post is part of a series that highlights the range of accomplishments that students in Religious Studies achieve while at the Capstone and in their lives after graduation. We all hear questions like, “What are you going to do with a Religious Studies degree?” As this series makes clear, the skills that students develop in Religious Studies, including critical thinking, interacting with diverse viewpoints, social analysis, and the ability to communicate to multiple audiences, contribute to a broad range of activities and careers.
