Rebecca Alpert Jim Biechler Marcus Braybrooke Ellen T. Charry Leobard D'Souza David Efroymson Gabriele Feyler Stefan Feyler Eugene Fisher Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer Krystina Gorniak-Kocikowska Yitz Greenberg Wan-Li Ho Sanaullah Kirmani Reinhard Kirste Hans Küng Lihua Liu Jack Malinowski Patricia Martinez Sergio Mazza Alan Mittleman Ronald Modras Paul Mojzes Malcolm Nazareth Angelika Quade Ida Raming Virginia Kaib Ratigan John Sahadat Simone Schaupp Ingrid Shafer Shu-hsien Liu Thomas Thompson Catherine Berry Stidsen

Wan-Li Ho Guidance Step By Step In 1989, I came to America speaking little English. I watched Sesame Street with my young daughter and took some English classes at night school. On one occasion, I had the opportunity to meet Professor Leonard Swidler. After he learned that I had a Master's degree in Divinity from Taiwan, he encouraged me to review my Hebrew in a Jewish college. I took his advice and it went well. Then Len invited me to audit his class at Temple to experience a graduate course in the United States. I agreed, but was very nervous about my ability to understand. That experience in his classroom alone changed how I thought about religion. Although my English was limited and my background was in Christianity alone, Len's comparative teaching and Inter-religious approach expanded the idea of religion in my life. Then Len asked me to take a class for credit from his course of Inter-religious Dialogue and audit another independent study class in "Women and Religion" with one of his students. His faith in me was the first time I saw my own mind as having something intellectual to offer in the United States. A simple compliment from him that I had a great ability for asking good questions, which he said is a very important quality for graduate students, and his suggestion that I apply for the Ph.D. program at Temple, made the difference in my confidence to commit my life to scholarship. Later, as his advisee, I not only accomplished my master's program, but also successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation on "Religious Women and Environmental Protection in Contemporary Taiwan" with distinction. Today I am a full-time faculty member at Emory University where I teach courses on Chinese and Religion. Len was my guide and inspiration and made the difference in moving me from the life of a lost stranger in America to that of a teacher and scholar. Without his simple willingness to invest in someone like me, I would never have had the confidence to study and work in a country so foreign to me. He challenged me not only academically but also personally-my spiritual and intellectual growth over the past 15 years is the result of his careful scholarship and teaching. When conducting my Religion courses in English, I often think of Len, and when I publish an article, I think of Len with great gratitude. I know I will always think of him whenever I meet with any bit of success in my life. He recognized in me something I would not have known to exist without his guidance, and I am honored to know that I will always carry his belief in engaging in inter-religious dialogues theoretically and practically in all my life. My only hope is that my work as a scholar and teacher does tribute to the great scholar and teacher who trained me. Wan-Li Ho, Ph.D. Emory University

  Webpage Editor: Ingrid H. Shafer, Ph.D.
e-mail address: ihs@ionet.net
Text and graphics copyright © 2004 Ingrid H. Shafer