Sophie Gumble

My name is Sophie, and I am studying pre-nursing at UW with a plan to apply to the nursing school this coming school year, as well as pursuing a Health and the Humanities certificate. I grew up in a small town of about 2,000 people in southeastern Wisconsin, where many of my peers were Evangelical Christians, and, particularly because I grew up in an atheistic household, my main concept of religion came from what and who was around me. However, since coming to Madison and branching out and exploring, I have begun to understand what religion means to different communities, other individuals, and myself. In my experiences of understanding my own beliefs and who I am, I have been able to see others’ religious beliefs and practices, and I have become deeply interested in learning about different religions. I especially enjoyed attending an Interfaith Shabbat at UW-Hillel, in which the Shabbat service and dinner invited interfaith dialogue. I also have a particular interest in how faith, religion, and culture influence views of health, wellness, and healing within communities, and how it affects individual choices. I hope that my experience as a CRGC fellow will help to strengthen interfaith unity and understanding on campus, and help me better understand how religion and faith shape who we are.