MRE – Refocusing Our Religious Character

Sister Christiana Mmadu is from Nigeria. In Nigeria she became a nun, joining a vibrant sisterhood in Oyo State, and she devoted herself to caring for others. A devout Catholic, she came as a missionary sister to the USA, planning to study at St. John’s University, a well-known Catholic institution located on Long Island.

Due to administrative problems, she was unable to attend, but was then offered the opportunity to enroll at the UTS city campus at West 43rd St. in Manhattan. Friends reminded her that she is a person who is “very devout and faithful” to her church and that her beliefs might be compromised by attending UTS.

“I was skeptical at first,” said Mmadu, “because I knew how strong my faith was and thought there might be a conflict. But, it was truly a wonderful experience, everyone got along so well together and everyone respected each other’s beliefs.”

Sister Christiana had studied nursing and midwifery in Nigeria and had been a practicing nurse. In early 2016 she had gone before the NY State Board of Nursing for an evaluation of her qualifications and in May took a review test. She was very sick that day and walked out without completing the test. She went home extremely troubled and upset. She did not even check to see the posted results as she assumed she must have failed.

A week or so later, at UTS commencement on Memorial Day weekend, she was still uneasy about failing the test. However, she was comforted by five members of her family who came from Nigeria to attend her graduation and celebrate her achievement in earning a Master of Religious Education with a concentration in Interfaith Peacebuilding.