The End?

So today marks the return of my final piece of undergraduate work, the dissertation. I am pleased to say that I received 78% for my work (which converts as a First), providing me with an overall degree classification of a 2:1. Needless to say I am over the moon with my performance not only in the dissertation, but over the three years as a whole. But as I spend my last couple of days as an unemployed graduate before moving back to Harrogate to begin a full–time position as F&B Supervisor at the Holiday Inn, I ask myself: is this really the end of my theological endeavours?

The answer quite simply, is no. The next year will consist of very long shifts at the hotel, countless nights drinking red wine to get me through the difficulties of the ‘real world’ but most importantly, it will be a year of saving and planning for the next chapter of my theological career. The MA/PhD is next on the cards for me as many of you know, the ultimate aspiration is to become a university lecturer and have books and papers published etc. It’s going to take a lot of planning and saving, but in the end it will definitely be worth it.

Ideas for my postgraduate research have begun to leak through. Something surrounding liberal theology and the ‘re-emergence’ of the Christian faith, in conversation with an atheist and an agnostic is something I’m feeling attracted to. I suppose the nice thing is that within my dissertation feedback, it was pointed out that the research carried out already has provided me with a good basis upon which to go forward into a postgraduate setting.

This isn’t the last you’ve heard of me and my theological/philosophical musings…not by a long way.

– Clarke Roberts BA (Hons)