Guided by Faith

From a spiritually themed study abroad trip to a meaningful summer internship, Spider sophomore Angelina Dickens is on a deeply personal educational journey.
 
A native of Suffolk, Va., Dickens was set on attending Virginia Tech until she visited Richmond’s campus. “I had already paid my deposit for Virginia Tech,” she said. “Then I toured Richmond and thought, ‘wow, this might be the place.’ I hadn’t yet realized how important the small campus would be to me or how many opportunities I would find.”
 
As a devoted Christian, Dickens was inspired by her First-Year Seminar, Faith and Difference in America, taught by University Chaplain Craig Kocher. She is learning from Kocher again in the course Justice and Civil Society, part of her Sophomore Scholars in Residence (SSIR) program, a distinctive year-long experience for second-year students.
 
“Dr. Kocher has been extremely impactful on my UR experience and is a genuinely caring and exceptional person,” she said. “He is forever encouraging and a joy to learn from.”
 
As part of the SSIR course, Dickens and her classmates traveled to Northern Ireland with Kocher over fall break to explore the region’s political and religious challenges, with particular focus on The Troubles, the period of intense conflict between Catholics and Protestants during the late 20th century.
 
“It was fascinating to speak directly with people on both sides of the conflict and learn how they are still grappling with these issues today,” she said. “It was a fruitful experience to learn so much about something that many of us had never heard about before.”
 
On campus, Dickens is involved with the Office of the Chaplaincy as a multifaith leader, aiming to grow more deeply in her faith while also learning about the faith traditions of others. In August, she and fellow student leaders traveled with Multifaith Program Manager Olivia Rosenblum to the 2025 Interfaith Leadership Summit in Chicago.
 
“We learned tools that we can use to better cultivate interfaith relationships,” she said. “I grew up in a predominantly Christian area, so it’s been eye-opening to learn that I can have rich relationships with people who are different from me and believe different things.”
 
A recipient of the Elizabeth Camp Smith Scholarship, Dickens is grateful for donor support that has helped make her Spider experience possible. She also received funding from the donor-supported Richmond Guarantee/UR Summer Fellowships program to do a summer internship providing speech therapy services at a child daycare center. “It was such a beautiful experience getting to care for the children and bond with their families,” she said.
 
Dickens aims to continue serving people and communities in need as part of her future profession. She is on the pre-dental track in the School of Arts & Sciences and plans to attend dental school after graduation. She aspires to become a dentist in her hometown of Suffolk and do mission work abroad, providing dental care to at-risk children and adults.  
 
“I’m excited to use my education and experiences to help people in a tangible way,” Dickens said. “I’m so grateful to be in an environment where I can succeed and grow personally, emotionally, and professionally. This is a journey I will never forget.”