Introducing Our Summer Fellows

Over the past few days, readers may have noticed two new names crop up on our blog. I, and the rest of the First Things editorial staff, would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce Ms. Sasha Tatasciore and Brother Sebastian White, O.P. Some brief background on our new additions, from the individuals themselves:

Br. Sebastian White, O.P. , is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Joseph. After being raised in an Evangelical protestant home, he chose to study at Gordon College, in northern Massachusetts, graduating in 2003. While at Gordon, he began attending an Anglican church in Boston. After much prayer and reading (he was especially influenced by the books and personal friendship of the author and convert, Thomas Howard), he was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, 2004. That autumn, he began studying at the International Theological Institute, then located in Gaming, Austria. In 2006, having completed studies for a Master’s degree, he was hired to work for the study abroad program of Franciscan University of Steubenville, also located in Gaming. During his time in Austria, he became acquainted with the Dominican friars in Vienna, and in 2008 was accepted into the novitiate of the Eastern Province of the United States, the Province of St. Joseph. He will be making his solemn profession of vows on August 11, 2012. He is studying for the priesthood, and has already published a review in First Things (” A Woman in Full ,” March 2012).

Sasha Tatasciore is most recently an alumna of University of Durham, England (MA) and is currently completing her Masters in Theological Studies at Duke University. After several years of training in visual and performing arts, she received a Bachelors in Humanities and Catholic Culture as well as Theology, with a focus on Biblical intertextuality and Pauline studies. Much of her recent academic work has been in the area of Augustine’s reading of law and grace, with particular attention to the way in which Augustine’s reading of Paul influenced his understanding of the Old Testament. She will be graduating from Duke in 2012.

As the number of comments and pageviews on their posts indicate, the work of Sasha and Br. Sebastian has already attracted a fair amount of engagement. We look forward to seeing their accomplishments over the next few months, and to working with them to produce the website and the magazine.