Rev. Rashmi Fernando, SJ
I am a Jesuit Priest hailing from the island nation of Sri Lanka. I relocated to Creighton University, Omaha, NE, US, in 2023 to pursue doctoral studies in Interdisciplinary Leadership in Education (Ed.D.), with my Dissertation in Practice (DIP) focusing on ‘global citizenship’. Besides my doctoral studies, I work as a chaplain at the School of Dentistry (SOD) at Creighton University, an online faculty at ‘Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL)-Higher Education in the Margins’, and an author at ‘Colombo Telegraph’ and a few other mainstream newspapers in Sri Lanka, making my unique spiritual, intellectual, and interdisciplinary contribution toward creating a better world.
My myriad life events, years of experiences as a Jesuit, and international exposure to various socio-economic and educational-cultural milieus have confirmed my belief that life is not always black or white; it’s often grey. Writing these reflections, therefore, helps me grapple with those grey areas and help others do the same. In this endeavor, a couplet from Helen Steiner Rice’s poem, which I have slightly modified and embraced since childhood, holds particular significance: “Life is a fabric, I weave it with tender care; Upon the loom of my life, my pattern is indeed rare.” As much as I treasure this rarity in me, I enjoy acknowledging and appreciating it in others.
