seminary, year three.

the final chapter of a season of deep grace.

hello, dear friends.

the grades are in, the procession walked, the degrees conferred. I’m now Mick Atencio, M.Div.! this journey has been absolutely wild, from beginning to year one to year two to now. the fact that I found this school by chance (providence may be a better word) is never lost on me, and now here I am, a graduate and alumnus of Virginia Theological Seminary.

but first, a little walk through memory lane.

in my final two semesters, I took nine courses and was a TA for Beginning Biblical Hebrew, met in weekly formation group with absolutely lovely classmates and faculty, preached my “senior sermon,” took on a new part time job with an organization I love, served my final semester as student body vice president (and threw a pretty darn good “seminary prom” Advent party), went to a conference for my job (and did live art!!), got gender affirming top surgery, led worship at a work retreat, and, last but certainly not least, completed a six-credit honors thesis, with both 16,600 words of written work and a physical art installation on my campus.

and that’s just the academic/vocational stuff. to say I’m proud of my seminary career would be an understatement. and to say I'm proud of the me I’ve become because of this journey feels like saying too little. but both are so true. (more on “the me I’ve become” below).

I usually create a google drive folder of all my academic work (unfortunately the ones from the last two years of blog posts have become unlinked), and I hope to again this year, but I’m not making any promises yet. (please comment if you want to read my thesis, though; I will HAPPILY send that to you!)

Winnie the Pooh got it right: "how lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

of course, the carousel of transition begins again. some goodbyes have already been said and I certainly don’t look forward to the goodbyes that loom in the near future, with so many people who have become so dear to me. we head for Chicago in mere weeks.

what’s next for me? truly, there’s no major career shifts or grandiose academic plans in my near future. ideas, certainly. little seedlings of what might be someday. but my goal for the next season is pursuing the daily joys of living. I want to learn to rock-climb. I want to take voice lessons again. I’m writing new music and poetry. I’m taking some time and space to dream. I don’t want to find the next thing to do, I’m ready to just be.

and honestly, that is exactly what I hoped I’d learn from my M.Div. program. perhaps not so great in the eyes of advancement offices trying to advertise their program, but this place and time has deeply formed me into someone who cares not so much for achievement, but character. that is a profound change from the person I was when I graduated from undergrad in 2017.

I wrote this when I began my seminary journey:

there will be much to adjust to, and much i've never encountered before. i am intent on learning rather than seeking a grade. i desire to make true friends more than i desire to impress my classmates. i am focused on living authentically as myself, nothing hidden away. flaws and all, i am choosing to step into seminary life.

it's been an adventure beyond all i could've expected, the last few years. and so much beauty i never expected, too. i'm ready for the next few years to bring more beauty.

it makes me teary-eyed with joy to know that these wildest hopes came true. learning. true friends. living as myself. beauty blooming all around me.

it certainly was not easy, and it certainly wasn’t perfect, but I am a better person on the other side of seminary. if you have been a part of my seminary journey, I thank you for the role you’ve played in my formation.

goodbye, seminary. it’s been real.