Seminary Story: Dianté Dancy

About Diante Dancy

I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and I graduated high school in 2017 with a scholarship to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with tuition fully paid by the Posse Scholarship. I wasn’t a believer in high school due to several reasons, but my household family is Catholic. It wasn’t until my freshman year at Trinity that I met an American Baptist Pastor who was patient, showed a level of care I had never seen from a Pastor, and met me where I was, even when I had no interest in learning more about God, and by the end of that freshman year, I became curious of who God was.

Throughout my college career, I had grown in my faith, and I began to take up leadership roles in the church and school surrounding my faith. By my junior year, I was told that I was called to ministry. At first, I had no idea what this meant and even denied it for some time. But once I heard it, the relationship between me and God deepened, and I would say it felt like I was falling in love with my calling as time went on, and that lead me to accept my calling with a leap of faith, not knowing what it truly meant at the time.   

How I Came To SPS

After I preached my initial sermon and became a licensed minister in the American Baptist denomination senior year at Trinity, I was told that my next step would be to finish college and go off to seminary. While not as excited to hear that I had to do more school after school, I began to research and apply to seminaries. Yet Seattle Pacific Seminary was the only school that felt engaging while I was discerning which seminary I should attend. There was a student who called and answered any questions I had, and I remember one of the deans called and told me I got accepted and continued to check in on me after that. Compared to other schools, it was just really nice that Seattle Pacific Seminary stayed in consistent communication.

Dianté Dancy

My Experience at SPS

My experience here at SPS has been so insightful to my faith. I believe that here at SPS every class is filled with the Holy Spirit, and it is so beautiful to see both the faculty and students be invited by the Holy Spirit to engage in theological education like this. It is so amazing, and honestly, I have never seen it before in other spaces. The professors teach with deep humility, which is incredible and helps create a sacred space. 

I have had many conversations outside the classroom with fellow seminarians and professors about discernment, and it is wonderful to talk with others about my calling and theirs. Talking with professors about my calling and discernment has always opened my eyes to receiving such holy wisdom in my life that gives professors the space to act as a pastor in my life. The way I see it, God is acting in every corner and space within the Seminary.  

Cody Sugai

Cody Sugai, MA-Theology — Christian Min. '23

Aaron Cho

Aaron Cho, MA-Theology in Theological Integration '24