Greetings, all! I am Omar Nicholson. This year I am serving you as BTFO Director of Operations. This position allows me, among other things, to provide logistical support to the entire BTFO Team. I ensure that there is mobility to our plans and projects and see them through to fruition. As the day of your promised advent to YDS draws closer (Lol! I couldn’t resist!), I am specifically thinking about the aesthetics and arrangement of our spaces to ensure that you are fully comfortable and cared for during BTFO.I was born in the Island paradise of Jamaica in the Caribbean where I grew up in Kingston and Saint Andrew and spent all my life until last August. (If you also come as a non-initiated person to the mysterious science of the New England weather, then we should talk!) I graduated from the Northern Caribbean University in 2018 where I majored in Religion and Theology and Communication Studies. During my time in college my interest and participation ranged from engaging in community outreach activities to student leadership. A defining experience for me was in my senior year where I was elected by my fellow students to serve in student government as the Director of Elections, Policies and Constitutional Affairs. It was through this that I gained a love for service through administration and policymaking.
This fall I will be a second year Master of Divinity student where my ever-evolving interest currently resides around the relationship between socio-political theories and religion. While conceding the historical challenges of many theological interpretations, I am concerned with detecting the potential of theology to facilitate renewed and productive ways of being. I will also be your coordinator for the Community Life Committee at YDS. This means I’ll get to plan at least one non-divine event on your behalf. Until then, I am working this summer as a Yale Presidential Public Service Fellow with not for profits and public initiatives in New Haven.
Now on to fun(er) stuff, when we meet this fall and moving forward, you can expect to receive a couple house party invites where we usually rock to the beat of the Islands and try out our famous “from home” cuisines (wink wink). On a given day when I am out of class and work you can find me on the Quad chilling with the guys and agitating on the most profound theological and existential issues that we can think up on that day.
I know a thing or two about the realities of transitioning to a new city, country, and academic space, so feel free to hit me up on social media (fb: Omari Nick, IG: mari_nickii) before BTFO and I will do my best to share what I have learned so far! See you soon!
One love!