SKYLAR KOVICH

I am a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, currently in my third year in the political science Ph.D. program. I grew up at first in New Jersey and New York, and then in Redding, California, from the age of 9. I attended Saint Mary’s College of California for my bachelor’s degree, majoring in politics and minoring in religious studies. At Saint Mary’s, I went through RCIA to be received in the Catholic Church. Since arriving at UCSB, I have presented at a panel discussion at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, and was a graduate fellow at Collegium: A Coloquy on Faith and the Intellectual Life, at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts in 2011. Having a varied religious background myself, I understand the importance of faiths working together to promote dialogue and community among those who believe in a higher power and to work together on issues important to our community and our world. I hope to bring to this position a sensitivity and understanding of other faiths, and in all of our work, maintain the Catholic identity of Saint Mark’s while also promoting the church’s relationship with other faiths and promoting a working relationship on issues where many faiths agree, so that we may all become better practitioners of our religions.