Addison Trail alumnus travels the world and earns honor

Addison Trail alumnus Peter Dziedzic has been particularly busy since graduating in 2009.

He has traveled the world as part of a formative experiential study to pursue a Ph.D. in religious studies; to continue to a career in teaching, research and writing; and to continue advocating for religious freedom globally.

District 88 recently had the chance to connect with Dziedzic in between his traveling to talk about his success.

It has been five years since you graduated from Addison Trail. What have you been up to?

Dziedzic: After graduating from Addison Trail in 2009, I attended University of Illinois and DePaul University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from DePaul last June. While at DePaul, my activities and focus were on interreligious dialogue and Islamic studies. My studies were shaped by my interest in religious pluralism, Muslims in America and issues of religious freedom. While in college, I participated in short-term study abroad trips to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Thailand, Colombia and Israel/Palestine. Those were all in fulfillment of college credits, while also trying to figure out my exact personal and academic focus. During my final year of undergraduate studies, after having studied Arabic for one year, I pursued intensive studies of Arabic, on scholarship, in Amman, Jordan. That was to fulfill my minor in Islamic world studies at DePaul.

Wow, that’s a lot in just a few short years.

Dziedzic: After returning to DePaul to complete my senior thesis, I received a research grant from DePaul to pursue field research on the Tibetan exile community in northern India. I lived in Dharamsala, India, for six months, where I was a research assistant for the Central Tibetan Administration, studied the Tibetan language at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, lived in a Buddhist monastery and documented the experiences of Westerners studying Tibetan Buddhism in India. This was central to my culminating studies at DePaul.

After you returned home from India, what was your next step?

Dziedzic: After my work in India, I was accepted as a Russell Berrie Fellow in Interreligious Studies, which sponsors one year of study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome for a Certificate in Interreligious Studies. While in Rome, I deepened my understanding of the Catholic Church’s teaching of interreligious dialogue and became more acquainted with initiatives of religious freedom in Europe. During that time, I also was able to present at several academic conferences on those issues.

You’ve had some pretty incredible experiences since you left Addison. It’s hard to imagine you had time for other extracurricular activities, but were you involved with any other projects?

Dziedzic: Absolutely! In between my college and post-graduate career, I have found the time to establish a portfolio of four academic articles published during the past several years.

That’s certainly an accomplishment – published several times at such a young age. We understand you recently received some good news. Could you share the recent honor you were awarded?

Dziedzic: I recently found out I was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant from the Institute of International Education. What that means is in September, I will begin a research project in Fes, Morocco. There I will study youth involvement in the Qadiriyya and Shadhiliyya Sufi orders and differences in intellectual, social and spiritual formation. I will be in Morocco for 12 to 15 months, continuing my study of Arabic, French, Sufism and Islamic texts.

Congratulations on that accomplishment! Are there other goals you have set?

Dziedzic: My immediate goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in religious studies, perhaps with a focus in comparative studies, and to continue to a career in teaching, research and writing. I would like to continue advocating for religious freedom globally, and I believe this advocacy must be rooted in a deep knowledge of the religious communities in question. That thought, as well as a deep personal interest, are what guided these years of formative experiential study.

What have you enjoyed most about all of your traveling?

Dziedzic: I am humbled every day by the sheer diversity of the ways of knowing, wisdom and self-fulfillment available in the human family. When we are children, we really have no concept there are other ways of living beyond our own experience. Being in places as diverse as Jordan, India and Italy revealed there is always much to learn and there is never one way to learn it. I also have enjoyed the challenge of stepping outside of my comfort zone and the rapid growth that comes with that immediate and deep challenge.

Could you share with us how Addison Trail helped prepare you for life beyond high school?

Dziedzic: My education at Addison Trail, particularly through the honors and Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level program, gave me the foundation to immediately succeed in college. I also was blessed to have the ability to develop mentors and friendships with teachers at Addison Trail, who supported me throughout my high school and college journeys and beyond.