Western Theological Seminary is a beautiful campus in Holland near Hope College and Centennial Park. Their mission is to prepare women and men for faithful Christian ministry in its many forms. Graduates go on to work in not just churches, but also nonprofits, small businesses, education, publications, and more. We sat down with Anne Chanski, their Director of Marketing and Communications (and one of our great friends) to chat more about Western (WTS) and her role.
WTS has been located in Holland since the late 1800s and has been an important part of the community through the decades. They currently partner with Community Action House and provide their facilities to serve free meals to the community every day through the Community Kitchen. WTS also partners with Hope College to provide a completely free Bachelor’s Degree program to people in the Muskegon Correctional Facility, which has shown to provide long-term benefits to the community within the prison and outside it.
Western’s newest degree program is their clinical mental health degree. Anne says, “This [program] is critical to meeting the community’s needs for more licensed therapists who can meet the challenge of the mental health crisis. We’re really excited about this.” The program is currently seeking CACREP accreditation so graduates will be well prepared for careers in the mental health field.
Anne has been at Western for about two years as the Marketing and Communications Director, working with the admissions and development teams to nurture relationships with prospective students and donors and attract new students and donors. When Anne discovered the job was open, she was working as a part of a marketing agency. She says, “I reached out to find out if our agency could assist them, but then I ended up interviewing for my job and started working here!” Anne was most excited to be a part of Western because of WTS’s mission. “I’ve always had a heart for working with pastors and churches, and this gave me an opportunity to have a broader impact on churches across the United States than I could at just one church,” she said.
When Anne was younger, she had always wanted to go into professional politics. Anne graduated from Hope College and did end up working in local politics, which she loved for a time, until she experienced a call to move into ministry. Anne says, “I never imagined that one day I would be working at a seminary!”
Anne loves working at WTS, where her passions align with the mission of the seminary, and she gets to be a part of students learning and becoming healthy leaders. She says, “I really, really love hearing about our alumni as they make impacts on their churches and communities.” Anne also loves working with a passionate team and amazing faculty. She says, “There’s something really special about this place and I love being a part of it.”
Anne just began an MBA program through Michigan State University this month, which she’s very excited about. She lives in Holland with her husband, 3 kids, and 2 cats.
Check out more about Western Theological Seminary by visiting their beautiful brand new website.
