The start of the school year not only means a whole new class of students joining the Skidmore Community, but it also means new faculty, staff and administrators. This year, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) welcomes two new members to their staff. They are Parker Diggory, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, and Kim Beekman, Coordinator of Spiritual Programs.
Diggory is replacing Rick Chrisman, the previous Director of Religious and Spritual Life. She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College, where she studied Religion and Theater, an M.Div from the Chandler School of Theology at Emory, and she currently is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University.
Diggory, though she might be new to her role at Skidmore, is not new to the area as, “I grew up in Saratoga Springs in a faculty family, I took classes here, and I had part time jobs on campus. When the position opened up I jumped at the chance to be a part of the Skidmore community again,” said Diggory.
Diggory said that she is “most looking forward to getting to know the students, and working together to raise awareness about religious and spiritual life.” She is also looking forward to helping “keep questions of faith, tradition, and spirituality in the conversations that happen on campus.”
The other new member of the ORSL staff, Beekman, is new to her current role at Skidmore, but, like Diggory, is not completely new to the Skidmore community as she spent the last two years teaching mediation and yoga classes, working with freshman pre-orientation and mindfulness retreats at the Wilson Chapel. Beekman said that her new role “is a new part-time position to respond to student interest in mindfulness and spirituality.”
Beekman feels it’s an honor to teach here because “yoga and meditation [are] so well-received by the Skidmore community.” She also said that her “personal mission is to help people wake up to the true essence of who they are. Having the opportunity to help college students and staff reduce stress, find some balance and peace, and restore wellness is the perfect way for me to bring this mindfulness work out into the world.”
Beekman holds a B.A. in Psychology, an M.P.A from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and is also a certified yoga teacher, mediation practitioner and Ayurveda Wellness Counselor.
Diggory really wants “Skidmore to know that we’re [ORSL] here, and that we can be a resource regardless of someone’s religious and spiritual background and interests.”