Title:The Last Word: Annie Selak, Ph.D.

Director of the Women’s Center Annie Selak, Ph.D., on helping people feel recognized, valued, and welcomed

Whatever job I have, I approach it as ministry. My experience in Jesuit education—as an undergraduate at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit Volunteer in Detroit, and seminary student in Berkley—instilled in me that education is less about career and more about what type of person you want to be.

As a Catholic woman, I came up against power structures and limits on how I could exercise ministry in the Church. That led me to pursue my doctorate in theology at Boston College.

On the mission of the Women’s Center

At Georgetown, the experiences of a male student and a woman or nonbinary or genderqueer student are different. The Women’s Center mission is promoting and fostering gender equity on campus. We accompany students who experience sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, eating disorders, as well as things like finding community on campus, talking about gender roles, friendships, discernment, and the latest show on Netflix. We’re a landing zone, a guide and comfort, a listening ear.

We offer programs and create opportunities for community that are deeply rooted in the values of inclusivity and accessibility. In the new Office of Student Equity and Inclusion space, we are building into the student center’s foundation an understanding of intersectionality in terms of gender, disability, accessibility, sexual orientation, culture, ethnicity, immigration status, and other markers of identity. It’s intentional and focused on our values. It’s Ignatian.

On integrating faith and experience

I help bring together students’ experiences and faith traditions. An area of expertise for me is women and the Catholic Church. I’ll be taking students to Rome this October to engage with the global synod. I teach a course in feminist theology, and tenets of the field guide my Women’s Center work. For example, there shouldn’t be a gap between what we believe and how we act. There’s a four-fold relationship in theology: to yourself, to others, to God, and to creation. These can never be separated; the four primary relationships can be used as a lens for other issues.

On magis

The Women’s Center serves all students, all genders. Some days are heavy, but we have fun, too. The best part is being with students who are going deeper, experiencing what we call magis in Ignatian spirituality. There’s a depth to Georgetown—we don’t keep things surface level here. Georgetown has a gift for convening important, hard conversations.

The most meaningful part of my work is making people feel recognized, valued, and welcomed.

The students give me hope. They’re brilliant, committed to values, and care about a world that’s bigger than themselves.

For fun I follow women’s sports, especially the Washington Spirit and Mystics. It’s my whole personality!