Created to be a chaplain

“I realized I did not want to be a pastor.” During her clinical pastoral education (CPE) residency at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Aquanetta Hicks (MDiv’08) had an overwhelming sense that she was not called to be a pastor. Unfortunately, that left her stumped about what she wanted to do with her seminary degree. After all, people who attended seminary did so to become pastors and work in a church, or at least that’s what she thought. Ultimately one thing became absolutely clear, “I feel like I was really created to be a chaplain. It was more than just a profession to me.” 

Though chaplaincy was not something Aquanetta had previously considered, the idea of helping a diverse group of people from different walks of life and faiths made her heart sing. That’s when she saw how God prepared her for this work through Austin Seminary, where she met people with different perspectives from various faith traditions. “I did not realize how much it would impact me, especially for my job today. It was almost like God was giving me all these different experiences, knowing that I would wind up here.” 

While Aquanetta knew she wanted to be a chaplain, she didn’t know where. Then, a most unexpected phone call came from an elementary school friend she had not heard from since the third grade. Her friend worked at Texas Children’s Hospital and told her about a position as a workforce chaplain. This seemed to be a moment of divine intervention. During her CPE residency, she had been concerned about the stressed hospital staff. “I wondered, who took care of the staff? I would ask that question and nobody had a good answer, not even the clergy at the hospital. But I knew it was important.” 

Today, Aquanetta is one of three workforce chaplains at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, charged with supporting the entire staff at four hospitals. “We're new, so we're helping the staff get used to us being present for them. They're accustomed to dialoguing with the patient and family care chaplains, but it's a new thing to have a chaplain available for the work stuff.” 

Aquanetta is grateful for the inclusive education she received at Austin Seminary. “Sometimes, I remember what I learned at Austin Seminary and realize that as a Christian, I can comfort everybody, regardless of their faith tradition. A chaplain is about being with people who don't have an opportunity to work out their faith within their church, synagogue, or mosque. Or they feel like they don't fit in any of those places, but they have faith in God, or they've just got a strong set of values. And so they don't quite know where they fit. It's wonderful to come alongside those folks and help them believe that the God of the universe has not forgotten about them just because they don't subscribe to what everyone else does.” She advises the students at Austin Seminary to “talk to people about their faith traditions. It really helped me. It’s not that you’re necessarily going to change your faith tradition, but it helps you understand your own tradition more.”

She also wants to remind everyone to take advantage of their opportunities and not give up. “That's the way I felt about Austin Seminary. I thought to myself, if you let me in, I'm not leaving until I walk across the stage with my diploma.” She was the first person in her family to graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. To the faculty and staff at Austin Seminary, Aquanetta has this message: “For all those professors and all the admin people that were there for me, a big thank you for following their own call—because their call informed mine.”

Aquanetta is overjoyed to find herself in the position she’s in now. “I still wake up thinking, wow, I cannot believe I get to do this. And no exaggeration, I go to bed pleased and happy and can sleep because I know I've done good work for God.”