Emily Hicks came to St. Mary’s in 2012 as Coordinator of Academic Resources for International Students and lecturer in English. She also serves as the co-director of St. Mary’s Writing Center and as the instructional technologist for St. Mary’s. Ms. Hicks has a passion for international students and their successful preparation for priestly ministry in the U.S. context. In addition to the classes she teaches, she assesses the academic needs of incoming international students; tutors international seminarians weekly in writing, grammar, and accent modification; leads academic integrity workshops; and offers workshops for the St. Mary’s community to strengthen intercultural relationships and effective communication. Ms. Hicks also started and oversees the seminary’s Conversation Partners Program to assist international students in language and cultural learning.

Before coming to St. Mary’s, Ms. Hicks was an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) instructor at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. During that time, she gave numerous college-wide, state, and national presentations on various ESOL Topics. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio with a major in English and a minor in education, she began her teaching journey at the Language and Catechetical Institute in Gaming, Austria, while serving in a missionary capacity, teaching English skills to students preparing for theological studies. She earned her English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teaching Certificate there and also did graduate work at the International Theological Institute on Studies on Marriage and Family in the same city.

In 2018, Ms. Hicks earned the Master of Arts in Theology from St. Mary’s through the Ecumenical Institute, receiving the Robert S. Leavitt Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theological Studies. Since 2019, she has been a theology course facilitator at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.

A mother of seven, Ms. Hicks enjoys spending time with her family and the great outdoors.

Selected Courses Taught

  • Reading and Writing I & II
  • Grammar I & II
  • Speech (Pronunciation)
  • Theological English
  • American Culture

Service to the Church

  • Theology course facilitator, McGrath Institute for Church Life, University of Notre Dame
  • Adult faith formation
  • Missionary work, Austria

Recommended Reading

  • Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper
  • Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of World
  • Michael McGukian, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
  • Stanley Hauerwas, God, Medicine and Suffering

A Favorite Quotation

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
-St. Teresa of Avila