Dorothy lives in Abingdon with her husband and her son. She works as an Assistant Manager for a retail company in Oxford and in her spare time volunteers with Abingdon Street Pastors which she loves.

She was born in South Africa and was raised in a township on the edge of Johannesburg during the time of apartheid. This had a significant effect on how she viewed herself and the world around her, and left her short of self-confidence.

To say Dorothy ‘came out of her shell’ at KST is an understatement! We asked her what her years at KST (2018-2021) meant to her…

Dorothy, what did you most enjoy about KST?

I appreciated the passion that the lecturers had. They taught with such passion for Jesus and it was infectious. I thought that Theology wasn’t for me, but they made it so accessible and so practical. The team were always there to support and encourage you when you needed it. Everyone learns differently, and KST embraced that. It is a safe place to learn about God. I wasn’t sure of myself when I started, but I left with such confidence that it is still apparent to this day.

Plus I made amazing friends who I still see now, several years later.

You say that KST gave you more confidence. Can you give us an example of how that has impacted your life?

I started preaching at our church. KST gave me the courage to do that. I never imagined I would be a speaker!

Also, I’m on the management team at work which is something I couldn’t have done before KST because of my lack of confidence and thinking that I wasn’t good enough. God used KST to change me and make me realise who I am in Him.

What else did studying Theology give you?

I could have never matured to the person I am now if I didn’t study Theology and absorb all those hours of teaching. Learning Theology made me fall in love with Jesus with a passion.

When I finished the three years of study I couldn’t bear to leave, so I returned to complete a KST Honours programme. It was the best decision. My research focussed on Hosea; which was so exciting. It showed how God’s unconditional love keeps chasing us even when we sometimes chase after other things rather than Him. He doesn’t give up on us. You can never learn too much about our redeemer, Jesus.

I’m so grateful to KST for giving me a good and solid foundation. The confidence that I gained at KST has everything to do with my new adventure with Jesus. I was always the one that stood at the back of the class because I always thought that I wasn’t good enough. However, now my faith in Jesus has allowed me to be more bold and secure in His love. Sometimes things don’t go right, prayers don’t get answered the way I would like them to be answered but I know that trusting and holding on to Jesus is better than anything else. God is the Father who will never abandon me. He will always be there for me and I don’t have to question His love for me, no matter what any challenges that I face.

One concrete example of my increased confidence was that I applied for and successfully completed a course on Management Leadership at Saïd Business School. The pre-KST me would never have dared to even apply to such a prestigious institution. I am very grateful to God.