“I've loved the professors I've had and the general atmosphere of the school.”
Crystal Dawn Betts-Green’s Honors in the Major Thesis, titled “Visions of Womanhood: Submission, Purity, and Femininity in Modern Evangelical Movements,” examines women in modern evangelical movements in the U.S.
Working under the supervision of Dr. Kathleen Erndl, Dawn has received special recognition and support. She was honored with both a Bess Ward Honors Thesis Award from the Honors Program and a Mentored and Creative Endeavors Research Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors.
As a Women’s Studies and Religion double major, Dawn has taken classes across disciplines and departments. Those courses have given her a constructive point of view on the status, accomplishments, perspectives and development of women in history, culture and contemporary society. Through her own research, she has further explored the dynamics of gender and religion.
Dawn took a Gender and Religion course taught by Dr. Erndl, associate professor of Religion, early in her academic career. Since then, she’s eagerly taken as many courses taught by Dr. Erndl as she could. “She is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what she teaches and wants her students to be as excited as she is about it. Dr. Erndl is always willing to help her students and even welcomes them into her home for Bollywood movie nights each semester.”
Building a relationship with her professor and her classmates through those movie nights was significant for Dawn. When she decided to do an Honors in the Major thesis, Dawn knew she wanted to work with Dr. Erndl.
As for her time at Florida State, Dawn says, “I’ve loved the professors I’ve had and the general atmosphere of the school.” She has had wonderful opportunities to hear influential speakers on Florida State’s campus, including Dr. Janice Willis, professor of Religion at Wesleyan University, and author Sir Salman Rushdie.
As she completes her Honors in the Major thesis and her undergraduate degree, Dawn is looking forward to the future. “I am planning to attend graduate school to earn my master’s and Ph.D. in Religion with a focus on women’s experiences.”
“After that, I hope to put my degrees to work either teaching at the university level or working with low-income women in Alabama and the rural south.”