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Just days after transitioning from student to alumna, Lauryn Hankerson, MDiv ’26, is stepping into a new role at Princeton Theological Seminary — this time as the assistant director of recruitment on May 26.
Hankerson will help future theological leaders find their calling and experience the transformative education Princeton Seminary offers its students.
“This role gives me the platform and the space to lead in a different capacity,” said Hankerson, who hopes to increase applicants from underrepresented groups and enhance diversity within the student body. “I consider this work to be ministry. All it takes is one conversation, one presence, one event to lead someone to pursue their calling that God has on their life.”
“Lauryn is a natural leader who embodies the distinct values and commitments of our institution, and I have no doubt that she will continue to lead our recruitment efforts with excellence, professionalism, and a servant’s heart,” said Director of Admissions Maci Sepp, MDiv ’21, ThM ’22.
I consider this work to be ministry. All it takes is one conversation, one presence, one event to lead someone to pursue their calling that God has on their life.
Hankerson’s appointment underscores Princeton Seminary’s commitment to cultivating diverse leadership in ministry — a goal strengthened by Hankerson’s position as someone who, having experienced the Seminary’s transformative impact, can now guide the next generation of Christian leaders.
“I did not feel like my work was done here at the Seminary,” Hankerson said. “I wanted to continue to be a role model and a representative for the Seminary because of its impact on me.”
As a student, that work included serving as a President’s Fellow, a peer counselor and, during her final year, as the leader of the Association of Black Seminarians — roles that allowed her to provide one-on-one pastoral support and assist others with vocational discernment and spiritual guidance. Through building open-hearted connections in a tightly knit community, she found the deep fulfillment she was searching for when she initially enrolled at Princeton Seminary. At that time, Hankerson was enjoying a flourishing career in healthcare administration as a clinical trial planning specialist at Bristol Myers Squibb. Her recent master’s degree is actually her third degree; she previously received a Bachelor of Arts in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science in Healthcare Management from American University. She describes the call to pursue an MDiv as a “huge pivot” in her life, especially because she did not have a clear vision at the outset of where seminary would lead her.
“Coming into this journey, I didn’t know how it would unfold or what it would look like at the end, but I came in with an open mind — open to how God would show up and make my path clear to me,” she said. “I believed along the way God really led and guided and directed my path to be able to see the different ways in which my gifts and my skills could be used in this space.”
That sense of openness encouraged her to try new things. Inside the classroom, she aimed to strengthen her theology, challenging herself with a wide range of subjects that led her to choose concentrations in Black Church Studies and Theology, Women, and Gender. For her field education, she interned at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New Jersey, for three months last summer and served as a teaching assistant at New Brunswick Theological Seminary for the 2024-25 academic year. Through those experiences she gained firsthand knowledge in preaching, leading worship, supporting theological education, and facilitating classroom discussion.
Coming to seminary from the corporate world, she worried that the skills she worked so hard to earn in project management and team leadership would be lost, but she found them transferable, relevant, and useful in new contexts.
“It was a huge step walking away from my job, but I realized I didn’t have to throw away the hard work I did in my professional life,” she said. “It was God’s way of saying you can preserve those gifts. You can still use them to your advantage, and you can lead with them — just now in a different capacity through ministry.”
In her new role, Hankerson aims to extend that same presence to prospective students navigating their own calls to ministry.
“I really value getting to know people, listening to their stories, and telling them my story,” she said. “It’s something special when I am able to have a conversation — one that is needed and God-ordained — and meet a person in their process and play a role in their journey.”
