By Puneet Bsanti | FāVS News Board Member
About two years ago I got a text message from my former professor, Tracy Simmons, to see if I’d be interested in joining the board for FāVS. I had just graduated from college at Washington State University and was going into my full-time position as a reporter in Tacoma. This was such an honor, and I was excited to lend my hand in helping FāVS grow.
In college, I was determined to get as many news clips as possible because I knew it was my best chance in finding a job after I graduated. I got the opportunity to do some freelance work with FāVS and in the past have written some news stories and briefs.
I’m not a devout religious person. But I’ve grown up in a Sikh family, and it is the religion my world has been crafted around. Though, I’m a naturally curious person and have always wondered what other religions and faiths are like, the stories behind them as well as the people.
Through FāVS and Tracy’s religion reporting class at WSU, I got the opportunity to learn more. Through religion reporting, I’ve met some of the most interesting people and learned about the faiths they are a part of.
I’ve done an overnight reporting trip at St Gertrude’s Monastery in Idaho and got to meet several Benedictine nuns. I’ve visited a mosque in Spokane as well as a synagogue.
I also had the chance to do religion reporting through a study abroad trip to Greece and Bulgaria in the summer of 2023. In Greece, I learned the first Islamic studies program in the country was housed at the School of Theology in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
I wrote a story about this in Religion Unplugged and had the chance to interview the school’s head of theology. This experience helped me realize that religion/faith based stories can be found anywhere, whether they are from the wheatfields of the Palouse to a beautiful Greek university that overlooks the sea.
I’m grateful for the platform that FāVS provides when it comes to faith-based news and religion reporting. We have some incredible columnists and reporters at FāVS who put in a lot of great work every week. It is also thanks to the readers that FāVS is able to continue its mission.
That’s why I’m asking you to support FāVS’s end-of-year fundraiser. Your donation helps us continue covering the diverse faith communities across the Inland Northwest and beyond.
I would love to see FāVS continue to grow, and I know that through the support it gets, it can prosper even more for the years to come.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
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