“Interestingly, her in-depth study of religion culminated with a thesis on the intersection of scripture and adoption. Haley credits her investigation as a pivotal moment in her own development and understanding of her adoptee identity.”
Growing up a devout Protestant, Haley planned to be a minister. In fact, she pursued her bachelors in Religion and a Masters of Arts in Religious Studies. Interestingly, her in-depth study of religion culminated with a thesis on the intersection of scripture and adoption. Haley credits her investigation as a pivotal moment in her own development and understanding of her adoptee identity.
Frequently, religious scriptures emphasize a western understanding of adoption that implies that God meant for it to happen. This, however, was a significant point of self-conflict: for an institution that had brought her so much community and comfort to also suggest that her abandonment and subsequent adoption was God’s will was hurtful to confront. This was the catalyst that pushed Haley out of the “fog” that many adoptees experience. Today, Haley’s understanding is that the ancient Greek and Roman adoptions that scriptures often reference are not representative of the transracial and closed adoptions that occur today, which means they should not be used to justify adoption. Haley describes her research experience as “healing.” It is no longer her plan to become a minister; today, she considers herself to be more inter-religious.
In her free time, Haley enjoys engaging in adoptee advocacy work. Most recently, she has joined an Asian heritage pageant, which has given her the opportunity to speak about adoptee experiences within Asian communities and the discomfort many adoptees feel. She is also looking forward to her own personal growth and learning other skills through pageantry. With the time that’s left, you can find Haley trying everything and anything NEW: from traveling to new places, running, singing, surfing, etc. She is a self-described “concert junkie” and was even able to snag Taylor Swift tickets for this summer.
Humans of CCI profiled on Facebook in 2023.