Meet Rev. Kate Snell: MAC’s Dean of Students

The Mary Andrews College team is very excited that the new Dean of Students, Kate Snell, has commenced in her role this month. Kate will play an integral role in supporting and caring for students as they learn more of God and deepen their relationship with him through their theological studies at MAC.

Kate has a Bachelor of Theology and is ordained as a Deacon in the Anglican Church. She also has teaching qualifications and has served as a high school teacher of Legal Studies and as a school chaplain, most recently at Barker College. She has served as an Assistant Minister in parish ministry, has taught Special Religious Education (SRE), and is a member of St Philip’s Anglican Church, South Turramurra, where her husband Brian is Associate Minister. Kate and Brian have two young daughters, Zoe and Lydia.

Dr Louise Gosbell, Principal of Mary Andrews College, is delighted to have Kate as the new Dean of Students. Louise says:

Kate has theological training as well as experience as a school chaplain and caring for students. Her interpersonal skills, her speaking abilities, and her gospel-shaped heart for people all make Kate an ideal addition to the MAC team. Kate’s love for Jesus really radiates through all her interactions with people, which will be so valuable for the work she will do in caring for and supporting our students at MAC.

Kate is excited about her new role and how God will use her in it. She’s looking forward to teaching and to being part of the MAC team. She says, “I am passionate about seeing women being equipped to serve God and his church, so the opportunity to play a part in that is very appealing.” She’s especially looking forward to getting to know the students and helping them to get as much as possible out of their study – just like she did when she studied at Moore College:

I absolutely loved it. I left college a very different person. I left knowing God better, loving him more, more aware of my sinfulness but more in awe of his grace. I loved living on campus and studying in community. My character, convictions and competencies have all been deeply shaped by my time at college and I left better equipped for ministry and also to simply navigate life in a complex, messy world.    

Kate hopes to bring all that experience into her new role as she gets alongside the students at MAC. “Being involved with students is exciting,” Kate says. “I love hearing people’s stories and walking with them through life’s ups and downs.”

It’s not surprising that Kate is passionate about sharing her faith with others and encouraging other Christians as they grow in their relationships with God. There have been some key experiences in her life in which people have played a formative role in pointing her to God and shaping her heart for ministry:

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home but I went to a high school where I heard the gospel faithfully taught in chapel and I had a Christian friend who started praying for me on the first day of year 7. I came to faith in Year 12.

Kate believes that theological education is a joy and a privilege. Unlike so many other ways of studying these days, it’s not just a means to an end, but an investment in doing life God’s way. Kate says:

It equips you for every sphere of your life, whatever your season, whether you are in vocational ministry or not. The opportunity to understand God and his word better will never be wasted.

Whether it’s helping students deal with managing time, competing priorities, and stress around exams and assignments, or delighting with them in God’s word as they grow in their faith, Kate knows that she will do this new work equipped by the Spirit for the task to which he has called her. As she has been reminded during the process of applying for this role, “we do not do anything in our own strength … when we are weak, God is strong.”