When the Rev. Dr. Samuel Hong walked into Duke Chapel this past May, the moment carried more than a hint of déjà vu. Years earlier, he stepped into that same sacred space to receive his degree from Duke Divinity School. This time, he returned not as a student but as a proud father, there to witness his son, Lucas Hong, cross the stage to receive his Master of Divinity degree.

“It’s a real honor and privilege to become alumni together with my son for this Duke community,” the Rev. Dr. Hong said. “I trust that the same quality education I received was provided to him as well.”

The Hongs’ story is one of legacy and vocation. Sitting down with the Asian House of Studies, the father-and-son duo shared reflections on their respective paths to ministry and what it means to be shaped by Duke Divinity School across generations.

Saying “Yes” to a Call Across Continents

The Rev. Dr. Hong’s journey to Duke began in South Korea. As a teenager at summer camp, he experienced a call from God that would set the course of the rest of his life. 

“I decided to become a pastor when I was 13,” he said. “My father was a Methodist pastor for over 40 years. I come from a family where my grandfather believed that becoming a pastor was better than becoming the president of a country.”

That calling eventually led him across the ocean to Durham, N.C. In 1995, he earned his Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Duke Divinity School, which became not just an academic home but a community of grace in a foreign land. 

“My new life started here,” he shared. “I had a hard time understanding this new country, but this community embraced me with love and caring hearts. This was the most important experience for me and my classmates. I was embraced with love, patience, and all kinds of necessary assistance.”

Now serving as a district superintendent in the California–Nevada Conference of The United Methodist Church (El Camino Real District), and preparing to take on the role of dean of the cabinet next year, the Rev. Dr. Hong credits Duke Divinity School with grounding him in a theology that values balance.

“Duke Divinity is a place where you can seek a balanced approach to a theology and ministry,” he said. “And Duke Divinity helped me learn to keep the balance between various opposing ideas and concepts. That mindset has shaped how I lead and serve.”

Rediscovering Faith and Reimagining Identity

For Lucas, Duke Divinity was a space for personal discovery and theological growth—a place where he could reflect deeply on who he is and who he is called to be.

“Growing up as a pastor’s kid, my Christian identity was heavily shaped by my family’s ministry,” he said. “But Duke gave me the space to blossom out of that. I started to understand who I am apart from just being a PK [Pastor’s Kid].”

Just weeks after finishing his final exams, Lucas is already thinking about what lies ahead. He’ll begin work this year as a hospital chaplain in California. As for the future, he sees ministry as part of his path and is discerning the context it will take.

“It’s weird—I just finished finals, so I haven’t fully processed what it means to be an alumnus,” he admitted with a smile. “But I do know that Duke helped me grow in ways I didn’t expect. 

"I found community not only with my peers at the Divinity School but within the other graduate schools and undergraduate population as well. I frequented rock climbing competitions and commuted to the local bouldering gyms with fellow climbing students. I made friends with other graduate students, so I am grateful for not only the physical location of Duke Divinity School but for its place within the greater Duke community.

"I grew in my vocational abilities, working at the Duke Hospital gift shops, Perkins library, and at local churches over the summers through our field education program. I did not expect to become president of the Asian Theology Group and have never considered myself a leader, but I found myself passionately organizing events and facilitating safe, cultural spaces and events for our Asian students, staff, and friends."

A Community That Forms You

For both father and son, the Duke Divinity experience has been about more than academic learning; it’s been about community, formation, and the way knowledge is embodied.

“It’s not just the pieces of information you get from here,” the Rev. Dr. Hong said. “It’s the surrounding atmosphere, the whole content of what you are involved in. It’s how the knowledge is communicated through relationships, practice, and presence.”

And now, both Hongs carry the title of Duke Divinity School alumni, bound not just as a family, but by a shared formation, vocation, and passion for the word and work of God that spans continents, generations, and callings.