Hello and welcome to CF!
And welcome to St. Basil's (which is a subsection of The Ancient Way - TAW) to you and to all of our non- Orthodox visitors.
Christ is Born! Glorify Him! (This is our Nativity greeting
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One may certainly become Orthodox. Of course I agree it is the continuation of the early Church. We are still in communion with those Churches mentioned in Scripture (most of which have continually existed) - except Rome of course.
If you mean you wish to be one who studies and/or teaches theology, that is certainly possible. There is no "requirement" of having seen the Divine Light. But there is a very great deal of richness and it can occupy a person's entire life and still not everything will be known. There are many very fine teachers though, who are "theologians" in the sense I think you probably mean, and hearing them is like being showered with gold - their words are precious and edifying.
The Church does have the "title" of Theologian - and that has been bestowed upon only a few Saints through history to distinguish who they are. It would be a huge matter of pride to aspire to this designation, and we don't.
The Church also has a saying - "The true theologian is one who prays". And by that we mean that in order to know God, one has to spend time with God. Much is learned through prayer itself. And these are not the kinds of things we expect to be taught in a classroom - though they may be described a little in books or spiritual counsels. True experience of God and with God is necessary to grow in the faith though.
And finally - the Divine Light. Yes, it is an actual experience. And I suspect really a lot more common than many people might suppose. HOWEVER - it is very important to note a couple of things. First - that kind of direct experience is on a level where the enemy frequently tries to introduce much deception. One MUST be connected with the oversight of a spiritual father who is wise enough to prevent the very real risk of deception and pride which can result. It is a well-known trick of the enemy, and can result in a most dangerous spiritual condition which may not be something that can be healed (people under such a delusion tend to think they don't need help and so refuse it - a very vicious cycle the enemy traps them in). Lifelong monks have fallen into such a trap, so people ought not think their own discernment will save them. And for these kinds of reasons, we never SEEK spiritual experiences of this sort. If God so wills, they may come to a person. And a person must be cautious and skeptical and submit to a spiritual father. But we never chase after "experiences" because the genuine ones come only at the will of God, but the enemy is always ready and pleased to supply false "experiences" to those who seek them. So - don't worry about such an experience. As I said, pride is a big danger in that case. And God doesn't want to put us in danger. These experiences most often come to those whose humility is well-developed for that reason. And among the virtues (which take time to cultivate) ... humility is the highest and most difficult to attain. It should be expected that it will take a long time.
But as for becoming Orthodox, that is certainly possible. And if you wish to study, teach, and so on, it is a goal anyone can pursue.
Expect it to take a long time to become a teacher though - there is SO MUCH available to learn. There are many good books, and Ancient Faith Radio has many podcasts (some certainly much better for your goals), and there are Orthodox seminaries and monasteries and other places to study.
I hope this helps. Again, welcome to TAW. God be with you!
