Category: Student Story

Luther College’s Social Impact Fellowship Program partners together one student studying social work and one student studying business to research a problem and develop a business plan for a solution. Italee Castellon, Luther College senior from Chicago, Illinois, and Lauren Voigt, Luther College junior from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, are working with nonprofit organizations in the surrounding Decorah area in order to better connect Luther College students with volunteer opportunities.

Students of all ages struggle to have fun engaging with and understanding foreign cultures and global citizenship. Levi Bird, Luther College sophomore of Muscoda, Wisconsin, is researching and creating historically based role-playing simulations in order to stimulate and to engage students in the learning of modern languages.

Unit testing involves testing individual components of software to assure each smaller section performs as it was designed before testing the larger unit’s functionality. Through his summer research project, David Oniani, Luther College first-year of Tbilisi, Georgia, is exploring whether unit testing could be used in a classroom setting to provide immediate feedback for students.

Roughly five million Americans live with fibromyalgia, a chronic disease with no standard treatment or cure that involves musculoskeletal pain. Shannon Lunn, Luther College junior of Farmington, Minnesota, is exploring experiences men have with fibromyalgia for her summer research project.

Luther College students Tyler Conzett, Catelyn Janda and Liliana Mondragon have each received a Karen Julesberg Scholarship for the 2018-19 academic year. The $1,000 scholarship, created by Karen Julesberg of Madison, Wisconsin, Luther class of 1960, benefits Luther students involved in the TRIO Achievement Program. TRIO is a federally-funded program providing holistic, individualized support and comprehensive programming that promotes students’ academic success, personal development and sense of community.

Luther College junior Rebecka Green and sophomore Maxwell Eness have been selected as Peace Scholars for the 2018-19 academic year. The pair will spend six weeks this summer studying peace and dialogue in Lillehammer and Oslo, Norway.

A group of eight Luther College trumpet players competed in March at the National Trumpet Competition at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. The group was given exceptional reviews but did not advance to the semifinals as an octet. The ensemble consisted of senior Liam Fraser; juniors Curtis Cook, Madison Ihde, Sarah Lodge, Chelsey Schmeling and Michael Winkler; and sophomores Chloe Beck and Marya Haughland.

Luther College sophomore Maggie Breitenstein has been named to the 2018-19 BACCHUS Initiatives Student Advisory Committee as a Student Advisory Committee Representative for Region IV-E, representing Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Ontario. This committee is a part of NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The BACCHUS Initiative of NASPA supports collegiate peer educators and advisors by empowering students and student affairs administrators to create healthy and safe campus environments.

Luther sophomore Maxwell Eness has received the Kuh Family “Positively Luther” Award for his contributions to the student experience at Luther College. Eness, son of Daniel and Betsy Eness of Ames, Iowa, is a 2016 graduate of Ames High School. He plans to graduate from Luther in 2020 with majors in philosophy and environmental studies.

Luther junior Janet Irankunda has received the Krahn Family Student Life Service Award for her extensive contributions to student life at Luther through her service to the community. Irankunda, daughter of Clarise Kabasinga and Callixte Habimana of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, is a 2015 graduate of Coon Rapids High School. She plans to graduate from Luther in 2019 with a major in music and a minor in K-12 music education.