Inside Luther News

Coleman Carter grew up in the Baptist tradition and found his way to Lutheranism as an adolescent. He is a residential student who engages as much as he can with the on-campus community and the Christian public leaders from around the country who are students at the seminary.

Keturah Raabe is an M.Div. student at Luther Seminary who grew up in North Carolina and attended North Carolina Central University. She’s a distributed learner who packs as much as she can into her Minnesota trips, even visiting peers on campus when she isn’t taking any classes.

Shamani Shikwambi, Luther Seminary’s new dean of students, began his career in education as a middle school teacher in his home country of Namibia, learning firsthand how access to education changes lives for individuals and entire communities. He is a life-long Lutheran and, over the years, has come to love Minnesota’s vibrant communities, beautiful lakes, and seasonal rhythms.

Saleem Akhtar grew up in Pakistan in a faith-oriented Christian family and earned an M.Div. in the Church of Pakistan. He is currently a residential Th.M student at Luther Seminary and is grateful for the rhythms of study, worship, service, and community he experiences here on campus. He is passionate about music and plays the tabla.

Kaylee Vance was raised in a military family, has practiced as a licensed therapist, and was a professional Latin dancer. She’s pursuing an M.Div. at Luther and serves as a Synodically Authorized Minister. Her current call is to the Hearth, a worshiping community that meets in bars and breweries around Central Florida.

Even in high school, M.Div. student Kaitlyn Jedrzejowski felt nudges toward ministry but brushed them off. As an undergrad at Valparaiso University, the nudges became tugs, and she started paying closer attention to her call. She chose Luther for its academic rigor and openness to asking big questions.

As a youth in her congregation, Amy Boyer taught Sunday School, assisted with VBS, hand-washed glass communion cups wither her mom and grandmas, and repaired nursery chairs with her grandpa. Today, she’s finishing up work on a graduate certificate in leadership and looking to provide lay leadership in a rural area that needs more of it.

Eric Nelson is an M.Div. student at Luther Seminary and an intern with Lutheran Campus Ministry–Twin Cities. He lost a chunk of his undergraduate experience to the pandemic and, for a time, had buried any thoughts of pursuing theological education. He’s grateful for the beautiful path he took to get where God wanted him to go.

Michelle Hintz was working on a Graduate Certificate at Luther Seminary and recently changed to the M.Div. program. She lives, works, and studies in North Dakota and loves coming to the Twin Cities for residential focus sessions.

Kurty Darling has joined the Luther faculty as a visiting instructor for Children, Youth, and Family Ministry and serves as grant manager for the Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer initiative grant. She has taught for the past five years at Bethel University.