Prepared to Serve
Story: Amy Crawford
Photos: Liz Kucera
Concordia’s Luke Scholars honors program and classical liberal arts major prepare students for all the many vocations in which they will serve after graduation.
Concordia University, Nebraska promises students an outstanding education that will prepare them for various vocations serving both the church and the world. One way Concordia delivers that distinctive education is through its Luke Scholars honors program, which gives matchless education and enrichment opportunities to a select number of students. In addition, the university also offers a classical liberal arts major and minor, both of which feature a robust suite of classes that educate, enrich and equip students. The Luke Scholars program and classical liberal arts program are both relatively new to the university. Students from all backgrounds are welcome in both the classical liberal arts program and as applicants for the Luke Scholars honors program.
Luke Scholars Program
Luke Scholars is Concordia Nebraska’s honors program, which is open to all students with any educational background. In its fourth year, participating students are selected via application, and about 15 to 20 new students are admitted annually. This year, the program has 53 students and will be graduating its first seniors.
“It’s fun to see these students starting to think deeper about their passions and training in particular majors and the needs within society and how they can serve. They are not just looking backwards, they are thinking about what’s next,” says Concordia Nebraska Associate Professor of History and Director of Luke Scholars Dr. John Hink. “The Luke Scholars program is not an end, it is the start of a path that allows them to continue academic and spiritual growth.”
Hink describes the students who participate in the program as young people with both great ability and great grit.
“These are students who are interested in cultivating the mind in a Christian sense, with a Christian worldview,” he says. “These are students who like to ask big questions, who want to have debates, who want to be in an intellectual community with others who will challenge them constructively. This is not about students that are all the same. What they have is a common commitment to cultivation of the mind to really push themselves to see how far they can go intellectually.”
In addition to enjoying unique Luke Scholars classes that are paired with students’ other courses, program participants receive access to the Luke Scholars library, benefit from tuition waivers for course overloads, have access to funds to support research, receive supplemental study travel stipends and more. Hink says program participants have visited the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Tunisia as part of the program.
Classical Liberal Arts
The 2022-2023 school year marks the first full school year that a major in classical liberal arts has been offered at the university. A minor in classical liberal arts has been available to Concordia’s students for several years.
“A classical liberal arts education is a foundational education that can be paired with a more career-oriented second major or minor,” says Concordia Nebraska Associate Professor of English Dr. Gabriel Haley. Haley holds a degree in English and classics from Hillsdale College, and his graduate work at the University of Virginia focused on medieval and Renaissance literature and theology. “People change career paths multiple times. A hyper-specific degree may not prepare you for those job changes. Being well educated - studying history, literature, philosophy and theology - helps us to be good citizens and good neighbors, and it helps us to be ready to address the complications of the present day.”
The classical liberal arts program allows students to pore over matchless great works of literature, interact with timeless works of art and engage with perennially important questions and issues. The program offers a breadth of learning that equips students to be adaptable and creative. It also emphasizes the higher aims of education, not simply to make a ‘worker’ but a person ready for all life vocations— family member, church member, friend, co-worker, and citizen.
The earliest Lutheran universities were liberal arts programs. Studying foundational sources helps us rediscover our roots.
“Often, the understanding of the modern-day liberal arts has been watered down, and not many people really know what it is. This is not underwater basket weaving,” laughs Haley. “By calling it classical liberal arts, we are emphasizing the historic model of learning. It’s not a particular trend, it’s something that’s historically existed. The earliest Lutheran universities were liberal arts programs. Studying foundational sources helps us rediscover our roots.”
Concordia’s classical liberal arts major pairs well with many majors for a double major, he explains. Some students instead opt to add classical liberal arts as a minor to support their education.
“The goal of this program is to allow students to pursue what is good, true and beautiful within the light of Christian revelation,” says Haley. “This is designed to serve as a springboard in student’s pursuit of lifelong learning.”
With course options in Latin, Greek, philosophy, history, literature and early Christian theology, the university’s classical liberal arts program is designed to educate students in foundational sources alongside the distinctively Lutheran education for which Concordia Nebraska is known.
“Both the classical liberal arts program and the Luke Scholars program are tied to the humanities and a liberal arts education,” adds Haley. “This goes back to the Lutheran church. Martin Luther encouraged families to send their children to school to be educated in liberal arts. He talks about the liberal arts being a lasting treasure that families give to their children,” says Haley. “This vision of education encompasses the Lutheran doctrine of vocation, where you are not just training for a job, but you are preparing for your role in the home and the community as well as the workplace.”
Meet the Luke Scholars
Victoria (Tori) Ritzma '23
Luke Scholars Program Participant
Luke Scholar Victoria Ritzma dreams of teaching in a Lutheran high school. Tori says the Luke Scholars program offers students a unique opportunity to develop the gifts that God has blessed them with in order to allow them to better serve in their future vocations.
“Few universities in existence today offer a true education, one that shapes the heart, mind and soul of a student. Instead, most offer little more than mere job training in a highly specialized field,” she says. “Even fewer schools shape their students’ hearts, minds and souls in accordance with God’s Word. Most fail to recognize the eternally essential reality that all truth is God’s truth and accordingly allow students to graduate without having learned about how God works in and for His creation in history classes, how God provides for His creation in science classes, how to effectively use the languages that God has blessed us with to glorify Him, how to create and appreciate beauty in the fine arts and more.”
Aaron Fosse ’24
Classical Liberal Arts Major
Concordia junior Aaron Fosse is majoring in classical liberal arts with hopes of becoming a teacher or pastor.
“I am pursuing classical liberal arts because it is a growing movement that aligns with my ideology that more alternative education is needed in today’s society,” he says. “Classical liberal arts is a program that submerses one in history, language and thought, all elements that are considered vital to a well-rounded individual. I’m so excited to be taking Latin and Greek classes and studying medieval history and Roman culture.”
“Concordia Nebraska offers the best opportunities to network and participate in a great community of like-minded thinkers,” he adds. “We focus on deep, purposeful, and meaningful conversation.”
Bethany Dawn ’24
Classical Liberal Arts Major
Bethany Dawn is majoring in classical liberal arts and minoring in history. A transfer student, she found the classical liberal arts major at Concordia Nebraska to be the best program for her interests. She said the program offers classes and an overall curriculum that rivals other similar programs yet does so with a Lutheran perspective.
“The program offers a wonderful intersection of classes, ones that not only give a good glimpse into the deeper truths of human existence, but also of the practice and philosophy involved in theology, history, English and philosophy,” she says. “Companies need people who can write well, think analytically, construct good arguments while recognizing poor ones, research deeply and truthfully, organize thoughts, data and works, speak well on multiple educational subjects that people around the world learn and understand the many perspectives represented in the world.”
She says a classical liberal arts major is a good choice for students who are unsure which course of study they wish to pursue and is also fitting for students interested in multiple disciplines in the humanities.
“You can easily pair it with another major that dives deeper into what your interests are, or switch majors after getting a glimpse of what each of the subjects covered entails,” she explains.
Micah Willweber '24
Luke Scholars Program Participant
Micah Willweber is studying physics and computer science and is also in the university’s Luke Scholars program.
“I am not a classics major, and was largely unaware of classical education opportunities at Concordia [prior to coming here],” he says. “A major reason that I decided to attend Concordia was because it offers a high-quality Christian liberal arts education, and I knew that would be further enhanced by participating in the Luke Scholars program. The program does so in a way that is accessible and understandable to someone like me who has not been classically educated while still pairing well with the classics major for students that choose to pursue that route.”
Willweber says he applied for the program because he was intrigued by the interdisciplinary and discussion-based nature of the courses in the program.
“Luke Scholars are an outstanding group of students to be around: they are friendly, inquisitive, well-spoken, and kind,” he says. “They are involved in many aspects of campus life – music, athletics, chapel, speech, student government – and study a variety of subject areas.”