Christopher Lempa C’18, Marketing and Spanish

“As a person who has always felt a calling to service, I was inspired by the Bible’s teachings that we must be good stewards of the earth. This led me to become co-president of the Green Team club at ��ݮӰ�� and lead an initiative to have the cafeteria compost foods.

“Co-President Renee Baker, former President Garrett Warren, and other club members were collaborators. Our biggest challenge was developing the necessary diverse coalition to support the cause. We had to recruit and mobilize a team of students that had never met before and build relationships with multiple University associates and administrators to help guide our efforts and endorse the proposal. These relationships and the teamwork of our student organizers allowed us to create a successful proposal, which the University approved one year after we formed the idea.

“This experience showed me the power of working collaboratively with others toward a common goal. The lessons I learned as a Green Team leader led me to work on several more community-oriented campaigns and develop my own mission-driven career. Since graduating, I’ve been blessed to work for several civic engagement organizations such as the Sierra Club, Peace Corps, Gun Violence Prevention Illinois, and now as a program coordinator for Friends of the Parks.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Dhruvi Patel C’22, Biomedical Sciences

“The Faith in the Vaccine ambassador program was launched by an interfaith community as a way to lessen the spread of misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccine. 12 ��ݮӰ�� students, including myself, were selected as vaccine ambassadors. With guidance from Kristine Aronsson, the pre-health advisor at ��ݮӰ��, we were able to provide vaccines to many people.

“The major challenge for us was to talk with others about receiving the vaccine. Through this program, we met a huge variety of people from different cultures and educated them on the mechanism and importance of vaccination in more than eight different languages.

“It was a great experience for me personally because I was able to help and protect many lives by motivating people to get vaccinated, and I learned a lot from this wonderful experience. The motto that we spread to the people around us is ‘Get vaccinated and protect your neighbor.’”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Steve Bauer C’21, Teacher Licensure

“I was a trader at the Chicago Board of Trade for 25 years as well as a football coach during that time, but I had always wanted to go back to school and become a teacher. When the pandemic began, the Board of Trade shut down for a period of time, so I took the opportunity and enrolled at ��ݮӰ�� for the teacher licensure program because it was the only school in the state that offered teacher licensure in business.

“My experience at ��ݮӰ�� was nothing but positive, and after graduating in December, I really feel like I’m equipped to become a teacher. I’m a unique case, transitioning from a profession that I had for 25 years into a completely different one, but from the moment I enrolled to the moment I graduated, ��ݮӰ�� faculty bent over backwards to make sure that everything was as smooth as possible.

“Dr. Ida Maduram, Dr. John Laukaitis, Dr. Carolyn Poterek, and Dr. Teri Madl were model teachers. One thing they preached that has stuck with me is that in order to help students, you must have empathy—especially when things aren’t going smoothly. It’s a tool I used a lot during my student teaching and will continue to use in the future.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Nancy Stenberg Carlson C’68, Psychology & Elementary Education

“��ݮӰ�� has been a place of enriching, enduring community for me. Foremost, I met my husband Ken my junior year; we married in Isaacson Chapel the weekend of his graduation and lived on campus a few more years while he attended seminary and I taught school. Fellow students became dear friends, and we have remained close to many for more than fifty years. Our children were each drawn to ��ݮӰ�� as they observed our close relationships and heard of the many enrichment and engagement opportunities Chicago had offered us. That Erik, Mark, and Ingrid chose to attend there was a bonus, as it further broadened our ��ݮӰ�� community, and it was a delight to gain a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law who joined our family through ��ݮӰ��.”

“As I moved into adulthood, it was important for me to better understand and engage with a wider community than the comfortable one close to me. My awareness of the broader Chicago community developed significantly in my final semester when I was student teaching. In the Spring of 1968, I was riding a bus on Kedzie each morning and experiencing more of the world’s diversity than ever before as it headed south to Humboldt Park and Lowell School. When my supervising teacher realized I spoke Spanish, she gave me the responsibility of teaching her five Spanish-speaking students. In this 1:5 ratio, I was able to clearly witness the children’s development and excitement for learning. This early recognition of the impact that caring for and connecting with individual children can have remained with me throughout my teaching career. It also helped me realize the barriers that so many face. After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April, the neighborhoods I passed on the bus and the one I taught in experienced incredible violence and volatility as people expressed pent-up frustration. Witnessing this was a pivotal awakening for me, creating an intent to be more aware of what is going on in my broader community, my country, and in the world, and to become more sensitive to the untold challenges facing individuals, people groups, and society in general.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Haobitai “Melody” Haobitai, C’20, Education

“I was co-president of the East Asian Student Association for three years. The club is a space for East Asian students to share their experiences and feelings safely, without worrying about being judged for their accents or cultural backgrounds. We also wanted to spread cultural awareness to our campus, so the challenge was in engaging other students who haven’t studied abroad or who may not know a lot of students of color. We would use food to draw students in, because that is something that people are familiar with, but I would always prepare a PowerPoint so that we could share something educational. More and more students wanted to be involved as we planned game-nights, watched movies, and celebrated traditional holidays.

“The International Office was a big support. Dr. Sumi Song, the Director of International Affairs, was our advisor for the club, and she always had our back. Once when we planned a visit to China Town, Dr. Song reserved a school van for us and gave up her Saturday to drive and go with us. She shared her culture and challenges growing up, supported the students in telling their own stories, and encouraged the club members to have open minds toward each other’s cultures. She took the time to be present and made us feel that we had support and that we had a safe space to share our experiences.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Claudia Martinez Patino, G’19, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry and Master of Nonprofit Administration

“I began at ��ݮӰ�� as a dual degree MACM/MBA international student, but a former classmate, who has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, helped me realize and accept my gift and calling to serve in the humanitarian & development field so I switched to the MACM/MNA dual degree program! Now, I am back home in Medellin, Colombia working for a humanitarian aid organization that is headquartered in Chicago.

“Being an intern for University Ministries and an advisor for the Latin American Student Organization impacted not only my career, but my life holistically. I’m still honored that so many students saw me as a mentor, a spiritual director, and an example for students of color, especially for Latina Women and international students.

“At NPU, I represented the Spanish voice during the president’s inauguration, I gave the blessing in the 2020 graduating ceremony, and I preached for the first time fully in English, which is my second language. These memories will be in my heart forever.

“I am a first-generation student with a master’s degree, and I did it abroad, with all the effort and sacrifices that means. I didn’t walk for graduation in December 2019 so my parents were planning to attend in May, but the pandemic changed all our plans, and they couldn’t make it. My diplomas were sent to my house in Colombia. My mom received the diplomas, right before the international border was closed, as a special gift and surprise.

“NPU allowed me to be able to be who I was meant to be. To heal, to learn, to grow and do what I love to do.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Kiera Lane, C’18, Spanish and Biblical and Theological Studies

“Along with my degree path from NPU, my involvement in Global Partnerships has most impacted where I am today and changed me in evident ways. My many trips to Oaxaca, Mexico shaped me as a global citizen and as a leader. These trips led me to lifelong friends, and to my now husband. They landed me back in Oaxaca, serving alongside indigenous communities in various capacities, and now to pursuing a seminary degree in public ministry, with plans to relocate to Oaxaca post-graduation. Cross-cultural ministry is my calling, and the ��ݮӰ�� community fostered this passion and affirmed it.

“The most challenging aspect of being a learner at NPU was my worldview constantly being challenged by peers, professors, and mentors. It was a good and healthy challenge, but none-the-less hard. To me, being a part of the ��ݮӰ�� community means being a part of a legacy of learners eager to make the world more beautiful and just. It means celebrating where we’ve been, acknowledging where we should’ve done better, and working towards a more just church and world.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Juanita Koziol, G’21

“My extraordinary experience as a ��ݮӰ��er has taught me deep compassion for everyone I meet, reminding me that everyone has a unique story. This impact has allowed me to be of better service to others in my life, career, and community.

“Being part of the ��ݮӰ�� community means I am fully injected with the knowledge, skills, experience, and compassion to pursue my dreams. Living through this pandemic as a graduate student could feel lonely and stressful at times. It was critical to maintain a socially connected support group that included friends, family, professors, and other ��ݮӰ��ers. Engaging through video or phone calls at least one or twice a week helped me stay rejuvenated, relaxed, and focused on successfully completing my degree.

“��ݮӰ�� was prepared to ensure their students had all the essentials to not give up, stay safe, stay motivated, and enjoy the unique process of degree completion. During COVID, I was truly grateful for ��ݮӰ��’s financial aid team. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. They helped me successfully complete my graduate program with a variety of financing options, including grants and scholarship programs that I never thought were possible for my situation.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Christine Wallace, C’10, Education

“Studying abroad at Södra Vätterbygdens Folkhögskola (SVF) in 2007 allowed me to interact with people with different backgrounds from my own as I traveled around Europe. My favorite part was when SVF Program Director Hans Nilsson took us to Greece and knew more than the tour guides. Anders Andersson, the head of the school, welcomed us Americans with open arms, and many of my classmates invited us to their homes in Sweden to share fika, where I learned the value of conversation.

“I learned from many great teachers, like Hans, Kurt Peterson, and Sven-Olof Josefsson. They stood out to me because I loved the way they told stories. I’m a teacher now myself, teaching middle school English and US History, and I draw from those experiences as I teach my own students; I get to be the storyteller.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at

Julie Bodiwala, C’21, Nursing

“I will always associate my time at ��ݮӰ�� with sitting on the green-space in the warm Chicago weather. Watching others sitting on picnic blankets, resting or studying, hanging hammocks in the trees, and skateboarding, I would feel a sense of belonging and content. As an Orientation Leader during Threshold Orientation, it was our role to welcome and include the incoming freshman. I was blessed to engage and facilitate honest conversations with new students as they navigated their nervousness for the start of the semester.

“This experience helped me realize how vital communication is—how initiating a sympathetic conversation can ease another person’s stress. I was reminded of the skills I have been developing through the nursing program and how achieving trust and compassion can provide a safe space for empathic communication. Being an Orientation Leader has further inspired me to help my community through becoming a nurse who can advocate for my patients.”

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We’re celebrating 130 years of ��ݮӰ�� community. You’re invited to share your own story at