Luther house is the Lutheran campus ministry at Oregon State University. It is a home away from home for many students. The atmosphere is appealing to me because it is intellectual, comfortable and open minded. Disscussions with students and faculty had at Luther house have helped me learn about other's beliefs and investigate my own faith. Events held at Lutherhouse include a physics professor's lecture/discussion on "Quantum Physics and God". Luther house is an important part of my experience in graduate school at Oregon State University.

This photograph was taken on a beach outing to Newport, Oregon in 2007:


Pator Jim Norley wrote a description of my involvement with Lutherhouse as part of an atempt to gain support for his campus ministry in a 100 years of Lutheran Campus Ministry Celebration. Here is his statement:

Katie (a.k.a. Kat, Katrina) was a Bible camp counselor when I first met her. As with many summer camp staff I’ve met in my time, she was a little crazy--  jumping up to sing the camp songs, arousing energetic enthusiasm in campers and camp staff to do what they would not do in saner circumstances, organizing chaos to make meaning of the summer camp experience. I’m sure she wondered, “Who’s this strange old person at my table?" Somehow it became known that I was the Lutheran Campus Pastor at Oregon State University. To which she responded, “You’re kidding! That’s where I’M going to school in the fall! I’ll be a graduate student -- in physics!"

Chance meeting? Happy coincidence? Movement of the Spirit? Whatever meaning we attach to that first encounter doesn’t really matter so much as the result. Ever since, Katie has been an integral part of the ministry of Luther House.

She’s helped organize and lead worship. She¹s cooked meals. She paints watercolors. She performed in a local performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” She gives really interesting Ostar talks’ and makes astrophysics relatively easy to understand. She asks good questions. She enters in to discussions and holds her ground whether the conversation partner is a professor or another student. And she has an amazing knack for welcoming newcomers and making them feel at home. Plus, she's a lot of fun.

Katie takes herself and her studies seriously but not so seriously as to
lose sight of the joy of learning and the broader opportunities for
friendship and living. To say that she’s had a strong influence on the
ministry and mission of Luther House is an understatement. Young students look up to her; older peers respect her.

Last summer she was chosen to be an intern at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. It’s owned by NASA. Her assignment was to help develop the timeline for the “Dawn” spacecraft as it orbits around the asteroid Vesta. If all stays on schedule it will launch July 21 this summer. Its mission will last 16 years during which it will try helping scientists better understand the formation of planetary bodies in the early solar system. For Katie this is the fulfillment of her dreams of working with space flight. For us it’s an awesome encounter with that which lies far, far beyond our daily experience. Stay tuned to see how her mission fares.

The time is nearing when she will decide what path her life will take.
Research? Teaching? Museum curator? Astronomer? Whatever decision she makes, the world will be blessed for her energy, intelligence, wisdom, and care.

A high privilege of Lutheran Campus Ministry is knowing (if only for a
while) young women and men who will make a profound difference on the world and contribute to the public good. I’d like to believe that Lutheran Campus Ministry has helped Katie grow and deepen; I know that she has helped us go places we wouldn’t have gone without her.

Thanks be to God for the continuing ministry on campus for the sake of the world and the church we hold dear.