Celebrating our Graduates!

This Sunday, April 22nd, we will honor our 2007 graduates:

Chuck Chambers
Chuck will be receiving an MA in German Language and Literature from Wayne State University, Detroit. His thesis focused on German gay silent films. After a summer of studying New Testament Greek, Chuck will be entering the M.Div. program at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Ultimately, Chuck hopes to serve as a chaplain.

A. J. Francis
A.J. will be receiving a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Political Science and Spanish from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA. He plans to spend the coming year teaching English in China.

Keith Pearson Fuhrhop
Keith is completing a Ph.D. in Electromagnetics, Plasma Physics and Space Applications through the College of Engineering: Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan (U-M). His dissertation focuses upon Theory and Experimental Evaluation of Electrodynamic Tether Systems and Related Technologies. For the past four years, Keith has had a NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Fellowship. He will be working as a post-doc at U-M until August when he will be moving to southern California to work for Northrop Grumman, Ratheon or NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.

Kristin Pearson Fuhrhop
Kristin will be receiving a B.S. with honors in Biochemistry and Brain, Behavior & the Cognitive Sciences from the U-M’s School of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA). She addressed Individual Differences in Verbal Working Memory in her Honors Thesis in Brain, Behavior & the Cognitive Sciences. Kristin has been a member of the Women’s Varsity Track & Field Team since 2003 and each year from 2004-2007 received the U-M Scholar-Athlete Award; in 2005 and 2006, she was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference. From 2002-2007, Kristin has been in the U-M Honors College and received the Dean’s Merit Scholarship. In 2002, she was awarded the Regent’s Merit Scholarship. Recently, she received the Anne Rudo Memorial Award. While at LOL, Kristin has served as a Peer Minister, a member of the Call Committee, LCM Board and Congregation Council. She was a 2005-2006 Yoder Scholar. After enjoying a summer in Ann Arbor, Kristin will be moving out west to begin work on a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of California at Irvine.

Patrick Lyon
Patrick will be receiving a MBA with distinction from the Ross School of Business at U-M. Following graduation, he’ll will be taking some time off before settling in the “land of the Lutherans” to work in Medtronic’s Mergers & Acquisitions group.

Matthew Petering
Matt will be receiving a Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the U-M School of Engineering. His dissertation was entitled, “Design, Analysis, and Real-Time Control of Material Handling Systems.” In August, Matt will join the faculty of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee as an Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering.

Jessica Powell
Jessica will be receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing with honors from the U-M Residential College, a Bachelor’s Degree with a major in English and a minor in Spanish from the U-M School of Education and a Secondary Teaching Certificate which will allow her to teach grades 6-12. She has been granted the James H. Robertson award for excellence in creative writing, is a 3-term James B. Angell Scholar in LSA and has earned University Honors. After graduation, Jessica hopes to teach English at the middle school level in Virginia or the Carolinas.

Tiffany So
Tiffany will be receiving a B.S. in Biopsychology from LSA at U-M. A 2006-2007 Yoder Scholar, throughout her college career, Tiffany has been awarded scholarships through the U-M Marching Band (she was a twirler!) and Delta Gamma Sorority. In addition to her capable service as an LOL Peer Minister this year, Tiffany also served on the Board of U-M's Division of Student Affairs. Following graduation, she will either be accepting a position with AmeriCorps or seeking a position in laboratory research.

Matt Steiner
Matt will be receiving a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Ford School of Public Policy at U-M. This two-year program is designed to train leaders to serve as policy analysts and public administrators to promote better public policies. In the past, Matt has worked for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) in Washington D.C. and for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He plans to return to Chicago and hopes to work for the Mayor's Office or in Public-Sector consulting.

Diana Tarr
Diana Tarr will be receiving an M.A. in Elementary Education with Certification and an additional endorsement in English as a Second Language from the U-M School of Education. She hopes to teach at a primary school in Australia for a couple years and then perhaps at an international school.

Isaac Williamson
Isaac will be graduating with a B.S. in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University. A Peer Minister in 2005-2006 and Yoder Scholar for 2006-2007, Isaac has been an intern at Dawn Farm throughout this academic year. He will continue working full-time as a Substance Abuse Therapist at Dawn Farm until he moves to Seattle in August; there, he will be serving with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and working at Compass Center, which provides social services to homeless and low-income adults.

Congratulations to all!