NUrturing Faith

Sharing Stories from LCMNU

December 2025

Finding Purpose and Community: Emma Schultz

When Emma Schultz (‘21) arrived at Northwestern University from South Bend, Indiana, she brought with her a love of both science and the arts. “I really liked chemistry and biology in high school,” she says, “but I also played the clarinet and loved music and writing.” Northwestern seemed to offer everything she hoped for—strong academics, creative opportunities, and a community where she could belong.

During her first year, Emma felt she had adjusted to college life well enough. “I made it through my freshman year thinking that I’d made it through the challenges,” she says. But when sophomore year began, the classes grew tougher, and the sense of belonging she’d hoped to find still hadn’t taken shape. “The courses had gotten harder, and I was feeling kind of lost,” she remembers. “I realized I wanted to find more of a community that I could be part of while I was feeling really challenged.”

That’s when she remembered meeting Pastor Deanna at the fall activities fair. “She was so warm and welcoming,” Emma recalls. She decided to visit Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northwestern (LCMNU). “LCMNU gave a lot to me when I didn’t have too much, I feel like, to give to them. They welcomed me into a community with open arms when I needed one.”

Through worship, small groups, and conversations, Emma began to rediscover her footing. One experience that stood out was 21theo, LCMNU’s student-led faith discussion group. “I did 21theo, and it was great for me,” she says. “I still have the books that we read, and I return to them. I remember a lot of what we talked about on vocation and about Sabbath and learning to take more active rest and reconnection with your faith.” Those conversations left a deep mark.

“It really opened the way that I thought about my faith,” she adds. “What I really liked about LCMNU—and I think it’s particularly unique—is that Pastor Deanna and 21theo pushed us to go deeper. Other communities I’ve joined haven’t pushed me to think quite as deeply.”

When the pandemic moved everything online, Emma stayed connected. “I was most involved with 21theo. I learned a lot—not just from the student ministers presenting but from my peers on how they were thinking about different things that I wouldn’t have come to myself.”

Emma also remembers preparing a student sermon. “It wasn’t something that I was used to,” she says. “The priest always ran everything...but I learned a lot meeting with Pastor Deanna and talking about my drafts. She pushed me to think down different paths of what I’d written, and that made me think more deeply about what I was saying.”

At the same time, Emma was wrestling with questions of purpose and vocation. “I felt lost at the time and wasn’t sure where I wanted my path to go,” she remembers. “Thinking more in that kind of direction—about the purpose of what I was doing—was really meaningful to me.” That focus stayed with her as she pursued law school after graduation. “I wanted to make sure that I was using my legal studies for service,” she says.

Now working as an attorney in Minnesota, Emma still carries lessons from LCMNU. She still joins in for trivia nights and occasional alumni gatherings for the ministry. “I’ve tried to make sure that I feel connected with my work and making sure I’m making a difference,” she says. “That’s something I learned to think about at LCMNU.”

When she looks back, Emma sees her time at LCMNU as a turning point. What began as simply finding a place where she felt seen and cared for soon grew into something much deeper—a season of growth in how she thought about faith, purpose, and vocation.

Her story reflects what LCMNU offers so many students: a place to belong, to think deeply, and to grow in faith and purpose. “LCMNU gave me a community when I needed one,” Emma says. “It keeps on giving to me in ways that I would not have expected.”

Because of the generosity of donors and friends, students like Emma continue to find that same welcome and wisdom. Thank you for helping make it possible for LCMNU to keep changing lives.