NUrturing Faith

Sharing Stories from LCMNU: Fall 2026

A ‘Countercultural’ Place: Cole Morgan

Cole Morgan (‘27) had not been going to church too much for a few years before a friend invited him to Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northwestern.

That’s not to say faith communities hadn’t been a part of his life up until that point. Cole grew up Presbyterian in Illinois and moved as a kid to Minnesota so his father could attend seminary. The family moved back to Illinois. Then the COVID-19 pandemic began, and additional moves plus the busy nature of high school kept Cole from going as much to a Presbyterian church.

Once at NU, he was kind of hesitant about going to a Lutheran place of worship for the first time, but his friend convinced him. The 21theo discussions after Wednesday suppers made him stay.

“I liked how deep the conversation was and how different it was,” Cole, now a senior, said.

Cole, who is studying mechanical engineering with a specific interest in robotics, liked the theological discussions and the other students at LCMNU so much that he became a student minister later on that freshman year.

Cole has since served as the Peace and Justice leader and is currently Cole has since served as the Peace and Justice leader and is currently the Fundraising leader on the Student Leadership Board.

A member of a campus gospel choir who also previously participated in NU’s swim club and who studied abroad last fall in Cork, Ireland, Cole feels like LCMNU has given direction to his life and studies.

“It feels like I have more understanding of what I'm working towards, not just towards a degree, but also just towards my morals and who I am as a human and what my education might be used for in the future,” he said. “And it’s also just given me a place that’s so countercultural to the way that school is sometimes.”

That countercultural sense is tied to how easy it is to get caught up in work and striving for more achievements at NU, Cole said. The ministry "really challenges me a lot to not get hooked up in that, and it definitely helps me to make sense of things that are going on in school and in my life,” he said.

Whatever he ends up doing after graduation, whether in engineering or other pursuits, Cole feels he will carry that countercultural sense of slowing down and not getting caught up solely in academic and professional success but rather serving and connecting with others. LCMNU has taught him that and given him the “language” to talk to others about issues of faith.

“It’s also shown me how important it is to have a community to be around after you graduate,” Cole said. “I don’t really know what I would do if I didn’t have this ministry. It’s just a huge part of my experience here.”

Your ongoing support of this ministry will help Cole and more students than you may realize continue to learn and grow here, regardless of where they come from in terms of church and life experiences.