President Colin Irvine announced that Timea Vrabcová and Luke Wilts will represent Concordia College for the 2024 Smaby Peace Scholars Program. Vrabcová is a junior majoring in neuroscience and Wilts is a sophomore majoring in healthcare leadership.
Due to generous support from the Philip C. Smaby Family Foundation, Concordia’s Peace Scholars will join peers from Augsburg University, Luther College, Pacific Lutheran University, and St. Olaf College for a seven-week seminar in Oslo, Norway, designed to deepen participant understanding of injustice, conflict, and violence and to form leaders for peace.
The Peace Scholars program “is an outgrowth of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum (NPPF), an annual event held in Minneapolis that inspires students and other citizens to become active participants in peacemaking efforts around the world.” NPPF is the Norwegian Nobel Institute’s only such program or academic affiliation outside of Norway.
Vrabcová said she was drawn to applying to the program after her experience with the River Semester program through Augsburg University.
“The River Semester was a continuous exposure to complex environmental issues and social justice movements by and on the Mississippi River by being in conversations with educators, activists, and artists that are creating spaces for resiliency and healing,” she said.
Throughout her time with the River Semester, she learned the significance of community healing through storytelling, something that she knows will also play a big role in the Peace Scholars program.
Wilts was drawn to applying to the program after his experience studying abroad in Cuba in Fall 2023.
“Being able to be vulnerable and learn from other cultures and countries is one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had,” he said. “I applied to be a Peace Scholar because I knew it would dive even deeper into what being a good citizen of the world looks like, and how we can bring back some very important ideas from Norway to the Fargo-Moorhead community.”
When asked about her reaction to being named a Peace Scholar, Vrabcová said, “I was and still am filled with gratefulness and a lot of joy for the opportunity of experiencing an environment with the other Peace Scholars, instructors and, in general, people who are passionate about learning, connecting with individuals from diverse backgrounds, and leading by curiosity.”
Wilts was “very excited but also very shocked,” knowing there was a strong and large pool of candidates.
“I couldn’t be happier with how it resulted and am so excited for this awesome opportunity,” he said.
Written by Jake Wiebe ’24