United in Community

Kayla Zopfi ’21
Young Adult Network Coordinator, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Major: Religion
Minors: Interfaith Studies, Political Science

Kayla Zopfi ’21 knows the power of young people.

Zopfi works with young people every day, even taking groups to the United Nations. As the Young Adult Network coordinator for the ELCA, Zopfi is, in a nutshell, tasked with making connections.

“I love to say that it’s my job to be friends with as many people as possible. I make sure my friends know my other friends so they’re connected into spaces and opportunities that align with their gifts and passions in the world,” Zopfi said.

“I world with young adults in and near the church. I liaise and build relationships with people, teams, and organizations inside and outside of the ELCA who want to be in relationship with those young adults. It’s a lot of meeting people and listening to what they care about and listening to what’s happening in their communities.”

Zopfi, who recently graduated from Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, with a Master of Arts in diaconal ministries, was working in their coordinator position while also gaining their degree. They wanted to prioritize going to a school that had a strong Lutheran foundation, since they were not raised in a Lutheran church.

Zopfi credits Concordia President Emeritus Dr. William Craft for their “slow descent into Lutheranism.” They grew up going to a nondenominational Christian church, but quickly found themselves relating to Lutheran values.

“My first year at Concordia, President Craft talked about our Lutheran heritage, and the values and expressions of that, in his opening convocation speech. The Protestant Reformation was created out of the spirit of making ourselves closer to what we believe God is calling us to be in the world,” Zopfi said.

“Martin Luther would do numbers on TikTok. You can search for Martin Luther insults. He was calling people the craziest things.”

Zopfi is one of the only people in their family to gain a college education, and they cite their family’s excitement for them as one of the reasons they pursued a degree in religion. It didn’t matter what Zopfi studied; it was just exciting they were at Concordia.

“I was able to come into college with the posture of listening to where my heart and brain wanted to go rather than having pressure to study something that would get me a profession that would be on some Googleable list of professions that make the most money within the first five years of graduating college,” they said.

Their heart and brain eventually led them to religion, interfaith studies, and political science. When asked if they had a favorite class or professor while at Concordia, Zopfi laughs and calls the question “evil.” There are too many to talk about in the short time we have, they said.

They still manage to tell a handful of stories, each as impactful as the last.

For example, Zopfi credits English professor Dr. Amy Watkin for “the way she single handedly crushed a lot of my imposter syndrome within my first few months of college.”

There was an Old Testament and Trauma class taught by Dr. Elna Solvang that turned out to be the definition of a liberal arts education.

“The class was so interdisciplinary,” Zopfi said. “There were a lot of pre-med and nursing students in the class, which was really cool because a lot of what we talked about was how trauma works in our physical brains. I got to learn about the neurology and physical experience of trauma before we even got into ancient texts.”

And one of Concordia’s campus pastors, the Rev. Dave Adams, encouraged Zopfi to fully be themself. Charged with the task of writing prayers for chapel services, Zopfi decided to go all in and write the most radical prayers they could think of.

“I sent the email off to Dave, and I knew in my heart that he was going to email back and say ‘we can’t use this, please write something else, or we will find someone else to write and read prayers,’” Zopfi said. “But maybe the next day he writes back and says, ‘these are really awesome. Do you want to write prayers again for next week?’

“I thought I was throwing an atomic bomb into chapel, and he was, like, do it again next week. The reason that’s one of my favorite memories is because that was such an important moment for me to experience invitation into helping shape what it means to worship together and to be a leader in naming things that are important.”

Being fully present in themselves, their work, and the world around them has served Zopfi well in the years after graduation. Their intentionality has brought them into some pretty important rooms, including the United Nations.

In 2023, Zopfi worked as an advocacy fellow in the ELCA’s advocacy office. As a fellow, they were invited to be part of the Lutheran World Federation delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations.

It’s really important for me to take a moment.

“When I’m in spaces that feel really big, whether it’s an event that I’ve been leading or helping plan or a really awesome event I get to be a participant at, it’s really important for me to take a moment to zoom out and look around and sit with the reality of the space I’m in and the people I get to be with,” Zopfi said. “At the U.N., I remember being like, ‘Whoa, I live in the world.’ There are billions of people in the world and I’m also one of them. The second thought I had was, ‘What am I doing here? I’m just a normal person.’ Then, my third thought was twofold. One, as a normal person who’s here, I have a massive responsibility to be here and realize that my voice and the communities I come from are important in this space. Then my second thought of that was, ‘Hold on, are we actually all normal people in this space doing what we think our best is?’”

The opportunity to be at the United Nations is not lost on Zopfi. Now, they make it a point to invite young adults to experience what they did.

“I’m really glad I’ve got to go twice now,” Zopfi said, “and I’m really excited to know so many brilliant, powerful young people and get to say, ‘Do you want to go in my place this coming year?’”

And for other young Cobbers entering college, Zopfi has this advice: “Go to the spaces you feel pulled to. Follow where you feel your heart wants to go.”

^{Published February 2026}