Peace Scholars for 2017 Named

Grace Hoffa ’18, Edina, Minn., and Katie Beedy ’18, Moorhead, have been named Concordia’s 2017 Peace Scholars.

The Peace Scholars program, sponsored by Augsburg, Augustana (S.D.), Luther, Pacific Lutheran, St. Olaf and Concordia, is designed to deepen students’ understanding of the central issues and theories regarding conflict, war and peace.

A cohort of two students from each college will study for seven weeks this summer in Norway at the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer and at the University of Oslo International Summer School.

Beedy, a communication studies and multimedia journalism major, seeks to extend her interest in gender-based violence and expertise in writing for social change. She says she believes in the power of journalism to make the world better.

On winning the award, Beedy says, “At first, I did not have high hopes. I am not what I would consider a 'typical' applicant; I am not a global studies or political science major, and I have very little experience with peace studies. However, I have focused a great deal of my undergraduate work on issues of social injustice, particularly gender and sexually based violence.”

Beedy says what excites her the most about this program is the opportunity to learn and live in community with students from more than 100 countries at the International Summer School – “especially somewhere as beautiful as Oslo!”

Hoffa is double majoring in political science and global studies with a minor in women’s and gender studies. She hopes to advance her research on women in the Middle East toward a career in international human rights law. Her focus is legal accountability to restrain and shape human behavior.

“My journey to the Peace Scholars program started before I even committed to Concordia,” Hoffa says. “During the Minnesota Private College juniors visit week, I was sitting in the Welcome Center listening to a presentation on study away and when the slide clicked over to the Peace Scholars page, I knew this was an opportunity that I wanted to pursue.”

She says she fell in love with Concordia and her desire to be a Peace Scholar continued to grow.

“I am unbelievably excited to spend seven weeks in Norway,” Hoffa says. “My family is Norwegian and I have heard nothing but amazing things about the landscapes and the people. I am also excited to meet the other Peace Scholars and make connections with students from around the globe at the Oslo International Summer School.”

Beedy and Hoffa will be introduced at the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Sept. 15-16, held on the campuses of Augsburg College and the University of Minnesota West Bank.

Concordia's Peace Scholars are underwritten by the Smaby Family Peace Scholars Fund.

(9682/kk)