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ELCA World Hunger

Welcome ELCA World Hunger’s 2018 Summer Interns!

 

Each summer, the churchwide organization of the ELCA hosts interns for ten weeks. Interns help the ministries of the ELCA with a variety of projects and learn more about working within the church along the way. This year, ELCA World Hunger is happy to welcome Jasmine Bolden, Hannah Norem and Petra Ricekrtsen to the team!

Jasmine Bolden, Hunger Education Intern

Hello! My name is Jasmine Bolden, and I will be the ELCA World Hunger intern for hunger education this summer! Originally from the Eastside of St. Paul, Minnesota, I was exposed to the injustices of the world at a very young age, which helped push me in the direction of the Lutheran church, as well as piquing my interest in social justice. Recently, I graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., with a degree in Social Studies Education. As requirements for receiving my Bachelors of Arts degree, I was able to not only take courses on what has led and continues to lead to social injustices, but I was also able to work hands-on with those in my community who have experienced marginalization and exclusion.

I have participated in multiple practicums throughout the Twin Cities Area and volunteered at the schools near St. Olaf. One opportunity that has greatly impacted me and helped lead me to my position here at the ELCA, however, was Breakthrough Twin Cities. At Breakthrough, I was able to teach English to a group of underprivileged and under-resourced middle school students within the Twin Cities area for the summers of 2016 and 2017. As a teaching fellow, I learned much about myself and those in the world around me, and through listening to my students, I saw how education is so much more than school.  I was able to realize more deeply the inequities present not only near me but throughout the world, while I was also able to see hope for the future.

As I continue to grow throughout this summer with the ELCA, I look forward to taking what I learn and implementing it as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Thailand this Fall. I know that this summer the ELCA is where I am supposed to be, and I look forward to growing and learning with those around me and those within the community.

Hannah Norem, Fundraising Intern

My name is Hannah Norem, and I am honored to be the ELCA World Hunger intern for fundraising this summer. A lifelong member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas, I was born and raised in Houston and just graduated from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a degree in government/international affairs, religion and French. After this internship, I will be going to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to attend Wake Forest University in a 5-year joint degree program between the School of Divinity and the School of Law with the end goal of earning a Master’s in Divinity (MDiv) and Juris Doctor (JD).

I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with the ELCA World Hunger team because I have always been interested in working at the intersection of religion and justice. Advocating alongside neighbors experiencing marginalization because of my deeply rooted faith is a skill I have strengthened in college, so advancing the initiatives that ELCA World Hunger has put forth to serve others is something I am interested in. A special part of this internship that I am thrilled about is the ability to spread the message of ELCA World Hunger at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. Since my middle-school and high school years as a day camp counselor at my home church, I have loved working with young people, and to be able to go to my hometown and work with young people is a unique opportunity that I am blessed with this summer.

When not at work, I enjoy reading a good book, trying out local coffee shops, and attempting to finish the “easy” sudoku puzzle in under a minute (with varying degrees of success). I am excited to bolster the mission of ELCA World Hunger until all are fed!

Petra Rickertsen, Network Engagement Intern

Grateful for the opportunities which led me to the ELCA, I am elated to serve with ELCA World Hunger as the network engagement intern this summer! Attending California Lutheran University and serving our Southwest California Synod Hunger Team have been great outlets for my desire to accompany people in their mission to live out their purpose. Friends and co-workers know me to be working on several projects at once, whether it be initiating a hunger-focused project with Cal Lutheran’s Lord of Life Student Ministries, participating in an Interfaith Allies gathering, or helping a friend with a filming project. But they also know I’m never too busy to be found on a camping trip with good buddies. I also intern with a fitness and education-based nonprofit local to Thousand Oaks, California, called Fit 4 The Cause  as Advancement Intern, helping them fulfill their mission of making healthy lifestyles an option for people who would like some extra support in their fitness endeavors and who hail from low-income backgrounds.

In my breathing and being time, I will often pull out my guitar, pop open a book, dance around a park, or hang in my hammock, generally milking as much of the California sunshine that I can. I spent last fall continuing my Business Administration, Management and Theology and Christian Leadership studies in Paris. There, I also traveled to both experience new settings and visit distant relatives with new friends. I look forward to the coming Fall semester where I will be blessed to learn from the people of Europe again, this time through Cal Lutheran’s traveling Oxford program. Thereafter, I anticipate graduating from the university next May.

After five summers of helping make camp an open, loving environment for youth through Lutheran Retreats, Camps, and Conferences, I feel more prepared than ever to learn how the ELCA does the same in God’s great world. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me, and have a lovely day!

 

Meet the ELCA World Hunger 2016 Summer Interns!

 

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Hello! My name is Scott Van Daalen. I am originally from Waverly, Iowa, and a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church. This summer, I have a great opportunity to intern with the ELCA World Hunger Education and Engagement team. ELCA World Hunger has been one of my interests for the past couple of years so I am looking forward to learning more this summer. In high school, I had the opportunity to work on a project that focused on raising awareness and funds for both the ELCA Malaria Campaign and the United Methodist “Imagine No Malaria” Campaign. (Read more about Scott’s project here – https://www.livinglutheran.org/2013/10/running-malaria/)

Another interest of mine is the connection between media and the church. This fall, I will be entering my senior year at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I am studying Media Ministry, a program that combines film production, graphic design, and ministry.

I am very excited to be here, and I am very thankful for the opportunity!

 

 

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Hello everyone, my name is Micah Kassahun, and I am the ELCA World Hunger Fundraising intern.  I am a rising senior at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studying Public Health and Biology.  Due to the nature of my studies, I am very interested in hospital administration, social justice, poverty (both national and international) and issues regarding medical access.

At Purdue, I enjoy serving with Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship on campus as a worship leader and bible study leader.  Through my experiences with this ministry, I have learned to make my faith my own and to be unashamed of the Gospel wherever I go.

In the future I hope to obtain a Masters in Public Health (MPH) and possibly move into the corporate world while serving in a capacity related to providing medical access for those in need and aiding my surrounding community.

For fun, I really enjoy competitive sports, playing music and spending time with friends.

I am really excited and blessed to be a part of the ELCA World Hunger team and to see how the Lord uses this Church to spread God’s Word in different ways!

 

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I am Shubira Bocko, and I am the ELCA World Hunger Education Intern this summer! My passion for serving others dates back to my time on the south side of Chicago because there were so many opportunities to make a difference. Through Reformation Lutheran Church, I served meals to homeless people during Thanksgiving, visited nursing homes during Christmas and mentored my peers. I attained my B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Community Sociology at Wartburg College. In college, courses like Community Sociology and Intercultural Studies made me start thinking about a career in international development. These courses opened my eyes to poverty-related issues going on in other parts of the world, and I wanted to make a difference.

One year after college, I was accepted into Peace Corps program in the Philippines. My work there involved providing health education to families and teaching children and youth life skills. Five months into my service, Typhoon Haiyan hit the island where I was living. Shortly after the typhoon, I was evacuated, and I returned to the U.S. However, I was transferred to Peace Corps Tanzania, where I was born, and being given a chance to go serve home was a blessing.

In Tanzania, I had the pleasure of serving as a health teacher at the health clinic in Dodoma. The highlight of my service was working with women and teaching them about nutrition, contraceptive options and HIV prevention. Having served in Peace Corps for two years and learning about the problems that women and children go through – hunger being on top of the list – I wanted an opportunity to learn more about hunger and see ways I can help. I am glad that I will be serving as a World Hunger Education Intern through the ELCA, and I am looking forward to this enriching experience!