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Augsburg Students Win Competitive National Scholarships, Fellowships

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Luke Omodt smiles at camera while wearing a maroon shirt. Little waterfalls and greenery are behind him.
Luke Omodt ’25
Emma Joswiak-McLaughlin smiles at the camera in a living room. She has brown eyes and a kind face.
Emma Joswiak-McLaughlin ’24
Elizabeth Goff smiles at the camera in front of a white background and bouquet of flowers.
Elizabeth Goff ’25
Sara Sirag smiles at the camera in front of a while wall. She's wearing a pink long sleeve shirt.
Sara Sirag ’25
Anna Hudak smiles at the camera. Her hair is curly, and she is outside.
Anna Hudak ’25

This spring, Augsburg students have received awards and scholarships from some of the top programs across the country, highlighting different disciplines, experiences, locations, and goals. Meet our award winners and explore their areas of interest. 

Goldwater Scholarship

Luke Omodt ’25 has been named a Goldwater Scholar, one of the top STEM awards in the country. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation provides scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Omodt, a physics and chemistry double major, is currently conducting computational materials science research with Assistant Professor of Physics Daniel Hickox-Young, which will continue into the summer thanks to funding from Dean and Amy Sundquist. Previously, Omodt conducted research with Assistant Professor of Physics Moumita Dasgupta, as well as at the University of Minnesota and Cornell University. 

Fulbright Teaching Assistantship

Emma Joswiak-McLaughlin ’24 has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Bulgaria. The education major is a member of the National Education Association Aspiring Educators program as well as Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Studies Honor Society. She has worked for Augsburg’s Writing Center and is currently student-teaching at Southwest High School in Minneapolis. To prepare for her Fulbright grant, Joswiak-McLaughlin has been volunteering at a number of animal rescue organizations, learning Bulgarian, and attempting to cook Bulgarian cuisine. 

Critical Language Scholarship Spark

Elizabeth Goff ’25 is majoring in psychology and has a double minor in studio art and religion. She won the Critical Language Scholarship Spark, a year-long program designed to help undergraduate students learn languages and enhance their global engagement. Over the summer, Goff will be studying Russian virtually. Only 10% of applicants win the award nationwide. She hopes to use this new knowledge to help her with her research in the future. “With CLS Spark, I will have the ability to expand my knowledge in other countries’ methods in research when it comes to social isolation, loneliness, and accessibility for homebound and at-risk populations,” Goff says.

Peace Scholars

On campus, Augsburg’s Norway Hub recently announced the 2024-25 Peace Scholars. Sara Sirag ’25 and Anna Hudak ’25 will be representing Augsburg University while in Norway this summer. The goal of the Peace Scholars program is to develop student leaders inspired to careers or lifelong interests in world peace issues. While attending University of Oslo International Summer School, these students will deepen their understanding of the central issues and theories regarding conflict, war, and peace. 

Sirag is a social work major and first-generation college student. She was born in Eritrea and raised in Minnesota. Her passion for prison reform and studying mass incarceration informs her interest in Norway and peace studies. She has a strong appreciation for Norway’s welfare systems and their prison systems rooted in rehabilitation and restorative justice. Her goal is to work with diverse populations while challenging and pushing herself to understand different systems. She believes in advocating for change and those enduring injustices across the world.

Hudak is an international relations and history double major, with a minor in music. She’s from Prior Lake, Minnesota. During her time studying abroad in Greece, Anna developed a passion for peace studies and promoting intercultural dialogue, recognizing its power as a catalyst for positive change in an increasingly interconnected world. In addition to teaching English in Greece after graduation, Anna hopes to use her affinity for writing and storytelling to illuminate underrepresented narratives and non-violent conflict resolutions as a peace journalist.

Congratulations to these students on their outstanding achievements!

People magazine covers Olivia Maccoux’s triumphs over adversity

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people - logoPeople magazine recently published an article about Olivia Maccoux ’19, an Augsburg College student who has endured 120 brain surgeries due to a condition called hydrocephalus, which causes excess fluid to accumulate in the brain. Despite this, Maccoux has found success and solace by participating in a number of sports.

“I don’t know if it’s sports that distract me or if it’s just because I love playing them, but for whatever reason, when I’m on the field, in the pool or on the rink, I let my pain wash over me,” she said. “It’s like it doesn’t exist.”

Maccoux’s mother, Cathy, said that her daughter is known for her courage and strength.

The article concludes by stating that Maccoux has made the Dean’s List every semester that she has attended Augsburg. She is majoring in communication studies, with plans for a career in nonprofit fundraising in the health care industry.

Read: College Athlete Won’t Let 120 Brain Surgeries Stand in Her Way: I Don’t Want to Be the ‘Sick Girl’ on the People site.

The Lutheran magazine features Augsburg College’s River Semester

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The Lutheran - logoThe magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran, recently featured an article covering Augsburg College’s River Semester. The River Semester program found a dozen students, two professors, and two wilderness guides using the Mississippi River as a classroom as they traveled its length by canoe and bus. The article includes statements from a number of students about their experience and from Joe Underhill, the political science professor who worked for 15 years to make the trip a reality.

The article quotes student Noah Cameron ’17 as saying of the trip’s appeal, “We could be learning about these places and things in a classroom, but out here makes it much more memorable.”

Ricky Taylor ’17, who documented the trip through photography and video, spoke about the difficulty of balancing his coursework with canoeing and filming the trip. “It wasn’t easy, but through it came some of my most exciting moments from the trip,” he said. “In those split seconds, I got to capture something beautiful, amazing or just down-right fun.”

In addition to studying the ecology, history, and political importance of the river, the experience brought the group together and offered lessons in self-awareness. Hannah Arvold ’18 explains in the article, “We had such a variety of people — students with majors from political science, to film, to biology. We had a blast learning about each other, which in turn helped us learn a lot about ourselves.”

Read: Class on the current on the Lutheran magazine’s site. For more information about the trip see the River Semester site or  Augsburg College’s News and Media blog.

Class of 2015 feeds the pig

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feedthepigDuring this spring’s student philanthropy week, Augsburg students saved their pennies—and maybe a few 1 and 5 dollar bills—to support The Augsburg Fund and to learn about the importance of giving back.

This year, the Class of 2015 had the most donors in the Feed the Pig campaign. On April 10, members of the winning class celebrated their victory by enjoying a party at Augsburg House with President Pribbenow and his family, courtesy of The Augsburg Fund. Continue reading “Class of 2015 feeds the pig” →

Alumni-Student Networking Event on Jan. 29

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On Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m., Alumni Relations; the Center for Service, Work, and Learning; and the Augsburg Business Organization will host a networking event for Augsburg alumni and students. It will provide an opportunity for alumni to connect and network with each other as well as connect with our current students and help them with questions they may have regarding life after Augsburg.

The event is being held in the Marshall Room of the Christensen Center and will start with informal networking and refreshments. At 6 p.m., a speed-networking program will begin, where participants will exchange business cards and information for 45 minutes. After the program, informal networking and refreshments will resume. Continue reading “Alumni-Student Networking Event on Jan. 29” →