Natalya Reister ’25 is studying sociology and theology at Valpo, hoping to enter chaplaincy after graduation. She said she hopes that her sociology major will help her to understand the people she will support as a future chaplain, including herself. She says, “My faith has helped me reckon with the fact that we’re broken people in a broken world. Knowing I come into spaces flawed, faith gives me hope and an ability to see the world with love and, in turn, accept the love of others. In terms of my identity, I think faith shapes the way I view others and interact with others, not as exchanges but as a community.” Natalya adds, “I think I’m prone to more cynicism and anxiety, and my faith is that reminder that God has this in his hands. Being able to identify all the little things and say, ‘That beautiful tree out there that is from Him, the nice, gentle breeze that is from Him.’ Being able to recontextualize things helps me stay grounded instead of floating off into those storms of anxiety and fear.”
Reister says that attending a faith-based university was important to help shape her understanding of God and his people. She says, “I have found that having a community of faith is super important in shaping your understanding of God because God is in people. If you’re trying to learn about God and who he is, we see his character reflected in individuals. Having a space where I knew I would find a community passionate about serving and living out their faith and figuring things out was really important.” She adds, “When I toured Valpo and started to meet the people, everyone had that same humility that they were coming in, wanting to learn more, growing, and embracing people coming along with them on their journey.”
Natayla serves in the Chapel to help ensure that services run smoothly, in addition to serving as a peer minister for freshman students. She says that this service, to her, is about spreading hope to others. “It’s an exciting thing to have this good news and hope. I want to create a space where other people can share in that and receive this grace and this love. Also, I found that early on in my college career, the Chapel was a safe haven for people. As you receive support from others, you naturally just want to support others in return and find yourself in positions to serve out of the overflow of support you have been given.”
Despite growing up in a Lutheran community, Reister says she didn’t fully understand the Lutheran tradition until she came to Valpo. She says, “I grew up in a Lutheran community, but not something where I understood that the things we were doing were Lutheran. Being in a very intentional pan-Lutheran setting has given me a sense of the longevity of the Christian tradition, as well as the community we have with these shared beliefs. In some ways, it’s shaped a new community for me of people who share these understandings of grace, love, and service. I think it’s helped me contextualize the larger tradition that we’re in, understand it, and be a part of something much larger.”
Looking toward the future, Reister says that her faith helps her to remember that her future aspirations do not have to be solely achievement-based, stating, “It’s more that idea that I aspire to go and find ways to bring community to elderly populations or aging populations that are more isolated. And so it’s not necessarily that I need to fix XYZ, but it’s just constantly aspiring to improve the living conditions and how we connect with people in those settings. And so it kind of takes the pressure off of any one thing I do as an individual, but instead shapes my goals around ways to serve a large mission.”
