As a faith-based school steeped in Lutheran tradition, Valparaiso University is proud to help students find their calling within the church. Two religious studies majors, Hope Johnson ’26 and Sean Korpela ’26, have distinguished themselves as theological scholars and are being offered full rides to seminary schools in Princeton and Emory University, respectively. Their success is a testament to their own passion for the faith and to the quality of Valparaiso University’s program.
“I am so overjoyed,” said Amanda Brobst-Renaud, M.Div., Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, who worked with the students on their senior thesis projects. “It’s been awesome to get to be a witness to their growth and to their journeys.”
Seminary education is generally a three-to-four-year program, after which the graduates may be ordained in pastoral roles. For Johnson and Korpela, it’s a key step in making a positive difference with their faith.
Hope Johnson
A native of Chicago’s north side, Johnson applied to a variety of Lutheran schools, but chose Valpo for the Lutheran Leader Scholarship, and the opportunity to explore multiple interests. On top of her religious studies major, Johnson has a second major in Spanish, as well as a minor in business.
“I was very serious about being dedicated to a Spanish major so I could equip myself to serve in multicultural congregations,” Johnson said. “I had the business minor because my pastors and parents told me I wouldn’t learn things like budgeting to run a church in seminary school.”
During this, she still managed to fit two semesters of study abroad into her schedule. Both of her parents were ELCA pastors, and her mother had a preaching fellowship in El Salvador while in seminary. Growing up, Johnson would regularly spend two-week intervals visiting the country, and as a student, she had the opportunity to live in nearby Costa Rica for five months. During her stay, she studied Spanish, worked with those suffering from substance abuse, mental illness, and rejection from their families due to LGBTQ identity at a homeless shelter, and ran Bible studies.
“That was challenging, but it was a huge learning experience to lean into that relationship-building,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s second semester abroad was in Spain, where she immersed herself in the language while traveling Europe. Fitting multiple international experiences in with two majors and a minor was no easy thing, but Valparaiso University’s staff and faculty were able to help Johnson meet all her academic and personal goals.
“The faculty in both majors were incredible,” Johnson said. “They invested so much in me to let me be able to pull this off.”
Back in Indiana, Johnson has been heavily involved in the campus faith community. She has been a member of the Student Action Leadership Team (SALT) and has been on the rotation to preach and lead the service at a Lutheran church in Michigan City since November. This semester, she is organizing a series of campus events discussing the history, timeline, and personal experiences of the current hostilities in the Middle East titled “Broken Hearts, Open Minds: Conversations and Prayer for Palestine and Israel.”
Johnson has received an offer of full tuition plus $7,500 from Princeton Seminary, as well as full tuition scholarship offers at the University of Chicago, Emory University, Harvard, Yale, Duke, and Luther Seminary. While she is still deciding which route to take, Johnson is grateful for the experiences she was able to have at Valpo.
“I’ve just been overwhelmed with gratitude by the support of my professors and from all the staff at the Helge Center,” she said. “I’ve felt so supported in everything I do.”
Sean Korpela
Growing up in Ironwood, Michigan, in the state’s Upper Peninsula, Korpela was the youngest member of his congregation at St. Paul Lutheran Church by decades — a situation that ended up providing a number of faith-based experiences growing up.
“The youth fund was basically ‘the Sean fund,’ so I got the opportunity to go to a bunch of different events,” Korpela said.
When it came time to look into higher education, Korpela’s pastor spoke highly of Valparaiso University. After visiting campus, he knew that it was where he wanted to go. Though he started off as a journalism major, a profound experience at the University’s historic Chapel of the Resurrection would change his life forever.
“I gave a reading and reflection at our candlelight service, and I switched my major the next day,” Korpela said. “It was something that was very fulfilling to me. Some people choose their calling, and some people having the calling choose them. I kept seeing everywhere that this was something I was being called to do.”
By the end of his freshman year, Korpela knew he wanted to pursue seminary school after graduation. In the meantime, however, Valparaiso University gave him plenty of opportunity to engage in faith and leadership. As a sophomore, he played a key role in helping SALT find its footing after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student organizations.
“There was no real ‘next step’ in determining who was going to lead,” Korpela said. “So, as a sophomore, I was put in this leadership position, which was really trial by fire. But learning how to lead, especially in that church setting, leading with social justice in mind and thinking about others, has been really important.”
As a member and leader in SALT, Korpela has been involved in fundraising and support initiatives for local organizations helping those in need. They have raised thousands of dollars for Compass International Family Center and Gabriel’s Horn Homeless Shelter. The experience of working with those groups has had a profound impact on Korpela’s outlook.
“It wasn’t just raising the money, but going to visit the site and work with the people, learning their stories,” Korpela said. “These people aren’t failures; they were failed by the system. Getting to really see and understand that was only possible through a student organization at Valpo. I don’t know that I would have found it any other way.”
In addition to his work with SALT, Korpela has spent multiple years living in freshman dorms as a guide to new students and has served in several roles with the Chapel of the Resurrection — which he sees as the core of the Valpo experience.
“Whether it’s the students, the staff, or the building itself, it’s my favorite part of being a Valpo student,” Korpela said. “There’s something new I find in the stained glass every day. Everything centers on the Chapel of the Resurrection.”
Korpela’s goal is to go into congregational ministry, and he has been offered a full ride to Emory University Seminary, a full ride to Vanderbilt University, 80-percent tuition coverage at Princeton Seminary, and is waiting on other offers to be finalized.
Religious Studies at Valpo
The religious studies program at Valparaiso University is designed to help students explore and engage with multiple religions from a historic, philosophic, theologic, and cultural perspective to more deeply understand their beliefs and the beliefs of others. Classes include broad examinations of the impact of religion in society, as well as specific courses diving deeper into Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.
Part of what makes the Valpo program unique is the variety of faiths represented by the students and professors. Faculty include ECLA-ordained ministers, Catholic scholars, Muslim educators, and more. Understanding a variety of faiths is an invaluable tool for future religious leaders of any religion.
“I think studying other faiths helps them understand the world they’re going out into and their conversation partners a little bit better,” Professor Brobst-Renaud said. “Oftentimes, religious leaders will partner on enterprises even across traditions. You’ll see rabbis and pastors and imams joining together for shared causes.”
The program has adapted to changes in how current students learn and addresses areas where recent educational disruptions may have left gaps in their experience.
“Learning really changed during the pandemic, especially for those who were in junior high and high school at the time,” Professor Brobst-Renaud said. “In many ways, our classes are where they’re learning to engage and grapple with really complex topics. Especially in religious studies, there is no hot-button issue that our fields don’t interface with.”
One of the program’s key goals is to equip students with the knowledge and tools necessary to engage in productive conversations on those hot-button issues across cultural differences — a skill that’s needed in the modern world more than ever.
“With social media, a lot of that discourse is superficial, damaging, and insulting,” Professor Brobst-Renaud said. “I find the average Valpo student is interested in thinking about how to talk together and engage each other across differences. Our classes are designed to facilitate that.”
In addition to academic learning, students are given opportunities to serve others. These include helping local congregations fill pastoral vacancies, pastoral visits to the homebound, and working with Opportunity Enterprises to assist local people with various disabilities.
Four students in total are graduating from the program in May 2026, with three planning to attend seminary next fall and one taking a gap year before also pursuing seminary education. Learn more about the religious studies program at Valparaiso University here.
