Concordia University, Nebraska

Each summer since 2000, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod youth from across the country have gathered to worship, study God's word and fellowship with other young Lutherans at Higher Things conferences. Several of Concordia University, Nebraska's faculty, alumni and students help to make this event happen each year.

Concordia Nebraska junior Erin Meyer of Winfield, Kansas, is majoring in chemistry with minors and math and physics. Active on campus, she will serve as an RA in the fall and is also a Luke Scholar, participates in intramural sports and helps lead a weekly on-campus Bible study.

Concordia University, Nebraska criminal justice students recently had the chance to study real world applications of what they are learning in the classroom. Co-led by Professor of Criminal Justice Edward Hoffman and Professor of Sociology Dr. Kathy Miller, the 8-day study tour to San Diego provided students with field experience in immigration, law enforcement and other fields.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently celebrated the first graduates of the university's Marriage and Family Therapy master's degree program. The program features a Scripture-infused view of modern psychology and therapy that transforms marriages, families and communities by focusing on faith and family perspectives. The program's first graduates included Hannah Haas of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Emily Morris of Grand Island, Nebraska; Anna Herl of Seward, Nebraska; Breanna Romero of Seward, Nebraska; Elena Phahongchanh of North Las Vegas, Nevada; and Kimberly Dixon of Reno, Nevada.

As an active participant in many of Concordia University, Nebraska's music ensembles, I have traveled over 20,000 miles for tours in the past two years. This spring, I had the opportunity to travel internationally to Ireland as a part of the University A Cappella Choir.

Concordia University, Nebraska students, faculty, staff and alumni recently visited Australia to learn more about the country's biology, agriculture and geography. The tour was co-led by Dr. Kimberly Clark,Concordia Nebraska associate professor of agricultural sciences and Dr. Joel Helmer, chair of Concordia Nebraska's department of history, geography, intercultural studies and modern languages.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently named 266 students to its 2026 Spring Term Honors list. Students must earn a GPA of at least 3.90 and be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours to be eligible for this list.

Concordia University, Nebraska agriculture students put into practice the skills and knowledge they learned in the spring semester at the annual McLean Beef Dinner. The April 21 event was hosted by McLean Beef and students from Concordia's agriculture program. Dr. Kimberly Clark, Concordia Nebraska associate professor of agricultural sciences, helped organize the event.

Hunter Remington '26, a recent music and pre-seminary graduate of Concordia University, Nebraska was recently awarded the William Wolfram Student Award in Liturgical Art for his "At The Lamb's High Feast" stole.

The spring semester let Concordia University, Nebraska's Speech and Debate team see the payoff of the promising fall semester results. The team had been consistently ranking in the top spots at tournaments and doing very well as a team. Behind the scenes, the students were putting in a lot of work refining their pieces. The debate team worked on skill building and presentation of ideas to hone their persuasive capabilities. All of their work culminated in the team earning a second place rank at the state tournament, three state champion rankings and a spirit of KNIFA winner.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently announced the new Student Senate leadership, which will take over governance of the club starting in the 2026-2027 academic year. Officers for the upcoming school year include junior Aidan McKinnon of Grand Island, Nebraska, as president, junior Naa Kordai Addy of Jamestown, Accra-Ghana, as vice president, senior Jenna Schafer of Columbus, Nebraska, as treasurer and senior Mi-Ree Zwick of Minden, Nebraska, as secretary.

Sophomore Micah Zeckzer of New Haven, Indiana, is studying exercise science at Concordia University, Nebraska. He is also in the University A Cappella Choir and the Vocal Jazz/Chamber Choir.

Concordia University, Nebraska's Collegiate Leadership Competition team is a group of 18 driven and competitive students who are always looking to improve. The team is led by Professor of Business Administration Dr. Curt Beck. As a part of the team, throughout the year the students spend time twice a week practicing their leadership skills and learning curriculum that they can implement to strengthen their leadership. They do this by doing challenges or riddles that they need to solve as a team, and the students take turns being the leader of the group to solve the challenge.

Attending conferences and gaining hands-on experiences are important parts of developing a well-rounded and prepared student. Concordia University, Nebraska's scholar programs offer students these kinds of opportunities. Freshman Benjamin Steffens of San Pedro, California, attended the Agriculture Future of America (AFA) Animal Institute in April through Concordia's Uzziah Ag Scholars program. This was the first time that the Uzziah Scholars program had a student apply for and be accepted to an AFA Institute.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently honored 27 graduating seniors who maintained high levels of academic excellence during their time at the university at the 2026 Commencement Honors Dinner on May 8. Each year, academic departments may confer two or more awards, depending on the department's size and the number of students in a particular program. Each department may determine the basis for students' attainment of these awards; however, they must consider the student's grade point average, service to the department and service to the university.

On Friday, May 8, Concordia University, Nebraska recognized the university's professional church work graduates at a Sending Service. The worship service is an opportunity to celebrate the university's graduating church work students before they either take a call, begin an internship, or further their education. The service was started eight years ago by Concordia Director of Dual Credit, Dr. Beth Pester. When Concordia was known as Concordia Teacher's College, Lutheran teacher graduates experienced something similar to Lutheran seminaries' Call Day at the time of their graduation. Pester sought to celebrate Concordia professional church work graduates and created the Sending Service with the help of Rev. Dr. John Mehl, Executive Director of Mission of Christ Network. The event is now a beloved university tradition. "All of Concordia's graduates have been equipped to serve God through their vocations, the Sending Service is designed to celebrate the preparations that professional church work graduates have received to go out and serve the world specifically through church work careers," said Pester. The Sending Service recognizes graduates from all five professional church work fields: pre-seminary, pre-deaconess, director of Christian education, director of parish music and Lutheran teachers, as well as Classical Lutheran Educator and Christian teacher graduates. At the service, each graduate walks across the stage during the worship service and is recognized. The future education plans, internship or church work call is announced at that time. The service is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate the graduates who go out into the world to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus.

On May 9, nearly 500 Concordia University, Nebraska undergraduate and graduate students were awarded degrees. The class of 2026 was honored during a commencement ceremony held in the Walz Human Performance Complex.

Senior Tayley Streeks of Bayard, Nebraska, is studying biology at Concordia University, Nebraska and is part of the university's 3 + 1 Dual Degree nursing program with Creighton University. The program allows students to earn both an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing from Creighton and a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Concordia in just four years.

The Concordia Catalyst Competition (C3) is a business plan competition hosted by the Concordia University, Nebraska Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It is open to high school students, community members and all current Concordia University, Nebraska students and alumni.

Throughout the 2025-2026 academic year, the Concordia University, Nebraska computer science community participated in a variety of competitions and provided several field trip opportunities for students. Most recently, Concordia placed first in a programming competition at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Central Plains Conference (CCSC-CP) in Springfield, Missouri.

On April 11, Concordia University, Nebraska hosted its second annual Paul Scholars Banquet in celebration and appreciation of the Paul Scholars. The event was held in the Cattle Conference Room in Janzow Campus Center and featured keynote speaker Greg Butcher.

After an 0-3 start that placed their season on the brink, the Concordia University, Nebraska esports Overwatch team completed a dramatic turnaround, capturing the Central Region Championship with a series of decisive postseason victories.

In early April, a group of computer science students from Concordia University, Nebraska traveled to Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, to participate in the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Central Plains Conference (CCSC-CP).

Twenty-two Concordia University, Nebraska art students had artwork on display at the 2026 CINCF Student Art Exhibition during the month of April. The exhibition was held in Hillmer Art Gallery, located on the campus of the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. The goal of the exhibition is to showcase student artwork from across the state.

The increasing collaboration efforts within the Concordia University, Nebraska music department showcase its continued growth. One example of this is the upcoming collaboration between the University Band and the Percussion Ensemble.

Concordia University, Nebraska's Department of Natural Sciences held its annual banquet on April 15, recognizing graduating seniors and select students from the department for their outstanding service and scholarship.

Three Concordia University, Nebraska seniors were put to the test on Wednesday, March 18 by the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) at the Walz Human Performance Complex.Two other seniors tested at an earlier time. LPD officers came to perform the physical fitness test for students interested in joining the department.

Held once each semester, Concordia Nebraska's Honor Recital is a chance for the university's Department of Music to celebrate outstanding students and the work that they put into the study of music. This year's spring honor recital will be held at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, Nebraska, on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m.

Collaboration is one of the most exciting parts of musicianship. Concordia University, Nebraska offers many collaboration opportunities for musicians throughout the year, including a chamber recital for student-led ensembles and several joint concerts between university ensembles. On April 21, the University Mixed Chorus will collaborate in a combined concert with the Concordia Handbell Choir and the Concordia Ringers.

Much of developing the young musician is inspiring the confidence for them to create art without the constant supervision of a professional. Concordia University, Nebraska's music department does this by offering many student-led ensemble and performance opportunities. One example of this is the university's composers recital. This recitals occurs once per semester. The composers recital is a non-auditioned recital but is typically reserved for students who are enrolled in composition lessons. Those students are required to participate. The composers recital usually features a wide range of styles and instrumentations. This year's event will include works for choir, strings, piano and brass.