Christina Montgomery perfect for LSTC

Christina Montgomery had always wanted to go to seminary, and on Palm Sunday 2015 she decided she’d wasted enough time and said to herself: “It’s time.”

She emailed admisssions@lstc.edu and received a reply from Scott Chalmers, who was Admissions director at the time. She wrote, “I have no money and a lot of debt, I’m disabled and queer. What can you do to help?”

Chalmers replied immediately, and the message she remembers receiving was, “You’re perfect for us.” He was on the road for work, but promised to get back to her and talk specifics. When she came to visit, he picked her up at the train and promised to help her apply for financial aid.

“I knew when I applied I did not have to worry about paying for seminary,” she said.

The Hope scholarship she received offers full tuition, and she’s been able to live on campus. Since the one accessible housing unit was occupied, Aaron Copley-Spivey, director of housing, worked to get the accessible apartment in guest housing ready for her to occupy. She also got a job in the admissions office, where she has been able to work up to 19 hours a week, occasionally from home.

Montgomery’s home congregation is Christ Lutheran, in Hammond, Ind., and she did her undergraduate work in American Studies and Women’s Studies at Colby College in Maine.