Vicki Pedersen
Doctor of Philosophy
What is your favorite memory of your time at LSTC?
My favorite memory of my time at LSTC is the gift of deep friendships formed with graduate students from around the world. In class, as part of a resident community the first few years, in personal sharing and support of one another, and in so many other ways my life, perspective, and understanding are all the richer and blessed to share faith and love with such cherished friends.
What was the most meaningful class you took?
The class for which I have the greatest appreciation is the course I took on Post Colonialism and Biblical Interpretation. I was blessed to learn alongside students who could speak from their lived experience of the historical consequences and institutions of colonialism in the country they call home.
How did you feel supported during your seminary journey? Were you the recipient of any major scholarships? What communities or people uplifted you during your studies?
LSTC financial aid was very helpful in providing me with scholarship money to greatly reduce the cost of my graduate studies for which I am most appreciative. I found community support among staff and students.
What are your post-graduation plans? How did LSTC shape you as a future leader of the public church?
First as a parish pastor and then twenty-five years as a board-certified chaplain, I entered LSTC in a later season of my vocation as a pastor. After thirty years of ordained ministry, beginning a PhD program was a way for me to gain additional skills in biblical interpretation and to strengthen my voice for serving the church as a writer and/or adjunct professor. Earning a PhD has been my response to God’s call upon my life, which I learned to identify less about what I would “do” afterwards and more about who God was shaping me to be. I can only trust that God’s call has been and will be for some good, whether to write, to teach, or that which I cannot imagine.
