Luther College News

Renae Hartl, Luther College director of intercollegiate athletics, has named Brittany Sisk the college’s new head volleyball coach. Sisk joins the Norse with a wealth of experience as a head coach and assistant coach at both the NCAA III and NCAA II levels. She will begin her new duties immediately.

Luther College President Paula Carlson announced Monday, Dec. 11, that Brad Chamberlain, Luther professor of chemistry and co-chair of the strategic planning process, will serve as interim dean for institutional planning and mission. He began transitioning into his new duties on Dec. 1. As interim dean, Chamberlain will lead Luther’s campus-wide strategic planning process and coordinate the college’s re-accreditation process with the Higher Learning Commission through 2019. He will oversee two critical components of the re-accreditation process: federal compliance and the assurance review. Chamberlain will oversee the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement, the Center for Sustainable Communities, Campus Programming and College Ministries.

Participating in a mathematics program with 36 other undergraduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles, Luther College senior, Onward Mahachi, of Chaona, Zimbabwe, served as an intern with Google Venice. Mahachi, the son of Jaqualine Mahachi and the late Duncan Mahachi, is a graduate of United World College in Waterford Kamhlaba, South Africa. He plans to graduate from Luther in spring 2018 with a major in mathematics.

Working behind the scenes to facilitate business productivity, Luther senior Duc Le of Vietnam, spent this summer as a data science intern at DECO Products in Decorah, Iowa. A 2014 graduate of Le Hong Phong High School, Le is the son of Van Luc of Ho Chi Minh City. He will graduate from Luther in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in data science.

Exploring the field of public health, Hanna Christopher of Reinbeck, Iowa, spent her summer as an intern at Regional Health Services of Howard County, Iowa. Christopher, daughter of Carol Christopher and Phil Chien of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Bruce Christopher of Burr Oak, Iowa, graduated from Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School in 2015. She plans to graduate from Luther in 2019 with a major in health and fitness promotion and a minor in management.

Drawing from his interests in public speaking and advocacy for disability rights, Luther sophomore Mikayel Simonyan of Tavush, Armenia, spent the summer as an intern at Bridge of Hope in Ijevan, Armenia.

Luther junior Madeline McLean, of Des Moines, served as a summer intern at the Patchwork Green and River Root farms.

Luther sophomore Trevor Phillips, of Decorah, Iowa, spent the summer as an intern at Oneota Valley Family Eye Care. His internship consisted of observing and shadowing professionals in a successful non-corporate optometry setting and working with patients as a prescreening technician.

Luke Pulliam, Luther College senior, interned with IowaWORKS, assisting displaced workers and young adults with employment barriers. He helped them find unemployment insurance, gave assessments to pinpoint career opportunities, referred them to jobs and established plans of action for each person.

Developing information technology skills while also taking financial structure courses and job shadowing, Luther senior Charles Mugwagwa spent his summer as an intern with the Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., in Fairfield, Iowa.