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St. Olaf College students Otelia Lighthill ’27 and Jacob Rozell ’27 have been named Smaby Peace Scholars.

The Peace Scholars Program is designed to expand students’ awareness of current issues relating to peace, justice, democracy, and human rights through a series of educational experiences in Oslo, Norway. Two students from each of six Norwegian-American Lutheran colleges — Augsburg, Concordia, Luther, St. Olaf, Pacific Lutheran University, and Augustana University — are chosen to participate each year.

Students at St. Olaf receive funding to participate in the program through the Philip C. Smaby Peace Scholars Endowed Scholarship, which was established in honor of the late Philip Carlyle Smaby, a Minneapolis-St. Paul philanthropist who attended St. Olaf. Three of his children — Mark Smaby ’66, Gary Smaby ’71, and John Smaby ’76 — are St. Olaf alumni as well.

Oslo is known worldwide for its many peacemaking centers and initiatives, including the Nobel Peace Center, the Oslo Forum for Peacemakers, the Oslo Freedom Forum for Human Rights, and the Oslo Accords. Programming will include daily seminars at the University of Oslo led by university professors and other experts on peace. Students will also participate in immersive experiences throughout the city, with visits to museums, international peace locations, and government forums, while conducting individual research projects on peacemaking topics of their choosing.

Lighthill visited Norway last year for her January Term study-abroad class, The Journey North, and is eager to return and study in a hub for global peace. 

“I wanted to study abroad again in Norway for an extended period of time, and I wanted to be in Oslo because it’s a center for bridging peace and conversations on a global network, which is very interesting to me,” she says.

Lighthill is a Norwegian and history major with a concentration in international studies. Her particular interests include queer Norwegian history and modern Scandinavian history, and she is currently conducting research with Department Chair of Norwegian, Director of Nordic Studies, and King Olav V Chair in Scandinavian-American Studies Kari Lie Dorer on Norwegian involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. 

Lighthill was drawn to the Smaby Peace Scholars Program by the unique and interactive setting it offers. 

“Being able to immerse myself in this fully funded experience as an undergraduate isn’t something that is offered most places,” she says. “I wanted to throw my name out there because it was something that excited me, and was different than what I’d done before.”

While in Oslo, Lighthill is excited to explore peace history and her place within the global peace network.

“There’s so much to explore historically in Oslo, like the Oslo Accords and a lot of different monumental moments in history where a lot of people were coming to this place to see Oslo as a mediator,” she says.

Overall, she hopes that the program will show her how to put her education into practice and become a better student, leader, and peer. 

“I hope that this program puts into perspective how I operate as a student within a global network, and see how to bridge the gap between higher education and the real world,” Lighthill adds. “Gaining tools for making change and facilitating dialogue and conversations is also very important to me. I’m a captain on the track and field team, so there’s a lot of crucial conversations that happen between athletes, and athletes and coaches. I’m hoping that my mediating skills can grow even more within this program to improve how I operate as a leader.”

Growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska, Rozell developed an early interest in the Arctic, its people, and its politics. He is an individual major in Arctic Indigenous politics, which combines political science, environmental studies, and international relations to focus on the Arctic region. The Smaby Peace Scholars program appealed to him because of the Norwegian connections that he has already established and his interest in Arctic landscapes. 

“I figured that my studies on the Arctic and on sovereignty and Indigenous peoples made the program a good match for me,” he explains. “The opportunity to go to Norway was very exciting because a lot of my friends are Norwegian, my girlfriend is Norwegian, and St. Olaf is a Norwegian-founded school.”

During his time in Oslo, Rozell is eager to learn more about the Norwegian Arctic and the Indigenous Sámi people. 

“My individual research project will be on zones of conflict in clean energy projects between the Sámi and the federal government, and why Norway — despite signaling that they are in support of Sámi rights and clean energy projects — often end up in conflict with the Sámi,” he says. “I’m excited to do some place-based learning and hopefully talk to Sámi people and people from the Norwegian government to find the root causes of conflict there.”

Outside the classroom, Rozell is a member of the Nordic ski team and the visual director of The Olaf Messenger, the St. Olaf student newspaper. When asked what he was most looking forward to, Rozell immediately mentioned the cabin retreat that will kick off the scholars’ time in Norway. 

“The program has an aspect of friluftsliv — the Norwegian idea of finding peace, community, serenity, and happiness through outdoor recreation,” he says. “So in the first weekend, the class and professors will be going on a cabin trip up into the woods north of Oslo for team bonding, a seminar, and practicing peace in nature.”

Rozell’s main goals for the Smaby Peace Scholars Program are to learn more about dialogue and negotiation in international relations. For his political science seminar, Rozell has been conducting research about the Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Act, which transfers public lands, water rights, and resources from the Canadian Federal Government to the government of Nunavut. He hopes to continue this type of research after college through embassy work, or through an Indigenous non-governmental organization. Rozell will also be applying for a Fulbright Grant in Canada, and hopes that his participation in the Smaby Peace Scholars Program will enhance his application.

“I think that this program will really help me with my application, in that I will learn more about dialogue between opposing parties, and planning peace within zones of conflict,” he says. “Those are all topics of the Peace Scholars Fellowship, and they’re important to me personally and in my career.”