Two St. Olaf students named Smaby Peace Scholars
St. Olaf College students Sophie Smith ‘26 and Evan Atchison ’26 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 Norway. Two students from each of five Norwegian-American Lutheran colleges — Augsburg, Concordia, Luther, St. Olaf, and Pacific Lutheran 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.
The program gives students an opportunity to study Norwegian perspectives on peace, conflict, and dialogue firsthand while spending seven weeks in Oslo, Norway. Scholars will also complete a research paper and presentation on a topic of their own choice relating to Norway and the course content. They will present their research at the 2026 Peace Scholars Conference.
Atchison, a history major, originally applied because a friend had done this same program and recommended it. When he looked into the program’s purpose, he realized that it aligned with his own values and goals.
“I’m really excited to continue learning about how peace really informs the way our societies interact with each other, and how we can understand how to find peace through conflict and the difficulties of finding peace during conflict,” Atchison says.
In addition to majoring in history with a concentration in statistics and data science, Atchison is a percussionist for the St. Olaf Band and the St. Olaf Orchestra, and a sports writer for The Olaf Messenger student newspaper. He is still considering possibilities for post-graduate work but ideally would like to go abroad to pursue an advanced degree.
“More than anything, I want to just see what’s out there. I don’t want to limit myself to anything. I want to just take whatever opportunities I have and just enjoy life as it is,” Atchison says.
Smith is a political science and dance major with concentrations in international relations and Latin American studies. She was originally drawn to the program because of the specific aspects of humanitarian aid, peacekeeping, and research.
“I’m excited about getting to meet a lot of people who share the same interests that I do — especially in the world that seems a little bit unsteady. I’m excited to be able to discuss and make sense of that with people who have like-minded interests with me,” Smith says.
After graduating from St. Olaf, Smith hopes to go into the development sector like the Peace Corps or working for a non-profit that supports developmental aid.
“I think that would be a really fulfilling thing to be able to do and a way to see some impact as well,” Smith says.
Both Smith and Atchison are eager to expand their experiences abroad this summer. “It’s going to be a really invigorating experience being around so many ideas and thoughts and institutions that will really grow my knowledge of peace,” Atchison says.