Casey Fremstad felt a calling to serve as a youth minister and the religious studies and theology senior is now well on the path to realizing her dream.

Fremstad completed a youth ministry internship in New Jersey last summer, which followed work as a camp counselor for two previous summers at a local bible camp that sparked her calling.

For her senior thesis, Fremstad is studying ways to connect with the Gen Z population in ways that make church relevant to their lives.

“How we can change our approach and our language to reach that generation and establish meaningful community that they can sustain into college, that’s what I’m working on,” Fremstad said.

She’s interviewing people working in youth ministry, intergenerational ministry, students, and others as part of the project, which she hopes to put to practical use when she becomes a youth minister after graduating from Viterbo.

Students majoring in religious studies and theology at Viterbo are required to have a minor, but Fremstad went one better, as she’s double-minoring in theatre and arts administration. In her freshman and sophomore years, Fremstad sang in the Platinum Edition show choir and also performed with Viterbo’s Concert Choir.

“Those were some really unique and cool experiences to have, to perform for the community in a really amazing theatre,” she said.

Fremstad looked at several larger universities before deciding to attend Viterbo and she said the warm welcome she got when she visited the campus played a big part in her decision.

“We had students who greeted us right away and were encouraging and supportive,” she recalled. “The staff that I did meet were very intentional and really made sure that they knew my name, which was huge, and just welcomed me right away. I really just felt the hospitality on campus.”

Fremstad is originally from De Soto, and was initially concerned about affording a private education at a university like Viterbo.

“The school I wanted to attend had to be the right fit, but also affordable. Viterbo offered me the President’s Scholarship, at $14,000 a year, and that made a huge difference," she said. “It made Viterbo really competitive with the state schools, and it seemed like I got a lot more scholarship offers from Viterbo than other schools.”

Fremstad said she’s developed strong relationships with her professors and advisors at Viterbo and worked closely with them on her post-graduation plans.

“Viterbo really focuses on the individual and how they’re going to succeed and how they can best set them up for success,” she said. “If you want to grow and learn and be pushed, the professors are really good at that. They want you to participate, they’re very willing to work with you. They just want you to succeed so they’re going to do whatever they can to make that happen.”

The religious studies and theology major at Viterbo has an academic focus on social justice and the complexities of religions and spirituality in the modern world, and helps students develop communication and analytical thinking skills.

“They really challenge you to be able to articulate your ideas clearly,” Fremstad said. “You learn a lot of skills that a lot of employers are looking for, regardless of what field you go into.”

Viterbo has helped Fremstad create a career path from her passion for youth ministry and she describes the university as a place that's united around a focus on student success.

 “Viterbo is one community, that’s what stands out for me,” Fremstad said.