Freshman Lukas Dahlstrom, however, is going one step further, walking a path traveled by three previous generations, including a grandfather who taught for more than two decades at North Park Theological Seminary.
Dahlstrom’s great-grandfather, J. Arvid Jones graduated from the seminary and served several Evangelical Covenant Church congregations. Grandfather Earl Dahlstrom (C’36, S’40) was professor of pastoral studies and theology from 1954 to 1979. He also served as the director of field education. Lukas’s father, Karl, attended North Park for three years.
Lukas says that his contacts with North Park students while attending Camp Squanto at Pilgrim Pines Camp and Conference Center in Keene, New Hampshire, played a bigger role in his decision than his family history. Those students, who were camp counselors, spoke enthusiastically about the university. “I wasn’t really thinking about going to college then, but they really influenced me,” he says.
Lukas says he never felt pressured to attend North Park, emphasizing, “I was the one who suggested it,” he says. His parents had expected him to go elsewhere—probably one of the Ivy League schools he was accepted to. “We actually were surprised,” says Karl Dahlstrom.
Lukas chose the school because of its location, commitment to the community, and basketball Coach Paul Brenegan, he says.
“I knew I wanted to see a different part of the country,” says the native of Etna, New Hampshire. “I really wanted to see something different.”
The university’s outreach to the city impressed him. “I knew that North Park was involved in the area, and that they were proud of that,” says Lukas. He has helped with the school’s Friday night ministry to the homeless on several occasions and hopes to be more involved with outreach activities when basketball is finished.
Brenegan also impressed Dahlstrom, who had played varsity high school basketball. Lukas has spent most of the season playing with the Junior Varsity Vikings. “It’s been mostly good,” he says of the transition.
Lukas says he has especially appreciated getting to know his teammates and learning more about the different paths people have taken to get to the university. “My teammates are great,” he says.
Lukas is recipient of the Nyvall Scholarship, the highest academic award given by the university, and says he also has had to learn to balance academics with sports and other activities. “It’s really good to have a semester under the belt,” he says.
