Jeanette Clark ’07, Augsburg College

By Bethany Bierman
Photo by Stephen Geffre

Jeanette Clark felt a calling into urban ministry even as a student at Hopkins High School. Finding a college that offered both Metro-Urban Studies and Youth and Family Ministry was simple. “Augsburg is the place to be if you want to be doing these things,” says Clark. “We are intentionally in the city. You don’t often hear other colleges talking about their location so seriously.”

During her time at Augsburg, Clark has served as a campus ministry commissioner, resident advisor, and leadership team member for The Campus Kitchen (CKAC), among many other things. With CKAC, much of her time was spent serving meals at Peace House, a drop-in community center for adults who are “precariously housed” or homeless. She recently won a national hunger award for her commitment to the Campus Kitchen program.

Clark spent a semester in Cuernavaca, Mexico through Augsburg’s Center for Global Education, where she worked for a pre-school and after-school program. It also helped with her Spanish minor.

This past year, Clark created an opportunity for students staying in Minneapolis over spring break, called “Go Away Here.” The goal was to get Augsburg students to take advantage of the city. It included service projects in the community, visits to neighborhood organizations such as the Sierra Club and Somali Women’s Center, and social outings such as free lunch at a different local restaurant each day.

In the coming year Clark will serve at City South Cluster Ministries in South Minneapolis through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, then plans to attend Seminary with the hope of serving in an urban congregation.

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