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Meet Kent Zelesky — LAMPa Summer Intern

Kent Zelesky, a junior at Juniata College majoring in communication/conflict resolution, has joined LAMPa for a 10-week summer internship.  A resident of Connecticut, Zelesky is a lifelong Lutheran, veteran of Theological Education for Youth at Gettysburg Seminary and two national youth gatherings – the latest  as a young adult volunteer.

Zelesky, whose first day at LAMPa saw the legislature adopt a permanent school funding formula, will be tasked with engaging Pennsylvania Lutherans in securing enough revenue to close the worst-in-the-nation gap between wealthy and poor school districts. Click here to connect with him on this work.

“Kent first came to TEY in July of 2011 as a scholar in the Theological Academy,” said Chelle Huth, Director of Lifelong Learning; Director of Theological Education with Youth (TEY) for Gettysburg & Philadelphia Seminaries.  “He is a bright, passionate, enthusiastic & engaging young man. I’m thrilled for LAMPa & Kent to be embarking on this summer internship. It will be a blessing for both parties and the ministry.”

Zelesky, whose grandfather was a Lutheran pastor, said his own faith journey became clearer when he first preached a sermon about world hunger that began as a children’s message and turned into one for the whole congregation. Interning with Lutheran Advocacy seemed a perfect place to blend his faith and his skills in communication and conflict resolution, he said.

“When the time came to start looking for an internship, I knew that advocacy groups were a good place to start because there would be communication involved, but also when advocacy is needed, in a lot of cases it involves at least two groups of people.  From experience I have noticed when two groups are engaged together sometimes conflict can arise.  When conflict appears it may be the perfect opportunity to use some of the resolution skills that I have learned in real-life situations.  I want to be able to help the LAMPa organization as best I can.”

“I am certain that working on educating funding in Pennsylvania at the height of budget season will put Kent’s skills to good use,” said LAMPa director Tracey DePasquale.  “He is already diving into the details. I am grateful for his enthusiasm and organization and eager for him to meet our wonderful advocates across Pennsylvania.”

Look for Kent at the LAMPa table at Allegheny, Northwestern and Southwestern Pennsylvania synod assemblies.