Luther student from Decorah awarded $30,000 scholarship

Luther College senior Katrina Okerstrom from Decorah has been awarded a $30,000 graduate fellowship from the R.J. McElroy Trust.

Okerstrom is the daughter of Julia Thomas of Decorah and Lee Okerstrom of Oak Grove, Minnesota.  She will pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Iowa.  She is majoring in psychology and biology, and minoring in classics at Luther.

"With my graduate degree and continued research, I desire to develop an expertise in my area of research and to shed light on a piece of the puzzle that is the human mind, in hopes to better understand ourselves and others," said Okerstrom.

Okerstrom was one of two students at colleges in Northeast Iowa to be awarded the fellowship.  The fellowships, which carry a stipend of up to $30,000 paid over three years, were established by the McElroy Trustees in 1983 and are designed to encourage persons of accomplishment, intelligence, integrity and leadership ability to pursue challenging academic careers.  R. J. McElroy was a pioneer broadcaster who started the Black Hawk Broadcasting Company (KWWL-TV) in 1947.