From an unexpected role at her home church to a new career in higher education, Emma Kaiser (’26) discovered that every workplace is an opportunity to serve Christ.
Who gets their dream job right out of college, anyway?
Emma Kaiser, who graduated from Concordia in May with a bachelor’s degree in business communication and a minor in psychology, certainly didn’t expect to return home without a job lined up. Like many recent graduates, she anxiously awaited what would come next.
This summer, Kaiser began her new role in Bellin College’s High School Initiatives Department, helping high school students earn college credit while exploring careers in healthcare.
“It’s essentially like Concordia’s dual credit program,” Kaiser said. “If a student wants to earn college credit while they’re still in high school, they’ll work through me.”
A position like this was exactly what Kaiser had hoped to find right after graduation. Before that opportunity came along, though, she found herself serving as a church secretary in a place she never expected. For two months, she worked alongside her parents at their home congregation, where her father serves as pastor and her mother teaches kindergarten.
“I felt like I was somewhere God wasn’t calling me,” Kaiser said. “Looking back, though, I realize I was wrong.”
Learning to serve
Long before Bellin College entered the picture, Kaiser found a second home in Concordia’s Admissions Office. “I interviewed before I even started at Concordia,” she laughed. “And I was hired as an incoming freshman.”
Over the next four years, she welcomed prospective students and their families to campus. During her junior and senior years, she served as Lead Student Ambassador, leading tours, representing the university at special events like the LCMS Youth Gathering and helping create new initiatives for the department.
One initiative she’s especially proud of is the student ambassador retreat at Whispering Pines in her hometown of Shawano.
“The reason I wanted to create it was because our staff came from so many different backgrounds,” Kaiser said. “Some of us were athletes. Some studied computer science. Others were involved in theater. Outside of Admissions, many of us probably never would’ve crossed paths. I wanted everyone to actually know each other.”
Her goal was simple: build a stronger sense of community among the student ambassadors. What started as Kaiser’s idea became the Admissions team’s first Student Ambassador Retreat in fall 2024. This fall, the team is preparing to host it for the third consecutive year.
“One of Emma’s most impactful contributions was her idea to host a Student Ambassador Retreat at Whispering Pines to foster team development, leadership and community,” said Cassandra Chmielewski, assistant director of admissions for guest experience. “What began as Emma’s vision has since become a valued tradition.”
An unexpected season
Reflecting on her academic journey, Kaiser doesn’t sugarcoat the transition from college to career.
“I graduated without having a job lined up, and I don’t think we talk enough about that,” she said. “I walked across the graduation stage fully expecting I’d already have a job. That wasn’t reality.”
Having grown up in Lutheran education, Kaiser expected life after graduation to unfold a certain way. Teachers receive a divine call, and somewhere along the way, she assumed her own next step would naturally fall into place.
“It didn’t,” she said. “So I moved home.”
At the beginning of the year, Kaiser chose one word to intentionally focus on, an idea introduced to her by a woman in her home congregation. For 2026, that word was abide.
“I’ve been learning what it means to remain rooted in Christ and trust His direction even when life doesn’t unfold the way I expected it to.”
Those two months serving as the secretary at her hometown church ultimately reshaped her understanding of vocation. The church needed someone, and Kaiser stepped in. Looking back, she now sees that season not as a setback, but as preparation.
“I learned to find joy in the small things,” she said. “The church needed someone, and nobody else had stepped forward. God placed me in a position where I could help for a season, train someone else and leave things in a good place before moving on.”
That season also gave new meaning to the word she had chosen months earlier. “For me, abiding means accepting God’s plans as the final word and saying, ‘Okay, this is where You have me.'”
A new understanding of vocation
Kaiser’s experience at her home church also reinforced something she had begun to understand during her time at Concordia: vocation wasn’t necessarily tied to a particular major, career or workplace.
“That’s probably the biggest thing Concordia taught me,” Kaiser said. “I have a completely different understanding now of what vocation really looks like. A nurse can share God’s love while standing beside a hospital bed. Someone in business can share God’s love during a board meeting. Whatever job God places you in is where you’re supposed to be at that point in His timeline.”
That understanding developed in part as Kaiser navigated her own academic path. Academic advisor Barb Tyler watched as Kaiser reconsidered her studies and the career possibilities ahead of her.
“She realized that changing her major, or adding a major, wouldn’t change her purpose; it aligned her academics with her vocation,” Tyler said. “She remained flexible and open-minded throughout the process, realizing that adjusting her major provided options she hadn’t previously considered.”
Realizing that God’s plan looked different than her own wasn’t easy, but it strengthened Kaiser’s trust that her purpose would remain the same regardless of where she worked.
“I believe that no matter what your job title is, your purpose is still the same,” she said. “It’s to serve others and share the love of Christ.”
That lesson has also changed the way Kaiser sees herself. Although she admits she’s often been her own toughest critic, those who watched her grow at Concordia saw something different.
Chmielewski remembers Kaiser questioning whether she had the skills and abilities to succeed, particularly before high-pressure moments. Whether she was preparing to lead an important VIP tour or speak in front of more than 20,000 people at the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, the nerves would inevitably come.
“Eventually, I learned to smile whenever she expressed those doubts because I knew exactly what would happen next,” Chmielewski said. “She would step up, do an exceptional job, and wonder why she had been worried in the first place.”
Watching Kaiser grow into a confident leader throughout her four years at Concordia was one of the most rewarding parts of working with her, Chmielewski said. All of those experiences taught Kaiser never to underestimate the ways God can work through her, and now she hopes other students do the same.
“I know myself. I know my flaws, and I know my sins,” she said. “But God is going to use you in ways that are so much bigger than you ever imagined. You might not think you’ve made an impact, but I promise someone is going to remember something you said or something you did. It may mean far more to them than you ever realize. So do everything with joy because you’re where you are for a reason.”
The path to Bellin College didn’t unfold the way Kaiser expected. Looking back, though, she wouldn’t change it. The unexpected season after graduation gave her something more valuable than the career path she had planned—it gave her a new understanding of vocation.
And perhaps, just as importantly, it taught her what it means to abide.
Want in?
Concordia University Wisconsin is a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world.