Lydia Gessner

I am a senior English and creative writing major at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.


I like writing human interest stories, reporting on stories from the heartland of America, and writing poetry and short stories about moments with Jesus in everyday life.


I am a people-person who loves running, being creative, and speaking about my faith.


I am seeking a position where I can use my writing and speaking skills for God's glory.

Farmers market vendors stay afloat during COVID | Shoreview Press

“We were thinking because of COVID people would not come, but I think that people have been starting to catch the essence of shopping local,” Diane said. Diane said she and her husband give God all the glory for helping them start a business during a pandemic. “We use our Christian values,” she said. “It’s important for us to use what God gave us.” While customers milled around, enjoying the vibrant colors of fresh produce and attractive displays, Diane expressed her gratitude for how the past eight months have gone for her and her husband. “We are brand new and we started right at the brink of COVID,” she said. “So, it could have been a make or break, but it happened for us. And I think people understand that it’s important to support businesses like ours.”

Charles City singer makes mark in national competition | Charles City Press

As Anders Haglund stepped out onto the stage, it was the first time since competing in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions that he had a live audience before him. And this time it wasn’t just a few judges in the semifinals. Instead he was before a room full of people and competing for a national ranking. Haglund said he wasn’t thinking like himself in those moments. “I was nervous then, and then walking onto the stage I guess I went into sort of game mode

For Floyd County’s annual entry in Governor’s Charity Steer Show, it isn’t always about the beef | Charles City Press

For Floyd County’s annual entry in Governor’s Charity Steer Show, it isn’t always about the beef When it comes to picking the exhibitor for the Governor’s Charity Steer Show, Matt Hoeft doesn’t look so much at the steer, but more at the one holding its halter. “Honestly, the main [thing is] good kid, great family,” Hoeft said of the qualifications. “That’s what it really is.”

Viva, RAGBRAI! Charles City extends welcome to bicyclists spending the night | Charles City Press

As RAGBRAI riders made their way into Charles City Thursday, they were greeted with a picturesque view of the Cedar River and a rolling slope down into their final stop for the day. Beyond the views that greeted them were the smiles and welcome of the community and a taste of the Iowa spirit for riders from all 50 states and 20 countries. “Oh gosh you all are the nicest people in the whole world,” said Rebecca West of Lexington, South Carolina. “I told my friends yesterday everybody’s rolled out the red carpet every town we’ve gone into.”
New Hampton Tribune •

Getting away from it all | New Hampton Tribune and Nashua Reporter

The sun sparkles on the pond and the birds chirp in the trees as a dragonfly whizzes past. He’s on his way to the perfect fishing spot just down the road, past the nature center with its bee hive, stuffed bear and the butterfly garden, abundant with freshly bloomed flowers. Standing on the banks of Airport Lake or the Cedar River, a world of masks and case counts seems like a faraway dream. As the weather turns nice, some local residents have been finding adventure
New Hampton Tribune •

Kicking off the holidays | New Hampton Tribune and Nashua Reporter

Songs like “Jingle Bells,” “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Mary Did You Know?” carried down Main Street as shoppers bustled in and out of stores and up and down the sidewalks during Saturday’s Holiday Open House. Transitioning from Halloween over to Thanksgiving and Christmas in a mere 37 hours is no easy task, but one business in New Hampton managed to pull it off in extravagantly festive fashion. Pocketful of Poises owner Kayla Smith describes how she and her business got ready in time
New Hampton Tribune •

A kindergartner’s life | New Hampton Tribune and Nashua Reporter

Jill Flugum’s day begins at 7:45 a.m. when she readies her classroom and herself for her day as a kindergarten teacher at St. Joseph Community School. All is quiet in the room, but she knows the silence won’t last long, and after gathering with her colleagues for a prayer and a brief meeting, life gets hectic. By 8:10 a.m. the day has officially begun as her 18 students flood into her classroom in a bundle of 5- and 6-year-old energy. For more on this story see the January 14 Tribune.
New Hampton Tribune •

NHHS graduate leaves ‘legacy’ | New Hampton Tribune and Nashua Reporter

He’s the kind kid. “Being a good person is his legacy,” says former high school Activities Director and now-Middle School Principal Brad Schmitt. “He’s a good person with a kind heart and he accepted his leadership [roles] and faithfully executed them with seriousness. He will definitely be successful just because of the approach he took in his leadership roles and the kind-hearted person he is.”
Medium •

Grace Morningstar beyond barefoot | Medium

Grace Morningstar finds her identity as a runner and beyond. Grace Morningstar slips off her shoes. She steps in beside her Mount Vernon-Lisbon cross country teammates, clad in Asics, Brooks and Nikes, and they stride across the grass. She runs shoeless beside people who knew and loved her before she was ever a barefoot runner. “I don’t think of myself as like ‘oh that girl who runs barefoot’ or like ‘the girl that doesn’t wear shoes,’” Morningstar said. “I think it’s different here because that’s all that some people know about me … But in high school people knew me before that so I don’t think it was as defining as it might be here.” But Grace Morningstar is so much more than her shoeless feet hitting the concrete.
The Clarion •

Election party without clear results | Clarion

The Bethel Election Shock Therapy Watch Party Tuesday night drew people from the left, the right, the politically curious and the just plain curious. Christopher Moore went to his professor’s home and joined his fellow students on couches and chairs for a watch party for the 1996 presidential election when he was a freshman in college. Now, as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Bethel, he is helping to host a watch party with other political science professors