Helping Tomorrow’s Leaders Take the Next Step

Have you ever felt stuck, not sure what your next step should be? That is the place where many recent high school graduates find themselves. Thankfully, these young adults have Liv (Roskos) Peterson ’15 cheering them on through a Chicago youth outreach called Legacy Leaders.

Czech, the arts, and Moody

Olivia, known as Liv, grew up in Montana on the border of Canada, so it wasn’t until she was teaching English in the Czech Republic, working with local churches, that she heard about Moody Bible Institute. “I wanted to move to Chicago because it had the highest Czech population besides the country itself,” Liv says. “I wanted to live in a city, and I knew I wanted to go into some sort of missions or ministry, but I also loved the arts.”

As a Communications major at Moody. Liv found herself expanding her understanding of what it means to serve God. “In my classes with professor Brian Kammerzelt, I began to understand that ministry wasn’t only one way. It didn’t have to be conventional or traditional. I began looking at ministry as life, as who I am, rather than just fitting a specific role such as a missionary. I started to see it through a different perspective.”

At Moody Liv met Dexter Peterson ’17. After graduation, the two were married, had a daughter, and made Chicago their home. Liv began working with GRIP, a Chicago outreach to high school students. She loved connecting with young people in the city, especially when it involved sharing her passion for music and the arts. At the same time she continued to pursue her love of singing, even touring Poland in 2017 with fellow alum C. W. Allen ’14. “We got asked by the Count of Poland to go on a tour and bring different American Christian bands. We traveled all over Poland and performed in some of the castles he owned. We spent two weeks traveling and performing.”

Serving high school students

After her return, Liv met Everett Gutierrez, Jr., who shared his dream of helping high school students find their place in the world. Liv joined him on the ground floor, helping serve in Chicago public schools through in-school and after-school programs. Legacy Leaders taught students emotional and social learning skills and leadership development. Liv used love for drama in an after-school program where students wrote productions based on their lives. “That’s where the fusion of my arts experience and leadership began to come together,” Liv says.

“One of the biggest lessons we tried to teach was on toxic thinking,” Liv said, “helping them overcome lies they’ve told about themselves. There was one young lady who had experienced a lot of trauma, and through the drama production she was able to speak out about the things that had happened to her and feel safe to share her story. I think one of the things I realized is that these teens are told that their stories don’t really matter. Doing this showed them that people could learn from them.”

Liv sees her faith infuse everything they do. “We are believers and that shapes the undertone of our lessons. We’ve used the book of Proverbs for key morals in stories, and the students will often say, ‘I heard my grandma talk about this in church.’ We incorporate a lot of biblical concepts into the lessons.”

Pushing through the pandemic

Business as usual came to a halt during the pandemic, forcing the program to move online. “I was thankful for my Moody Communication classes where I had struggled to learn video and editing skills,” Liv says. “I remember thinking that I’d never use those things since I was headed into theater arts. I should have taken it more seriously!”

Another result of COVID was that Liv’s husband, Dexter, was laid off. He used the time to care for their daughter and to teach himself Spanish. Little did he realize that this language skill would prepare him for what God had around the corner. Today, Dexter serves with New Life Centers, working with young adults who are involved with the juvenile justice system.

Mentoring young adults

The pandemic gave Liv time to think and pray about next steps for Legacy Leaders. “I had a lot of former mentees who were coming to me for advice after high school. They needed life and leadership skills. So I spent six months researching what programs were available for shaping young adult leaders. While I found an occasional church group, there wasn’t a focused level of support.”

Out of this need, Legacy Fellowship Initiative was born, offering a one-year training program for those who have graduated high school or college, and need advice on next steps in finances, schooling, and careers. “I noticed that people were lacking clarity, direction, and important connections,” Liv said. “If you didn’t grow up in a family like that, you were just figuring it out on your own.”

Legacy Fellowship began its pilot program in November. Participants meet once a month to hear from community leaders on a variety of topics. In addition, each member is paired with a mentor to help them with personal/professional development. Liv is excited to help young adults get unstuck and take the next steps in their life.

“I see things in people and want them to be the best they can be. I think I’ve always been a teacher. I’ve wanted to create spaces where people can thrive. I want to see people win. I want people to know there is more inside of you, and there is help to get you where you want to go.”

Liv and Dexter are both thankful for those who invest in Moody students. Liv hopes her story expands their view of how God can use a Moody degree in unexpected ways. To learn more about Legacy Leaders, click here. To apply for the Legacy Fellowship Initiative, click here or contact Liv Peterson at liv@mylegacyleaders.org for more information.