Other Programs of the Luther Institute Shirley D. Peterson, Esq.
Close inspection reveals that deserts only seem like dry places.
Despite the observer s first impression, streams run through arid regions and flowers bloom. Shirley Peterson is human testimony to the desert s possibilities. Growing up in a religious family in rural, southeastern Colorado, both a geographical and an educational desert, she went on to become an exceptional public servant. Few people from Peterson s farming community attended college, and no one from Shirley s family had ever enjoyed that opportunity. At age twelve, though, she saw an issue of Look magazine that featured an article about the prestigious Seven Sisters colleges.