Gustavus Adolphus College

I am in the middle of five children, so I always worked hard at everything I did so that I would live up to my big sisters and not get lost in the shuffle of kids! I acted in my first play when I was five years old at Gustavus- and now I’m a theatre major here! I have home video footage of me being a sarcastic little kid saying I never wanted to do a play at Gustavus again and it’s funny to look back at me in the dressing rooms I now spend time in as a college student. I started taking piano lessons when I was in first grade and was involved with choir at my church starting in second grade. In fifth grade, I started playing the violin, and all of these things I continued to do all of these things up until today, though some have become higher priorities than others as I’ve had to make busy-college-schedule choices. I was captain of the speech team in high school and all four years I was in the category of discussion. Discussion is different from all the other speech categories because you don’t give a speech- you discuss! I spent an hour in each round (four times a day on Saturdays) trying to solve a ‘task” with six or seven other people. Each year the topic of discussions changed. I had the opportunity to discuss poverty, the internet, race relations, and health care. I found researching these topics fascinating and am still passionate about these topics today. Beyond learning about these topics, discussion enhanced my communication skills and trained in small group dynamics. I am better at picking up non-verbal messages, including all people and ideas in group process, and creative problem solving because of discussion. My junior year of high school I had a fantastic geography teacher, he was running for US Congress at the time, as chair of that political party at my school, I worked hard with my friends to get him elected. We phone banked in the summer, walked in hot parades, and went door to door with pamphlets trying to get him elected. The fall of my senior year, he was elected- defeating twe

Growing up in Mankato, I always knew what a great school Gustavus was, but as an adventurous person that wanted to get away from the nest a bit, I naturally looked at other schools as well, in order to make sure I didn’t have too narrow of a search. I knew I wanted a private liberal arts college, because I wanted to have small class sizes and a broad education base that would make me a life-long learner (what can I say? my dad was a college professor... I’m from a family that values learning!) I looked at several schools and finally narrowed it down to Gustavus and St. Olaf, as is typical of the choice many current Gusties and Oles once made. After visiting each school, I made a list of the things I liked about each school. My list under Gustavus was much longer- and this is nothing against St. Olaf, I just found that the opportunities Gustavus had to offer me were perfect. I loved the small class sizes, the friendliness of everyone on campus, the opportunity to audition for music scholarships and get free voice and piano lessons (which I did end up receiving – the Jussi Bjorling Scholarship in voice and the Gustavus Music Award in Voice and piano) I was excited about the study abroad options Gustavus offered (and I will in fact be studying abroad this fall, though I haven’t decided what program I’m doing) Finally, I was extremely interested in Gustavus’ social justice theatre troupe because I am passionate about theatre and politics. This is a very unique program and an asset to the Gustavus Community, and it was I Am, We Are that ultimately swayed my decision to come to Gustavus.

There are so many opportunities at Gustavus. If there’s not an organization already existing that is aimed at what you’re passionate about, then you can make one! I am currently in the Choir of Christ Chapel, I Am, We Are, the social justice theatre troupe, and Chamber singers, a 12 person vocal jazz ensemble. I’m a house leader in the Intentional Learning and Service program; I am in Gustavus Democrats, Queers and Allies, and the Womyn’s Awareness Center. I’m doing an internship through the Marketplace and Kitchen Cabinet called Choices at the Table, which I’m doing research for by putting together “Lunch and Learn” sessions for with presenters on things such as how nutrition is linked to mental health. I served on two working groups for the Strategic Plan over the past year, Health and Wellness and Global and Cultural Competency. I’m spending my spring break in Beaumont, Texas with a Gustavus group working with Habitat for Humanity; I was in Dancing with the Profs this past fall-where I learned to do the Lindy with Dean of Students Hank Toutain and Chaplain Brain Johnson to raise money for the United Way. Additionally, I joined up with a group of other sauna enthusiasts to re-establish the Gustavus Sauna Society, which hadn’t been running for a decade and which I’m currently serving as a co-president for. I’m also part of the recently formed group, Gustavus Atheists and Open Minded, which is a community service organization for non-religious students. I served as Student Senate Co-President last year and helped rewrite the senate constitution as well as oversaw the allocation of a quarter of a million dollars to student organizations. We brought hand dryers to the campus center and helped sponsor Gustie Ware. As co-president I oversaw 7 committees, spoke at first-year orientation, and organized a senate retreat. The activity that takes up most of my time now is theatre rehearsal, which is every weeknight from 7-10. I spend my evenings at rehearsal so I have to get all of my reading and h

Political and Legal Thinking with Alisa Rosenthal has been my favorite course so far at Gustavus. I took this class spring of my first year of college. Every day, we read the works of a different great political thinker- from Hobbes and Locke, to Rousseau and Fanon and we had to write a paper on our reaction. My favorites to read were Marx and Thoreau. We would come to class and Alisa would present the material from the perspective of the thinker- as if they were her own beliefs, and to be honest I could not tell you what her personal opinions and politics were because she did such a superb job of switching gears every day and teaching different material as though it were the gospel truth. As practice for the midterm and final, we were all able to choose a political thinker and we came to class and had discussions representing the ideas of each philosopher. I remember, before the final I was Thoreau and we all dressed up- I had some ridiculous brown get-up on that I’d borrowed from a friend with a fake raccoon skin hat- I took stage makeup and smudged dirt all over my face and made a beautiful nametag with grass and pinecones taped onto it. The best part was that our class had a study group the night before the discussion to prepare for it- and everyone embodied their philosopher completely- we’d been taught so well. Above all, what I appreciated about Alisa was her willingness to take time to go through my papers line by line and discuss how I could make them stronger. She would give me specific examples and take an hour to pour over a paper with me, making sure I understood how to write an effective argument. I am a much stronger writer and thinker because of that class, and I’m grateful for all the professors at Gustavus because they take the time to care about their students as individuals. I wasn’t getting quick answers from a teaching assistant, but one on one time with my professor- I realize now how important that has been in shaping my college academic experience.

I love fried ice cream- this involves putting soft serve ice cream into a dish, adding Special K, honey, and cinnamon and stirring it all together. Sometimes it take s a little trial and error to get it just right - but YUM delicious...completely worth it.

I have gone to many professors’ homes for grill outs, cast parties and holiday parties. I’m in Curriculum II, and once or twice a semester all of the sequences of CII will get together at a professors home for a party. This really emphasizes that Hogwarts house-like bond that comes with being in CII. The time I was most grateful for a professor was when my advisor sat down with me for SIX HOURS over touring break this year to discuss study abroad options. I swear we must have gone through every single country in the world looking at theatre opportunities. I don’t know if there is any other school in the world where the faculty is so patient, generous, and caring. I feel very privileged to be at Gustavus.

My dream job would involve being the president of a non-profit human rights organization by day (AI-USA, HRC or the like) and performing theatre with excellent artists at night. I feel as though both of these goals are attainable in my lifetime, and they may change over time, but my Gustavus education is preparing me for whatever twists and challenges are thrown into my life, and I can’t wait! Well...I can wait, I’m enjoying being a student for now-but I’m not scared for what comes next. I’m excited and feel as though I’ll be prepared.

If you are anything like me, grab a pencil and paper and write down anything and everything that you like about a school and what it is that is holding you back. I go back and forth on decisions so many times, I’m very indecisive. When you have it in writing - you can fully understand why you’re leaning toward a specific school. You can include things like cost or mom wants me to go here under a school’s list, but don’t let those be the deciding factors. Ultimately it is up to you- and you need to follow your heart. Write down the way a school made you feel and what opportunities you see yourself having there. Remember that life is an adventure, and no matter what you choose, you are gaining experience. Never feel trapped, and have fun while you search!

I love Christmas in Christ Chapel, it’s a super intense couple of weeks but SO worth it. I also really enjoy traying, eating frost-your-own cookies, and walks in the arb. When it is warm outside people do homework on blankets or right in the grass all over campus and there is an uncontrollable energy that makes me very happy.