Brandon Hirdler is, in a word, involved. Not only does he keep busy with his double major in history and gender, women and sexuality studies (GWS), but he also keeps busy around campus, serving in a number of leadership roles.

He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, serves as the business manager for Building Bridges, interns in the President’s Office and despite having just stepped down from his position as Student Senate finance chair, which he held for a year and a half, remains connected to Senate as a student at large on the Ethics Committee.
Brandon said that his involvement, despite being time consuming, has been beneficial.

“I’m definitely extremely busy, but I’ve always felt the need to be involved in these things.”

“I’ve really grown with the group of people [I’ve worked with] and we’ve learned together and excelled together.”

His involvement with Sigma Alpha Epsilon stemmed from a friend, Sean Tessmer ’11, recommending that he would enjoy being involved in the organization.

“He [Sean] talked to me about the organization and thought I’d be a great fit and that I lived by the moral code they do,” he said. “I definitely feel that the organization has lived up to the standard he told me it was.” He now holds three leadership positions through SAE.

Those who work closely with Brandon had a lot to say about his enthusiasm for all that he does.

“Brandon has a good head for numbers, a compassionate heart and a passion to work for fairness and justice,” Assistant to the President for Special Projects Barb Larson Taylor said.

He combines all of these talents in his position for Building Bridges. When the co-chairs asked him to help them, “It was an immediate yes. This group has such a positive impact on this campus,” Brandon said.

Brandon’s involvement in the President’s Office began his sophomore year when he was asked to serve on the Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee.

“I just loved working with Barb Larson Taylor. I started as an intern with her last spring and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve had a lot of learning experiences with her that I’ll definitely bring on past Gustavus,” Brandon said.
Brandon works on both the Sesquicentennial and Commission Gustavus 150 and helped to plan campus events like St. Peter Day and the Back to School Bash.

“He is a hard worker and amazingly reliable,” Larson-Taylor said. “I love how hard he has worked to make Gustavus a better place during his time as a student, yet he has a solid perspective that the college is so much bigger than the four years a student is here and he understands the college is more complex than most students ever consider.”

Though he enjoys the activities he is involved in, Brandon’s passions lie in his majors. His love for history stemmed from a childhood curiosity for why things are the way they are.

“I always knew that I was going to be a history major, and that just comes from me as a curious person wondering why things are happening now, looking at an issue and wondering what’s the past of it and how did that happen,” Brandon said. “That’s a fascinating thing—how today’s world is shaped by historical context.”

Brandon said his interest in GWS stemmed from the relationship he has with his mom.

“With GWS, it definitely sources back to my mother being a strong, independent woman. Then I took Intro to GWS, a course with Peg O’Connor, and from there I jumped feet first into the issues of gender, women and sexuality studies and never looked back,” he said.

He is also involved with the GWS department as their intern this year and helps with the WAC and events like “I Heart Female Orgasm” and “Men Can Stop Rape”.

Brandon acknowledges that GWS is a unique major for a male student.

“I’m the third male GWS major in the 12 years that the program has been on campus. It’s sometimes weird to be the only male in a lot of my classes, but it’s also not weird because I am welcomed.”

Professor Peg O’Connor is glad to have him join her classes.

“He is intellectually curious and someone who is always willing to play along in intense discussion based classes. He is deeply committed to making the world more socially just,” O’Connor said.

Brandon encourages other men to follow in his footsteps.

“If there is something I could tell all the men on the campus, it’s take a GWS course. You’re not going to be attacked, you’re going to be welcomed in. The women want men in there, they want to hear that perspective and learn from that perspective,” Brandon said.

Despite his busy schedule, Brandon still finds time for fun and friends.

“He is a reminder that you can be involved, serious, dedicated, but still have fun and act a little crazy sometimes. Although he is incredibly busy, Brandon will still make time to talk with you, crack a few jokes or ramble about news or politics,” Senior Physics Major Andrew Schmitt said.

“Brandon’s sense of humor definitely makes him unique. He can always get anyone laughing and knows how to balance serious work with serious fun,” Junior Psychology Major Tasha Ostendorf said.

“The quickest way to Brandon’s heart is to show him cute baby animals,” Ostendorf said.