Senior Lesley Darling describes herself as “not the typical overly involved Gustie.” If you asked her for a list of the organizations she’s involved in on campus, this may seem accurate. However, if you dig a little deeper than the surface level titles and accolades, it’s very apparent that Lesley is just as valuable in the community as a student involved in six different organizations.
“Lesley’s personality is like a warm breeze.”—Rachel Ackermann
“Lesley makes herself a part of a community and quietly makes her impact. She is humble because she’s just doing what she loves best. Lesley just wants to find an inner happiness and in doing so, has become the epitome of what ‘make your life count’ means,” Senior Rachel Ackermann said.
Lesley is the President of the Vikings Society and an employee at the Writing Center. Most importantly, she’s invested in her Scandinavian Studies major and Art minor, taking the time to get to know her professors on a personal level and fully explore her studies. She serves as an academic assistant for the Scandinavian Studies Department and has resided in the Swedish House on campus since her sophomore year.
“I first met Lesley when she enrolled in my first-semester Swedish language class as a first-year student at Gustavus. She immediately struck me as wise, smart, humorous, and really invested in what she was in the classroom to study. She’s encouraging, thoughtful, contemplative, tempered, but passionate, and laid back, but very inspired about the topics she takes to heart,” Assistant Professor in Scandinavian Studies Kjerstin Moody said.
Environmental justice and sustainable living are just a couple of the topics she takes to heart, a passion that was sparked largely by her study abroad experience in Sweden.
“My dad is a farmer, in addition to being an art teacher, so I had always been aware and interested in the ‘live-off-the-land’ mentality, but it became very actualized while living in Sweden. You don’t see a lot of people here who grow their own food and knit their own things. So it really inspired me to see that reality in Sweden,” Lesley said.
After coming back from Sweden and moving into the Swedish House during her sophomore year, Lesley had more agency to really begin carrying out what she had learned. She enjoys doing things like baking her own bagels or knitting her own clothes. Generally, this is how she chooses to spend her time outside of class. She also enjoys painting, singing, going for walks, and hanging out with friends.
“Passionate, and laid back, but very inspired about the topics she takes to heart.”—Kjerstin Moody
“Lesley’s personality is like a warm breeze. She can be ethereal and not necessarily grounded, but I think that goes with the territory of intense creativity. Her soul is palpable and her compassion is immense. One of my favorite things about her is her wit. She’s able to laugh at herself. She’s also incredibly loyal. She gives her love to her friends unconditionally,” Ackermann said.
For the future, Lesley says her main goal is to simply “be” just as she would at any other time in her life. More concretely, she’s applying for scholarships to continue a research project she’s been working on about a language spoken only by a remaining 400 people in Sweden, a project she’s extremely passionate about calling attention to.
While Lesley may not look like the typical Gustavus student on the surface, her commitment to and passion for the topics she cares about have allowed her to shape her own unique niche among the other involved Gusties.
“Lesley embodies so many of the best qualities of Gustavus students: commitment to intellectual growth, valuing the spiritual dimensions of people, sensitivity and curiosity of other cultures, and a commitment to social and environmental justice,” Associate Professor in Religion and Japanese Studies John Cha said.
-Jaurdyn Dobler
