Over the past year, a new Facebook account was formed, highlighting Gustavus students with their thoughts, stories, and a picture. Modeled after Humans of New York, Beneath the Crown is a way for social media users to see and understand fellow students, faculty, and staff of the College.
Creator Senior History Major Nick Theisen finds people around campus who look like they have some time to spare. He strikes up a conversation in hopes to gain insight into who this person is, rather than just their major, hometown, year, and job.
Theisen has worked as a Marketing and Communication photographer for the past four years. The office challenges the seniors to create a significant project before they graduate. “When Nick and I got together to talk about what this project might be for him, we kicked around several different possibilities before he brought up the idea of creating a Facebook page similar to Humans of New York. This website would give viewers an inside look at the thoughtful and interesting people that make up the Gustavus community,” Vice President of Marketing and Communication Tim Kennedy said.
“Humans of New York is where I got the idea. I loved the rawness, asking people basic life questions. When you think about it, it’s not all that crazy with all that ground breaking of a project. It’s just going through life with people asking them about life. Strangely enough, it’s not something that we do very often, especially with people that we don’t know or we just met,” Theisen said.
Beneath the Crown is a way to highlight students’ lives and give them a chance to share something that they might not have told anyone. It is a way to see what students are actually like at Gustavus.
“We are all people with stories and insights, but even I don’t think about that, when I’m walking across campus. I see another student and I am just like ‘I have class with them, but I don’t know anything about them.’ Having that deeper connection with people is the aim behind it,” Theisen said.
Seeing classmates, friends, students you’ve never met pop up in your newsfeed on Facebook is a way to connect with them and strike up meaningful conversations to develop relationships. It helps foster Gustavus’ value of Community.
“I have seen an impact around campus by just a general increase in the realization that we are all diverse people living and working in our little bubble here on the hill. It’s easier to relate to others when we realize we’re all going through things,” Sophomore Photographer for Office of Marketing and Communication and Alex Thompson said.
“It helped the community work towards being more inclusive, by sharing deep and thoughtful insights from a broad spectrum of students, faculty, and staff with the entire community,” Kennedy said.
Theisen focuses on the people he meets by having conversations that are full of intention and getting to know a real person.
“These are the conversations we tend to shy away from just because they touch nerves and bring up thoughts and experiences we just don’t want to think about, either because they are painful or difficult or we don’t know the answer,” Theisen said.
This project was created by Theisen but he wants to focus on the people. The people are what made the project thrive and what made Beneath the Crown an amazing way to get a real look at what college students, staff, and faculty are thinking about.
“My favorite part is the people part. It allowed me, and the viewers of the page, to see the passions that people have. Those passions are the things that drive us. It’s why we do what we do and knowing why we do what we do is important and something that we don’t always think about. Getting a small glimpse into what drives people is the foundation of being a person. Being able to identify with what drives people and being like ‘Man, I feel that too,” Theisen said.
With Theisen graduating at the end of May, the future of Beneath the Crown is up in the air, but it doesn’t mean that an era of purposeful, community-building social media is over.
“I want it to continue because I think it makes a difference and people have an appreciation for other peoples’ insights. I want it to continue to foster the community that is built on depth. Part of me also thinks that it had its time and other things will come along. Other people have passions too, and they will use them,” said Theisen.
However, Theisen won’t stop asking these questions after he leaves Gustavus.
“I want to do something like this, but more on a global scale. I’ve dreamed of mixing this with travel. I want to do something that highlights the human side of life,” Theisen said.
Beneath the Crown showcases Gusties and their ability to show who they are and letting it strengthen the campus as a whole.
“Its been amazing to see the depth of peoples stories and insights. The project is really about the community and the people,” Theisen said.

-Erika Clifton