What is a big challenge you’ve faced in your life?

“Compared to most people, I’ve lived quite a blessed life, so this is a tough question. I’ve lived in a white upper-middle class family in northern Minnesota my entire life, I’ve been academically gifted generally speaking, had a good family life for the most part…my level of struggles compared to most others are not that big, from my point of view. Recently my family did go through a bit of a rough spot, so that was probably my biggest challenge as of recent times. My mom and dad were apparently pretty close to getting a divorce, so yeah that was tough, but I was at college so it kind of worked out that I wasn’t around to see it.”

What is an achievement that you’re proud of?

“I’m proud of where I see my life heading and what I’ve done to have that trajectory. Not just professionally, but also personally and socially; I think I’ve done a good job setting myself up for success in all of those areas. I’ve been very intentional, especially lately, but definitely over the last few years. I’ve been trying to be someone that people want to get to know and be around, as well as trying very hard to be good at what I want to do, because I’m a physics major! It’s a hard major, but I don’t really think there are any easy majors. I try to spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into developing myself into who I want to be.”

What is your advice to someone working towards their goals?

“I think self-reflection is huge. There’s barriers to everything you want to do in life, right? Some barriers are larger than others, but I think you have to know how much work it’s going to take to overcome some barriers and whether or not whatever is beyond that barrier is truly worth it to you. Thoughtful contemplation on what’s really important. You can’t do everything in life, unfortunately. You have to pick what you value and what you want to do, and you only have so much effort and energy to put into these things. You need to choose what you really want and put that effort towards that. Obviously, side tracks are fun and all, but keeping that end goal in mind will get you where you want to go.”

Beneath The Crown was created by Nick Theisen (‘15). It is inspired by Humans of New York (HONY) and aims to bring the community of Gustavus Adolphus College closer together by providing the perspectives of the many different people who live and work at the school.