Emma Myhre is a sophomore at Gustavus. She’s the smiling face you see in the Courtyard Café and the person who talks to everyone she sees. For Emma, every new face is a new friend she has yet to meet.

You often see her in the halls taking the time to hug a friend and making time to catch up with them, or stopping mid-sentence to smile and wave to other people walking by.

It is just a quick glimpse into Emma’s world that can understatedly be referred to as “busy.”It’s hard not to get caught up in Emma’s enthusiasm for life and for the people around her.

Emma’s friend, Sophomore Duncan Matthew, guarantees that her attitude will brighten up any student’s day.

“Emma is a ray of sunshine on an unclouded day. She is always genuinely curious about your day, well-being, and any other aspect of your life,“ Matthew said.

Emma spends practically her entire life being busy. In addition to her participation in the Gustavus Choir, she works for the Admissions office, is a performer in the upcoming Sweeny Todd production, and teaches and competitively sails. If this isn’t enough, she is also trying to put together her own female a cappella group.

Throughout most of J-term, Emma was working 11 hours a day on the Gustavus production of Sweeny Todd.

When asked by her mother if she was ready for that much practice, she responded, “I like being busy. I would be wasting my time if I felt like I wasn’t pushing myself to the fullest.”

“Attitude is a choice, and I wake up every morning making the choice to be positive.” — Emma Myhre

The upcoming Sweeny Todd production will be staged as if it’s in an insane asylum and the patients will be putting on a performance of the titular play.

That means that each of the actors in the production will be playing a character that is playing another character. Despite it being a daunting task, Emma has a cautiously optimistic mood about the upcoming performance.

Theatre and Dance Professor Henry MacCarthy will be directing the upcoming play and Emma had nothing but compliments towards his work.

“When I work with Henry, I walk away having learned more about myself and pushing my own limitations.”

Likewise, MacCarthy only had positive things to list about Emma and her performance.

“In addition to being talented, Emma has an outstanding work ethic and always has a positive attitude no matter how daunting the task may be,” MacCarthy said. “She takes direction easy and she is a generous collaborator.”

This is also Emma’s first year as a member of the Gustavus Choir. As a junior in high school, she came to a performance of Christmas in Christ Chapel, where she claimed she only “cried a few times.”

After performing in this years’ production, she received an award for crying the most out of any other member in G-Choir. Emma attributed this accomplishment to personal attachment not only to the music they performed, but also her fellow members of the Gustavus Choir. It’s a full-time commitment, but a worthwhile endeavor for her.

Emma is a double major in Communications and Theatre, and is also trying to earn her minor in Art Administration. As she will acknowledge, it’s a lot on her plate, but the Gustavus community pushes her to do more.

“I love that every student here has something they are passionate about, something that they strive towards, and not everyone is striving for the same thing,” Emma said.

Needless to say, there’s not a moment wasted with Emma. She also has advice for those looking to maintain positivity in their hectic lives.

“Attitude is a choice, and I wake up every morning making the choice to be positive.”