While attending a Prospective Student Visit Day my senior year of high school, I remember sitting in Viking Theater, learning how more than 75 percent of Oles study abroad and thinking “Wow, I want to do that.” Not to say that studying abroad was the sole reason why I chose St. Olaf, but the international opportunities were an important factor in my college decision-making process.
I feel fortunate to say that I studied off campus or abroad every year I attended St. Olaf: an Interim class with Heather Campbell in Minneapolis my first year; an Interim class in India my sophomore year; a semester at DIS Copenhagen, a three week summer program in Snåsa, Norway, and a six week summer program at the International Summer School in Oslo my junior year; and an Interim internship program in Oslo my senior year. Now that I’ve officially been out of undergrad for longer than I was in it (a thought-provoking milestone!), I’m reminded of my global St. Olaf connections, which have helped shape me into the person I am today.
I graduated from St. Olaf with biology and Norwegian majors and educational studies and Nordic studies concentrations (truly the product of a liberal arts education); a few months later, I began teaching at a nature- and farm-based preschool here in the Twin Cities. Organized chaos defines a classroom of 2-3 year olds in a normal year – and I began teaching in the midst of a pandemic, “unprecedented times” in education — yet I felt as prepared as I could be thanks to my undergrad experiences. In addition to my courses at St. Olaf, I had a practicum at a nature-based preschool in Copenhagen, Denmark and visited three different preschools in Oslo, Norway as part of the Rand Scholar Award. I taught for three years at Children’s Country Day School, years that included building close relationships with a few families in particular and bonding with some parents who were also Ole alums.
This past year, I was in Norway through the Fulbright Program, studying and researching nature-based preschools, which wouldn’t have been nearly as meaningful without my undergrad experiences at St. Olaf. The year consisted of numerous small-world St. Olaf connections. Another Fulbrighter’s wife had worked at St. Olaf for many years (Pat Anfinson); one of the mothers at the Norwegian nature-based preschool I was at had attended St. Olaf, also living in Norwegian House; and while chatting with a vendor at a local Christmas market, I found out her daughter had toured St. Olaf with her choir. I was used to having to describe where Minnesota was located in the U.S., so I was always surprised when Norwegians had heard of a liberal arts college in a smaller Minnesotan town!
“During my year in Norway, I also strengthened and built international connections that wouldn’t have been possible without my experiences through St. Olaf.”
During my year in Norway, I also strengthened and built international connections that wouldn’t have been possible without my experiences through St. Olaf. I went on two well-known mountain hikes with a Norwegian friend who is a fellow Ole; I visited my host family and the nature-based preschool in Copenhagen and traveled back to Snåsa, connections that were all initially formed in 2019. At some point, you’d think I’d get used to the small-world connections, yet they continued to surprise me: a Latvian professor I connected with at a conference had also studied at the International Summer School in Oslo, and I even met up with one of my previous preschoolers from Minnesota and their family in Copenhagen.
As much as I try to plan aspects of my life out, in hindsight I can now say that it naturally unfolds, shaped by the people I meet and experiences I have. Talking with a professor in Norway this past year led me to a master’s program here in Minnesota that I will be starting this fall; I joke to others that I had to go to Norway to find out more about my home state. Senior-year-of-high-school Emily who sat in Viking Theater had no idea of the upcoming international experiences and opportunities … all of which truly wouldn’t have been possible without St. Olaf and its emphasis on global connections.