#whyGustavus, you ask? A lot of people question what drew you to the college, university, job, or activities you are involved in whenever you see someone you haven’t seen or meet someone new, and you’re left to give them a spiel about which decisions pushed you to the place in life that you are at currently. As you can probably infer, I get asked this about Gustavus (affectionately known as GAC). And no, not only do I get asked about the college itself, but I also face inquiry regarding why I want to major in what I do, why I participate in the events and activities I do, and, perhaps the most amusing and most prominent question: what is a liberal arts school?

Let’s focus this week upon why I chose to enroll at GAC. For this I have a plethora of reasons, and many of them are entirely unrelated to each other. The first thing that drew me to GAC was the music department. I remember my sophomore year of high school, we participated in a string festival and Dr.Lin (the primary conductor of the symphony orchestra I currently am a member of) was the clinician present. We were performing Debussy’s Clair De Lune, and I was one of only three violinists present playing the top divisi of the 1st violin part (the really high part for those who don’t speak orchestral music) and I can recall her calling me out personally for my emotional and technical abilities, as well as my entire ensemble for our energy, a pretty awesome thing to hear from a college professor as a sophomore in high school.

Following that episode, my conductor in high school reached out to her and fall of my junior year of high school, she wound up being a guest clinician in my orchestra for a few days and we were given the opportunity to share a concert with GSO (GAC symphony orchestra). Immediately I began to research the school and community, then finding out about the opportunities, campus, mission, and programs associated with the school.

I spoke with my second cousin, a Gustie alum, and got in touch with several others who attended or graduated from the college. Instantly, I loved it and it felt like home. I chose GAC because I love the community here, class sizes are small and you develop very personal and close relationships with your peers, professors, and campus staff. I chose it because of the networking, there are literally Gusties everywhere, I ran into a few in Puerto Rico and am aware of countless stories of people traveling and meeting fellow Gusties. I chose it because it provides an outlet to further explore my passion for Violin/orchestra, as well as for art and writing. I chose it because I wanted to find an environment that would serve as my home away from home, and the beautiful (seriously, it’s stunning) campus and multitude of housing options provide that. I chose it because I believe in/have an innate curiosity for the liberal arts and needed an academic program that could foster that. I chose it because I believe in the mission of the college and I wanted to get involved. I chose it for the education/communications/english departments that make up my major and produce outstanding graduates. I chose Gustavus Adolphus College because of the simple appeal of the phrase “Make your life count” and I wanted to know if that was possible/how to do that.

I am now so proud to be a Golden Gustie and cannot wait to (hopefully) finish this year strong and experience even more incredible opportunities in my next three years!