Megan O'Konek '12

Megan will be a senior at St. Olaf College , and a true third-culture kid. She was born in Redmond, WA, but has since lived in Prague, Taipei, Helsinki and Munich. Most recently, she spent her sophomore year of High School in Helsinki, before moving to Munich, Germany, where she graduated and decided to set her sights on college in the United States.

“I knew about it mainly because my brother attended a different college in the area. Also, it came up frequently in any research I did about colleges.”

Just having finished her first year on the Hill, Megan has yet to decide on majors. However, she does know she has an affinity for languages, and would like to further build on her skills in Spanish and German. Currently enrolled in one of the First-Year Conversation programs at St. Olaf, Megan engages with philosophical thought on a daily basis:

“I adore Great Conversation, despite the copious amount of reading it entails.”

In addition to school, Megan participates in Company Dance and on Hall Council here at St. Olaf. In the future, she hopes to take advantage of her college experience to continue on to graduate school. She thinks she will be well equipped to carry on with higher studies, especially due to the discussion based and integrative learning approach that St. Olaf offers.

“Coming from a school where I did the full International Baccalaureate Program, I feel that St. Olaf really continues this all-inclusive educational style. For me, being an American who has lived overbroad, I find St. Olaf a great place to ‘come back' to America .”

In the end Megan chose St. Olaf because of its welcoming atmosphere, as well as the extensive study abroad programs. For her it was important that international students and third-cultures kids were received well by the college and its community.

“St. Olaf students and staff are generally very welcoming to international students since they have either had such an experience in a foreign country, or are interested in doing so.”