- Please list your education beyond your St. Olaf degree?
None,
it’s been enough.
- What is your current occupation?
President
/ Owner – Key Ingredients, Inc. – an agricultural
commodities trading company
- What was your major and how
has that played out into your life today?
Economics – Owning
my business
- Tell us your favorite Ole memory.
Tours with
the St. Olaf Band. On my first band tour freshman
year I wrote a postcard home saying that I’d been in more
states that particular day than I’d been in my entire life.
- What
is your favorite alumni event?
Though not an “official” alumni
event, meeting every Wednesday night with the Minnesota Symphonic
Winds, a concert band started by past St. Olaf conductor Miles
Johnson. The
group has over 40 St. Olaf alumni of all ages. Music is
such a passion for many St. Olaf students and it continues to
be in the life of many alumni.
- What do you consider your
greatest achievement that St. Olaf has played a part in?
Continuing
to be an active musician after college. The amount
of satisfaction music making brings to my life is sometimes
overwhelming. I have Miles Johnson to thank for that
and current Minnesota Symphonic Winds conductor and St. Olaf
professor Tim Mahr.
- Why do you support St. Olaf College?
I feel
it’s my responsibility. Through the generosity
of alumni before me I was able to attend St. Olaf. People
don’t stop to realize that tuition only covers about two-thirds
of the actual cost of educating a student. I would not
have been able to afford St. Olaf without alumni commitments
to the college. I feel I need to hold up my end of the
bargain for future generations of students.
- What do you
hope to accomplish on the Alumni Board?
Bring a better
awareness to financial giving to the college and its impact
on students and faculty. It’s just
too darn important to not pursue.
- Any advice you have
for current students?
Winston Churchill’s famous
quote, “We make a living
by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Anyone
can talk a good game, but the rubber hits the road when you allow
yourself to get dirty and passionate about something. I
hope people are passionate about supporting St. Olaf. How
often have they appreciated their St. Olaf education over the
years? If they have, I encourage them to financially support
the college.
- Is there any personal information you would
like to add?
I have two kids who already believe that
they are destined to be Oles…Andrew ’19 and Kira ’23.
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