As a child raised in fortunate financial circumstances and an exceptionally loving home, I have had the opportunity to cultivate many gifts and to experience the blessing of security in which to explore my own identity and passions. I have learned to dance and play instruments, participated in my church, and received an outstanding education. Throughout my experiences of performances, church mission trips, and exploring various academic subjects, I eventually realized that none of them are fulfilling ends in themselves. My music, education, faith, and intelligence are precious to me because, and only because, they are means to communicate with, relate to, and understand the other people I encounter.
Playing a harp in a practice room is not the same as playing in the Crossroads of Buntrock Commons, nor is writing a paper equal to an impassioned intellectual discussion. Similarly, a life of faith, to me, is astounding in its power to unite people in a common cause and a shared love. While others may value their abilities and experiences for different reasons, I have come to value mine as a means to add my own voice to the chorus of this diverse human family. This is what service is to me – a communion of diversity that enriches everyone who comes to the table.
As an officer of the Peace and Justice Resource Network and the Student Congregation Council I have been able to work to bring many issues including poverty and the affordable housing crisis to the attention of my community, and have encountered people whose lives are deeply touched by these issues, and they help me grow as much if not more than I help them. I have been fortunate to participate in a project through Companydance at St. Olaf called Swing A Club , which is a multimedia dance work about the struggle of facing cancer. We've taken this work on tour and experienced deeply emotional responses from audiences everywhere, because they see their own struggles in the struggle we portray. As a community, struggling together, this experience helps us all heal. Never has being a dancer been more rewarding than in post-performance discussions where perfect strangers can cry in front of each other without embarrassment, knowing that they are not really strangers at all. We're all on our own journeys, but we share so much in common that we all have something to offer each other. I bring my creativity and passion to every group and relationship of which I am a part, and I can see myself doing so in Blue Key as much as anywhere else (even in the little time I have left at St. Olaf). Through music, dance, my academic experiences and abilities, I am constantly searching to enrich the lives of others because that is the pursuit that will ultimately enrich me, as well. |