WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.008 --> 00:00:03.232 line:90% (upbeat music) 2 00:00:03.232 --> 00:00:05.035 line:90% (bicycle bell ringing) 3 00:00:05.035 --> 00:00:08.035 line:90% (boat horn honking) 4 00:00:16.250 --> 00:00:18.790 line:90% I own a public relations company, and that means 5 00:00:18.790 --> 00:00:21.490 line:90% I get to combine humanities with actually being an employer 6 00:00:21.490 --> 00:00:24.250 line:90% and creating jobs and running a business, 7 00:00:24.250 --> 00:00:26.003 line:90% which I'm incredibly proud of. 8 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:30.570 line:90% I discovered Gustavus this spring of my senior year 9 00:00:30.570 --> 00:00:32.200 line:90% in high school, when I had no idea 10 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:33.540 line:90% what to do after high school. 11 00:00:33.540 --> 00:00:35.434 line:90% I was thinking I would take a leap year, 12 00:00:35.434 --> 00:00:40.434 line:90% and I saw the course catalog, and I saw the theater building 13 00:00:40.470 --> 00:00:44.170 line:90% in the catalog, and I thought, a place that has that much 14 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:48.020 line:90% arts and literature and theater would be a great place 15 00:00:48.020 --> 00:00:51.520 line:90% to study for fun for a year, and so that's why I went. 16 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.510 line:90% And that conversation with my advisor 17 00:00:54.510 --> 00:00:56.520 line:90% and my professor, who looked me in the face and said 18 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.080 line:90% I was allowed to do what I was passionate about, 19 00:00:59.080 --> 00:01:00.996 line:90% and that's when I decided to stay. 20 00:01:00.996 --> 00:01:03.320 line:90% (bright music) 21 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:06.980 line:90% Liberal arts education is practically unknown in Sweden, 22 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.270 line:90% and Sweden isn't particularly strong in the humanities. 23 00:01:09.270 --> 00:01:11.927 line:90% I didn't know what it was when I came. 24 00:01:11.927 --> 00:01:16.290 line:90% I think liberal arts has shaped me and my head 25 00:01:16.290 --> 00:01:18.840 line:90% and my brain into being a better analyst, 26 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.340 line:90% a better leader, a better thinker. 27 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:24.060 line:90% Gustavus changed me because it helped me see my culture 28 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:26.460 line:90% from the outside and see myself as a foreigner 29 00:01:26.460 --> 00:01:29.810 line:90% from the outside, and understand what it feels like 30 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:31.650 line:90% to be the odd one. 31 00:01:31.650 --> 00:01:33.220 line:90% Gustavus changed me in lots of ways. 32 00:01:33.220 --> 00:01:36.480 line:90% There were so many opportunities for me at Gustavus. 33 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:39.290 line:90% Some I don't think I recognized at the time. 34 00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:41.730 line:90% I see it in hindsight. 35 00:01:41.730 --> 00:01:43.820 line:90% To see ways to make a life count, 36 00:01:43.820 --> 00:01:47.260 line:90% and most of them was exposing myself 37 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:52.130 line:90% to different examples, and I feel pride when I come back, 38 00:01:52.130 --> 00:01:55.063 line:90% and I feel that my time at Gustavus was meaningful. 39 00:01:56.141 --> 00:01:57.171 line:90% I'm Elin Ahlden. 40 00:01:57.171 --> 00:01:58.573 line:90% I'm a Gustie. 41 00:01:59.940 --> 00:02:02.060 line:90% Gustavus Adolphus College. 42 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:03.433 line:90% Make your life count.