(upbeat music)
-: I think that Gustavus has really shaped
my experiences of being confident in myself
and being confident in my abilities to take that next step.
-: We have excellence in fine arts,
we have excellence in the academics,
and we have excellence in the athletics too.
-: To me, Make Your Life Count means that you
go out everyday and be the best you can,
pushing yourself to new limits.
-: And the lessons that you learn here
and the experiences that you get here
are going to help you well beyond your years.
(upbeat music)
-: There's a lot of professors and peers on this campus
who you can find in role models.
Talk about what major you wanna be in
or what's that next step after college
and how you could get there.
-: My first term seminar professor
asked me what I was interested in
and told me he signed me up for the class right away
(laughter) when I told him that I was maybe interested
in political science.
-: Look at all the opportunities that are
presented in front of you, be grateful for them,
and just take action in any way you can.
(upbeat music)
-: They're very flexible with how you can declare majors,
and you can change your major
your senior year if you need to
'cause I've known people that do that
and still graduate on time.
-: But I've definitely found an interest here
within their economics program.
There's a lot of clubs that have kind of helped me
do that day in and day out,
and I hope to make a career out of it as well.
Ellie: Going into Gustavus, I wasn't sure
how I was going to make my life count,
but the professors and the students here
have helped me realize what my interests are.
-: College is such a good opportunity
to become your own person, meet your new friends,
and just do what you love.
-: Gustavus, academically, is a place
where you have to work hard every day,
but with that hard work comes a lot of rewards.
-: People are gonna know you here.
You're gonna get to know your professors so much easier
because they're not gonna have a class full of 300 people.
It's gonna be a class full of 20, 15 people,
and you're really gonna be able
to get to know your professors
on a much easier and deeper level.
I really kinda like the feel of the campus.
It has that close-knit, small community feel,
and that was really important for me.
Gustavus is small enough to where
you're really gonna get to know people on a deeper level,
but it's big enough to where you're gonna
get to meet new people all the time.
-: It's hard to talk about Gustavus
without smiling and without thinking about
all the people that you've met,
and it's hard pinpointing just a few people
that I've impacted,
but I really think it's the community as a whole.
-: Hey, I have a dream, and there's people here at Gustavus
who are willing to help me pursue that dream.
-: I hope to make my life count
by taking advantage of all the opportunities
that I'm given throughout life
even if that means that I'm not
totally confident in what I'm doing.
I know that I've been given the tools to succeed,
and so I think Gustavus has given me
the ability to trust in myself.
-: Coming to Gustavus could possibly be
the best decision you've ever made.
-: Make your life count.
Narrator: Gustavus Adolphus College.
Make your life count.
(upbeat music)