Q&彼得·斯特兰德·科拉斯在圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app

在挪威长大, 彼得没听说过达文波特也就不足为奇了, 在2019年被SAU游泳队招募之前. 作为一名明星运动员, 历史俱乐部爱好者, 同侪导师和国际学生大使, 彼得一头扎进了圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app提供的. 现在, 随着毕业日子的临近，他回想起自己作为一名战斗蜜蜂的经历, he realizes the one common thread running through all of his wins and successes at SAU - people and relationships.

问:你为什么选择圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app?

A: I wouldn't be here if I hadn't built an immediate strong connection with coach Rob "Ski" Miecznikowski. I was especially excited to play a role in building the SAU swim program in its early years, 但我也知道我想上一所班级规模较小的大学. 高中时，我曾数次改变自己的职业规划, so I was confident SAU's liberal arts approach would open doors for me and aid in my academic development. 我原本只打算攻读历史学位. 在这里的通识教育课程中，我接触了许多其他领域, 最后，我选修了政治学双学位和哲学辅修. SAU帮助我发现了自己真正的爱好.
最重要的是, 我认为让galaxy银河娱乐场app感觉如此独特的是小, enclosed community that we have here - how personal you can get with your instructors and professors, 你能在多大程度上了解你的同事, 这么多资源对你来说有多方便. You have the opportunity to be exposed to so many things and you really feel as though you are actively taken care of and looked out for. 许多其他学校都有很好的资源, but here you get exposed to this ‘Ambrosian Spirit' through countless people who genuinely want to see you succeed on a deep, 个人层面上.

问:你提到了“galaxy银河娱乐场app精神”。. 你如何定义这对你来说意味着什么?

答:我想大家会想到galaxy银河娱乐场app这个词. The encouragement of uniting in our diversity is really at the core of what it means to be an Ambrosian, 比如把我们所有的独特背景都放进去, 知识, 技能, 把经验和观点放到这个桶里，然后混合在一起. 而是要问，“我能带来什么??这听起来很老套，但却是真的. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to bring their authentic selves to the table so we can collectively learn and share and grow together for a better future.

Q: Speaking of celebrating diversity, what was it like being an international student on campus?

A:嗯，由于2020年的全球大流行，我在学校的时间缩短了. I was so lucky to get one semester to experience what it was like before COVID-19, 但我清楚地记得当时一切都被封锁了. We had just returned from swim nationals in Tennessee and spring break was that following week so campus was very empty. 几乎所有的工作人员和国际学生都留在了校园.
Borders back home had started closing down and I remember all of us weighing the decision of whether to stay or leave. It happened very quickly as soon as we got the final say that classes would be online the rest of the semester. 航班被取消或重新安排时间. It took me personally over 48 hours to travel back to Norway because I had to take multiple flights with multiple layovers across Europe. 光是回家就是一个巨大的挑战, 但是接下来的几个月我们必须面对挑战. 对于大多数国际学生, we weren't just adjusting to online school - we were adjusting to online school in a different time zone.
挪威只早7个小时，所以我的大部分课都在下午3点之间.m. 7分.m. I have other friends who had further to travel and they had classes in the middle of the night. 远程工作对每个人来说都很困难，因为我们不习惯. 没有系统, 一切都是新的, but then learning how to do that half a day ahead of your peers made it even more difficult.

问:那段时间你一定有很多事情要考虑. 是什么让你决定回SAU的?

A: I had a genuine fear of whether or not I would even be allowed back to the United States or if it would be safe for me to leave home. 我曾有过退学的念头, 把我的学业搁置了, 或者转移到其他地方. 这是我人生中一个巨大的十字路口, but I'm very happy I made the decision to return thanks to helpful advising and guidance from my coaches, SAU的员工和导师. 我的教授们尤其是我欣赏南澳大学的核心部分, and the relationship between us has shaped me and given me so much I will never forget.

Q. I'm sure this is just one of many big decisions you've had to consider over the past four years. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give freshman Petter if you could go back in time?

A:我只想说，你应该永远忠于自己. 在保持开放的同时，坚持自己的价值观和文化, 渴望并愿意暴露于他人. One night I was on the phone with my mother and I completely forgot the Norwegian word for ‘nurse'. 挪威语是我的母语, 但我没有练习, 听着, 说它, 或者通过阅读来记住常用词.
我想这是因为我对来到美国感到非常兴奋. 我想接受一切. I wanted to learn everything about the ‘American way' so much that I started forgetting my own. 但, 从那天起, I've been very conscious of trying to actively participate in my own culture too. 我看挪威新闻. 我听挪威语的播客. 我经常用母语和家人交谈.
有兴趣、好奇和渴望学习是可以的, but I think it's important to remember who you are and that your individual life experience matters and should be shared too.

Q. 你完美地总结了SAU的核心价值观之一. To be Ambrosian is to be agile and anchored - in our traditions, values and self. 毕业后，你打算如何把这些经验运用到你未来的职业生涯中?

A:你必须乐于接受改变. If you're too focused on one plan, you close yourself off to other opportunities. 在过去的四年里，我学到的是我的兴趣, 梦想和生活随时都可能改变. 而不是为我的职业生涯制定具体的长期计划, I am choosing to focus on what excites me right now and not set too many expectations. 我知道我会很高兴拿到政治学硕士学位, so I'm pursuing that option next and look forward to seeing how I can use that degree to make a difference. 如果这种情况改变了，我可能会做一些完全不同的事情!

Q. 当你回顾你在SAU的时光，你最自豪的是什么?

A:我为我的运动生涯和学术成就感到自豪, but I'm most proud of two things: expanding the History Club and piloting a peer tutor program with the Student Success Center.
当我大一来这里的时候，没有活跃的历史俱乐部. We started with four or five students gathering to do homework together with little engagement, 现在我们是校园里发展最快的组织之一. 我开始担任副总统的领导角色, stepped into the position of President my junior year and have held that for the past three semesters. We're starting to host big events throughout the year and we established an honors society for history students. I'm proud of how we've been able to use the club to support our field and build community in the history department.
最后, I'm really fortunate to have had the opportunity to help pilot programs that helped expand our Student Success Center (SSC). 我真的galaxy银河娱乐场app这是校园里最好、最重要的资源之一. 这是我作为导师的第五个学期, assisting my peers with everything from English 101 in the Writing Lab to Psychology capstone projects. Having the chance to connect with and learn from so many different students with different backgrounds has been a tremendous gift.