Andrew | Class of 2013 Hometown: Apple Valley, Minnesota Major: Management Information Systems Involvements: Worked at Maranantha Hall, AV Services - Weddings, Joyful Noise, Campus Technologies

Why did you choose Northwestern?
I chose Northwestern College because my father went there back in the day, and he also currently works there. So the tuition discount played a pretty major role in my decision. I also really liked the majors offered by the school.

How did you decide on your major?
When I first started at NWC I was a Math/Engineering Dual Degree major, but because I took all AP math classes in high school, I had one engineering class freshman year. Because of my video production background in high school, I decided to fill that semester with Digital Media Communications classes to see if I wanted to go in that direction. After my first year, I soundly decided I did not want to pursue either of those options. I decided on MIS because it presented me with an abundance of opportunities after college, and I have been very interested in computers since I was very young.

Most influential class?
My most influential class by far has been Management with Dr. Middleton. I have learned more about working with people, building relationships, and business in general than I have in any other class or experience.

Most influential professor?
Dr. Middleton. He is an amazing leader; he has high expectations that I am more than happy to aspire to, and he is very practical and down-to earth in his teaching style.

How have you been stretched and challenged at NWC?
I have learned how to manage my time between bible studies, classes, 3 different jobs at one point, and my social life, while still getting to bed around midnight every night. Finding that balance was difficult, but now that I have, I have been greatly rewarded.

What would you like to do when you graduate from Northwestern?
I would like to get a job at Medtronic, Target, or some other large Minnesota-based company. I just started a job at Apple Retail and hope to specialize in business relations within the store. Only God knows where that will take me.

What is something that surprised you about Northwestern?
I did not think there would be so many opportunities available to participate in. My freshman-year RA did a really good job of getting everyone in the hall to come to really fun events during a time where I wasn’t really comfortable starting my own event with a group of people I didn’t know.

What would you share with other prospective students considering your major?
I sincerely think 20 percent of the student body should be in the MIS major. There are a lot of “nerdy” people in the major (myself included) but the high demand for people with these skills and the WIDE range of jobs available spanning across many different disciplines.
 

Mission Trip/Internship

Tell us about your summer working with NLM.
Last March I heard from Caroline Picone, a mentor from my high school youth group and member of the Steiger International prayer team, that NLM needed someone to play an "embedded journalist" role to make videos of the tour during tour to send back to the states. I was known around the youth group for being the tech/video guy and even won a Student Emmy for my animation portfolio. Because I majored in MIS, I told them I would be a bit rusty but would gladly do it. Well, they found a senior level student from North Central whose goal in life was to do this sort of work. Long story short, I got switched over to lights because of this and my experience working at Maranatha Hall. Our tour started in Ukraine, then went to Poland and Germany. From there, we had shows in Iraq, Turkey, Kosovo and Bulgaria.

What are your primary responsibilities/what did you specifically do?
In doing lighting, it was my job to make sure that at least some of the equipment we requested on our rider made it to the venue and that it would be adequate for the show's needs. Typically working through a translator, I would learn how to run the light board (I had to learn a new board for every one of our 37 concerts except for one time). Then we would run the show that is a fast-paced, fun concert with a drama about the graphic death and resurrection of Christ. Everything was tightly choreographed and went with the music, so for the entire Middle East portion, I actually ran lights from backstage while helping the actors setup for the next scene.

What did you learn? What did God teach you and your team?
God taught me a lot about the world. I saw Polish youth drunk and high on hallucinogens suddenly be completely coherent when talking about the love of Jesus with our team leader, David Pierce. I watched as "fundamentalist Muslim" teens in Iraq cheering when Jesus was resurrected in our drama, while recording videos of the show on their cell phones and uploading them to Facebook.

What has been most surprising about your time there?
I was surprised at how much my perspective has changed. Before going there, I was very focused on my own world, my suburban American way of life, and God totally rocked my world.

What have the challenges/struggles been?
The biggest struggle was really the spiritual oppression we found in the Middle East. Five times a day the Islamic Call to Prayer was broadcast from loudspeakers on the tops of mosques. The entire time, especially in Iraq, I felt like our little team was in this bubble of God’s protection, keeping us safe from any threats that might have popped up. When arriving back in Germany from Bulgaria, it was like a fog had lifted. I have never experienced everything like it before. Suddenly all spiritual oppression disappeared and we could finally relax after being on guard for an entire month.

Has this experience given you direction for where you want to go/do after graduation?
While I greatly enjoyed my time overseas serving in this way, I don’t plan on doing it again. My understanding of other cultures was greatly increased and will surely benefit me in future business endeavors. I am still involved with Steiger International’s Minneapolis-specific band called Cosmonaught.