“Through LALACS, I have had the opportunity to take so many diverse courses and have learning experiences I otherwise would never have been exposed to; the major helped me to stay centered and well-rounded.”
Maddie Hessian is from Northfield, Minnesota. She chose Gustavus because of the close-knit community. “I loved that I could be involved in such a wide variety of activities and make tangible, visible impacts on our campus,” Hessian said.
She is pursuing a major in Biology and LALACS. She saw LALACS as the perfect way to expand her liberal arts education and jump into courses that were completely different from the STEM classes that were dominating her schedule.
Hessian enjoys how the atmosphere within the Department is very welcoming and interdisciplinary. Among many favorite class experiences her most enjoyable one was Race and Space in the U.S. with Dr, Villanueva. “This class shaped my understanding of and ability to engage in dialogue about race in the U.S. and DEI work,” she said.“We constantly had really rich, complex discussions and I was exposed to so many meaningful perspectives every day.”
Another valuable aspect of her LALACS major is the experiential learning opportunities that provided the freedom to engage in independent work in areas she was passionate about. One semester, she designed her internship from scratch that tied together LALACS and her interest in community health. “Through this self-directed internship, I designed and carried out my research study examining mental health in the Latinx student body on the Gustavus campus” Hessian said.
Hessian was involved in multiple activities on campus, including the Peer Assistants, the Biological and Spanish honor societies, Run Club, Pre-Health Club, and volunteer organizations such as Gustie Buddies and Language Buddies.