Pronouns: She/her
Major: History and Biology
Class: 2019
Photo courtesy of Lillian Oyen-Ustad
College is undoubtedly a busy time in a young person’s life. Many students find themselves choosing between academics and extracurricular activities, dedicating more time to one and not the other. Despite the difficulty, junior Lillian Oyen-Ustad manages to strike a balance between both.
Lillian is involved in Bryn Mawr’s Customs Committee, serves as a captain and six time record holder for the women’s varsity swim team and is Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Additionally, she holds four on-campus jobs and works at a pediatric dental clinic in West Philly. She is double majoring in Biology and History on a pre-dental track and aspires to be a dentist.
Lillian’s schedule was just as jam-packed in high school, where she was a varsity swim team captain for two years, served as student body president for three years and was a member of her school’s National Honor Society.
How does she do all of this? She’s used to it.
“I’ve been an athlete since I was five, so having a busy schedule is just something that I’m automatically used to,” she explained.
The individual importance of each of her activities is what motivates her.
“All of the things that I’m a part of are all individually important to me, so making time for all of them is something that comes easy,” said Lillian.
Becoming a dentist has been her childhood dream. Having been assigned an inadequate dentist by her insurance when she was young, Lillian wants to provide high-quality dental care to those who may not be able to afford it.
In fact, she has already begun doing so. At her current clinic job, she educates children and their guardians on preventative dental care and helps set them up with insurance so they can afford to see local dentists.
Lillian credits good organization to finding the time she needs.
“I try my best to stay organized and scheduled… then again, it’s really easy to be organized when you don’t have a lot of free time,” she admitted.
Surprisingly, she also emphasizes the importance of sleep. She feels that sleep is often overlooked by college students and has helped her greatly with productivity, remarking “I sleep nine hours a day, that’s how I do all of this.”
This is an unusual thing to hear from a college student. But it’s also unusual to hear such a list of achievements… Maybe sleep is more necessary than we thought? Either way, Lillian is killing the college game for now and in the future.