He aspires to work as a Disney Imagineer, plays four (that’s right, four!) instruments, is a Cal Lutheran commuter, and values his friendships… meet Andrew Nelson!
Name: Andrew Nelson
Year: 2019
Major: I’m supposed to be a Computer Science major, but I’m a little on the fence because I haven’t witnessed any of my intro classes yet…
Favorite Book: Probably 1 Corinthians, in the New Testament of the Bible.
Favorite Song/Band: I really love the Dustbowl Revival!
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What’s your favorite hobby?
Andrew Nelson: I would count road trips to be my hobby, or at least the closest thing to it. I mean travelling is fun, but when you’re stuck in a crammed car with your best friends for hours on end — that’s when things really start to take off.
HC: With the first semester almost over, what are your thoughts on second semester? Anything you’d like to accomplish before the end of the year?
AN: I’m not really sure what I should be thinking of second semester because I’m still transitioning into this new experience of college; but I’d certainly like to accomplish semester one before the end of the year (hahaha)!
HC: What is it like being a commuter?
AN: For me it’s a lot like high school part two, because I still reside at home, but I drive to/from school almost daily. But the best part about being a commuter is that I’m not stuck at school 24/7.
HC: If you could live on campus, would you want to? Why or why not?
AN: I probably would (only if it is provided to me free of charge haha) because I would escape the possibility of losing my house again, but that would probably be the only reason.
HC: What are some career or life aspirations?
AN: I’m not quite sure what I would want to do for a career yet, but perhaps something in the Disney Imagineering Co. or maybe a professional photographer.
HC: So how would your major play into your goal of working for Disney?
AN: Computer Science certainly be handy with a job at the Disney Imagineering Co. because they manage most of Disney’s online and video game products.
HC: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
AN: I honestly haven’t really considered seeing myself in 10 years because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, but hopefully I’ll have a student loan paid off. That’s the goal!
HC: Do you play an instrument?
AN: I play the violin, cello, and piano with a little bit of banjo on the side.
HC: That’s quite a lot of instruments! How long have you been playing each of them?
AN: I’ve played the violin for 8 years, the cello for 7 years, the piano for 12 years, and the banjo for 3 years… more or less.
HC: Besides being a music extraordinaire, what is something that no one knows about you?
AN: I really like to take small trips near the Tierra Rejada ranch after work when it’s late to watch the stars and relax a little bit. Takes my mind off of things.
HC: Any secret talents that you are willing to share?
AN: I’m not really sure of any secret talents that I might have. I guess you could say they are keeping secrets from me (laughs)!
HC: What about any embarrassing moments?
AN: I’ve had multiple embarrassing moments… One in particular was when I did my final project for a stats class in high school, and got most of my calculations completely wrong while I was presenting it. That wasn’t very fun.
HC: What is a quote that you live by?
AN: A quote that I live by… that’s difficult. I guess I don’t really live by one particular quote, but I have some favorites. Especially 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) – “Love is patient, love is kind; it does not boast, it does not envy, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres.” That’s a favorite of mine.
HC: What does it mean to you?
AN: I suppose that the definition of love described is to be applied to all of our relations with people, and how it’s definitely not the easiest thing but it IS possible and yields great rewards.
HC: On that note, what would you like to tell the students at CalLu?
AN: I would like to tell the students at Cal Lutheran to take some time out of your busy schedule and spend it with people around you whether they ask you or vice versa, because it is super easy to value our school and other things in front of our relationships with people because tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed and time is the most valuable currency of the world that is non-refundable. Of course school is important (I’m not saying we should be irresponsible when it comes to our school work). But as important as school is, being relational is an essential task that we are called to do daily whether we like it or not. So sometimes sacrificing time we could use studying to hang out and get to know someone better can sometimes be the better choice because at any given moment we could just not be here, you know?