One of the best things about Cal Lutheran is the atmosphere and attitude of the campus and the students. There’s this consistently happy vibe that spreads throughout the campus and that vibe is coming from the students, as well as the faculty and staff. The university’s energy is what attracts students to attend this amazing school. Although most of the students are from California, there are also quite a few international students around campus. These students are admirable in their own right, as they left their home, which is much farther away than most of ours, and chose to come here and grow as students and as people. One of these amazing international students is Kjersti Hauge, a Communications major who is graduating this fall semester. Kjersti contributes to the Cal Lutheran vibe as a member of iCLU Radio! She makes it a point to give us the Scandinavian perspective on events and holidays during her radio show, Scandinavian Vibes. She has a personality that can make you smile, and hopefully this interview shows you just how wonderful she is! Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What do you want to do once you graduate?
Kjersti Hauge: I’m shifting what I want to do; initially I wanted to do marketing but now I’m thinking I’m going to follow my passion, which is wedding planning.
HCCLU: How did you go from marketing to wedding planning?
KH: First of all, I’ve always been into fashion and trends. I like having parties and planning, and I’ve been like that since I was little. I had my first party in elementary school- I had people from my classes over and from there I’ve always loved planning. I was also a scout and I would have parties for scouts. I like meeting and greeting people and just being sociable. Secondly, I’ve always been a very romantic person. I have a passion for beautiful gowns. I don’t know if it comes from the fact that I’m Norwegian and in Norway we have a royal family, like several European countries do. The royal family always has beautiful dresses, which inspired me to draw dresses from a young age, and as I grew older, I continued with designing clothes and started to design wedding dresses.
HCCLU: Why did you initially choose marketing? Was it because marketing seemed like a practical choice or is it because you also love marketing?
KH: I would say it was a practical choice. I had a vision that I wanted to have my own business and I figured that if I knew how to market my business, my business would have a better chance of succeeding. I thought that if I learned marketing first, I could use some of my skills for when I would eventually have my own business. My dream is to have my own wedding collection business, but I also want to do wedding planning. I’m going to start with wedding planning because I think it might be the easier route since it can be difficult to make a living out of creative jobs.
HCCLU: How do you feel about graduating this semester?
KH: It feels amazing! I really enjoyed spending all my years going to Cal Lutheran. I am very happy with choosing to go to this university. I think this was the best choice I could’ve made with pursuing my academic career. I’ve had so many interesting classes, everything from dancing to theatre make up class, outdoor skills, and yoga! I had several Communications classes for my major because I’m just interested in communications in general and how people interact with each other and such. Even up until now, with the radio class, that was something I really enjoyed. Having my own radio show and being part of the radio club have been amazing.
HCCLU: How did you hear about Cal Lutheran?
KH: In Norway, you have some organizations for Norwegian students who want to study abroad. These are organizations that you can contact if you’re even a little bit interested in studying abroad. One of them is ANSA. I wanted to study in the U.S. because I’ve actually lived in Orlando, Florida for a year, working for the “Big Mouse,” which is Disney World. I was part of the Norway Pavilion, so I knew what it was like living on the East Coast and I wanted to try living on the West Coast. I contacted the organization and I talked with some people. There’s safety in numbers and I found out that a lot of Norwegians go to Cal Lutheran and I thought that it would be safe, and decided I wanted to go to Cal Lutheran.
HCCLU: What was your thought process in ultimately choosing to attend Cal Lutheran?
KH: I knew I wanted to study in the United States and I was thinking about going somewhere with a warmer climate. Initially I thought to go to the East Coast, but then I thought that it would be more interesting to try the weather on the West Coast and I decided to go somewhere in California. Norwegian culture is different when it comes to looking at universities; I didn’t know that you could come and visit schools before deciding to attend. Campus tours don’t exist in my country; you apply and just go to the school. But when I talked to the organization in Norway, I learned that there was an organization called the Norwegian American Association and they help you with applications and everything to get into the school.
HCCLU: What was your first impression of Cal Lutheran?
KH: I honestly loved it; I thought it was beautiful. I came in August of 2014; it’s still cold in Norway at that time so coming here was a nice change for me. It was sunny every day and I’m used to cloudy weather. I thought the campus, the school, the school area, even the trees were so pretty. It was different but I liked it.
HCCLU: Have you always been a Communications major or did you start with something else?
KH: I actually started school with a major in English. But then I asked myself if this was something I wanted to do or if it’s something I’m skilled at. I decided to do something I’m more passionate about, which is Communications.
HCCLU: Do you miss home a lot throughout the year?
KH: Yeah, I think it’s always like that when you live somewhere else. You get a little bit homesick, especially during the holidays. Usually I go home twice a year, for a month in December and during the summer I spend about 3 months there.
HCCLU: What’s your favorite part about home?
KH: I love dancing and I do Latin dances. I have a passion for dance. I dance salsa, bachata, merengue, and I started this other dance that’s very popular in Europe and it’s called Kizomba. It originated from Angola, it reminds people of bachata because it’s very close, but it’s not bachata, it doesn’t have Hispanic roots. It has African roots mixed with European roots, where it developed. I’m also a nature person- I’ve been skiing since I could walk, it’s part of Norwegian culture. I do all types of skiing: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, and snowboarding. Norway is a very nice place to be, especially if the weather is nice. So when I grew up, I had a very nice childhood. My parents had a cabin in the mountains so we usually went there, and that’s very typical for Norwegians. About fifty percent of us go up into cabins in the winter, it’s like the lifestyle culture. We also had a sailboat, and I was actually almost born in a sailboat, but that’s a different story. We use it during the summer because Norwegians at that point are seeking warmer weather since winters are so long, cold, and dark, so we go to the Mediterranean to see the sunlight. HCCLU: What do you think is the biggest difference between Norwegian culture and American culture?
KH: There’s a lot of differences as far as how people behave and the norms. Everyone here is very open and friendly and helpful. But Scandinavian culture is a little bit more reserved. If you didn’t know about it, it could be misunderstood. But on the other side, when you get to known people who are part of the Scandinavian culture, they’re very genuine and trustworthy people.
HCCLU: What are you part of on campus?
KH: My focus this semester and as well as last semester is on iCLU Radio. We meet every week and we discuss how to market iCLU Radio. Some people would say it’s the best kept secret on campus; a lot of people don’t know that we have a campus radio station. I didn’t know before last semester, so I went 2 and a half years without knowing. It’s important to get the word out because it is important for people to know the events that are going on around campus. I’ve done a lot as far as marketing and promoting the club goes- I was the one who initiated giving out the red roses for last year’s International Women’s Day. I did the fundraising for that, and I contacted the flower shops. I also initiated that we create this greeting to women who were important to us: mothers, sisters, or friends. We played those greetings on the Spine and it was great to be part of that celebration, I loved being there. This year I participated in Thrill The World, by the Dance Department. We hosted the show and did some shout-outs as well. We’ did that for Let it Snow. We like to collaborate with other clubs and be involved and be present. Kjersti in the iCLU Radio Booth
HCCLU: What’s your favorite part about being on iCLU Radio?
KH: I love how there are no limitations to what you can do. You are free to be creative, think in your own ways, and execute whatever you want to execute. I would say the main idea about campus radio and the radio club is to find your own voice, what you want to do in life, what your passions are, and share your passions with others!
HCCLU: How did you first hear about iCLU Radio?
KH: I found out from my faculty advisor that I needed to either write for The Echo, do screen-writing, or be part of iCLU Radio. I chose iCLU Radio and when I started the class and they told me I was going to have my own radio show, I was panicked. All I could think was “holy moly, what did I sign myself up for,” and I walked around nervous for two weeks straight. Then I figured out after awhile, it wasn’t so scary. At first I was terrified but I think that was because I had a mental block up and I kept telling myself I couldn’t do it.
HCCLU: How did you get over the mental block?
KH: It was because I realized that it wasn’t about a perfect performance. It was about perfecting yourself along the way, developing yourself. Sometimes when you don’t know it, everything seems so difficult, but the moment it starts to make sense, everything gets easier.
HCCLU: What’s your show called?
KH: Scandinavian Vibes! Last semester, my slug line, which is a short saying that will announce your show, was “From northern lights to summer nights.” This semester I changed it to, “From northern lights to winter nights.”
HCCLU: Did you just play music or did you also have some commentary?
KH: My main focus was Scandinavian culture. The criteria I set for myself, for songs, was that the artist had to be Scandinavian and they could sing in whatever their language was. I would do different genres like pop, R&B, reggae, and house. I would have talk breaks in between and during that time I would talk about Scandinavian culture. Whenever there was an event or holiday going on, I would bring in the Scandinavian perspective. For example, in Norway we celebrate Christmas on December 24th, and that’s when we open our presents. I try to make it relevant to events going on around the campus. I also used to talk about hiking and trail tips since I love being active in nature.
HCCLU: Do you have a favorite hiking trail?
KH: I love the Wildwood one, but honestly I love going everywhere. I spend a lot of time in Santa Monica. I like being in nature. I like going to the beach, swimming in the ocean, and tanning. My main concern here is pollution. I learned that you’re not supposed to go surfing after heavy rain because sewage goes into the water after heavy rainHCCLU: What are some of the upcoming events iCLU Radio has or will be part of next semester?
KH: They really want to focus on International Women’s Day, which is on March 8. There’s also CalLuPalooza, the music festival on campus. Since I’m graduating this semester, I’m interested in seeing what they’ll be doing next semester. It has been a very nice experience to be part of the club.
HCCLU: What are you going to miss the most about Cal Lutheran?
KH: I’m going to miss being in the classes and being around the professors and students. I’ve learned so much about so many different topics and I think it’s very interesting. There’s something special about coming together in an academic atmosphere where you can express yourself and share opinions.
HCCLU: What are you going to miss the most about iCLU Radio?
KH: I’m going to miss everything; I’m going to miss having my own radio show, being in the club meetings, planning what we’re going to do to make the club better, planning events, hosting those events, and I’m going to miss my fellow students and professor.
HCCLU: Do you have any recommendations or words of wisdom for students?
KH: For international students: embrace the American culture while you’re here and learn as much as possible. In general, study abroad if you have the chance! And remember that when life gets tough, it’s important to find your voice. Find what you want to do with life and stick with that… don’t give up and don’t let anyone put you down either. I think it can be difficult to know what you want, and other people may have an opinion about what’s better for you or what’s not. But at the end of the day, you are your own person so you have to do what’s right for you. I think that’s the recipe for happiness.
*All photos courtesy of Kjersti Hauge