Being an athlete and a student at the same time can be overwhelming for any Ole, but being actively involved in physical activities can help balance out stress levels. At least, this is what our own St. Olaf athlete, Linde Sundell ’14, says.
Sundell, who has been involved in sports since she ws young, is currently a star golf player for the St. Olaf women’s golf team. This season alone, they had four tournaments, and the last conference tournament is Oct. 6-8 at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. She is a biology student who has been playing golf since she was seven years old. Besides golf, she has played basketball and softball in high school.
Last year was the first time that the St. Olaf women’s golf team won the national conference, which was held in Angola, Indiana. Sundell says this is probably one of the biggest accomplishment as a member of the St. Olaf women’s golf team. Aside from winning nationals, Sundell mentions one of her personal accomplishment as dropping the scoring average by 10 strokes!
When she’s not playing golf, Sundell enjoys knitting and watching shows like Grey’s Anatomy, The Voice and Glee. She also commits her free time to helping the residents at the Northfield Retirement Community (NRC) through Story Circle, a student organization on campus. Sundell visits her resident at the NRC once a week for an hour, sharing stories with that resident.
Not only does Sundell volunteer at the retirement home, she is also a mentor for the TRiO Mentor Program this year. TRiO is a program that helps educate underprivileged, first generation students get a higher education, as well as assists them in their current studies. Over the summer, Sundell was also a camp counselor in New Hampshire at Camp Birchmont, which is a sports camp for young kids.
As for her tentative plans for after-college, Sundell says she wants to take a couple years off and volunteer with the Peace Corps or some other service-oriented organization that focuses on global health. Sundell is uncertain if she will attend graduate school for public health, but it’s something she would like to think more about when the time comes.
Being an upperclassmen, Sundell’s advice to freshmen is: “If you have homework to do, you should do it before you decide to hang out with friends because they will still be there for you either way.” If you want to meet Linde Sundell, you can always find her working at the Pause Kitchen! This interim she will be studying equatorial biology in Ecuador. Her Campus St. Olaf wishes her the best on her future endeavors!