Amanda B.
I have always had a passion for learning foreign languages. In middle school, we were required to take both Spanish and German classes and I always found myself enjoying my German classes so much more. I decided to continue on with German throughout high school (even though I still took two years of Spanish at the same time). After graduating high school, I had taken the equivalent to five years of German. My biggest inspiration to pursue teaching German as a career was my German teacher herself who is a CSB alumna.
I had honestly never really heard of the college until she told me during my freshman year that she thought I'd be a good fit for Saint Ben’s. Computer Science, if you're wondering, was also something I was really interested in throughout high school. I took website design classes and learned how to code on my own. I liked doing it so I figured I'd try turning it into a possible back-up career in case teaching didn't work out.
During my college search, Saint Ben’s was always at the top of my list. Studying abroad was a major factor for me when I was deciding between schools and CSB/SJU has a wonderful program for that! Another large factor for me was class size, and I loved how my classes here at CSB/SJU, especially my German classes which would consist of fewer students compared to a larger university. In the end, Saint Ben’s never left the spot of my top choice and now here I am as a freshman in the class of 2020!
Amanda Bjerke '20 | New Market, Minn.