Fall 2003 - Northwestern College

S t u d e n p tro f i l eN o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cR o o t e dWa n d e re rby Tamara Fynaard twith who she is and moreconfident in who she canbecome. “What you learn atN o rt h w e s t e rn breaks intoyour head and rattles yourbeliefs and gets you to lookclearly and critically at yourself.”Jeannine learned shecan long for home and bei n t e rested in elsewhere at thesame time.Since those first lonelytrips between Hillsboro andOrange City, Jeannine hasbecome an eager and expertt r a v e l e r. She’s lived two summersin Fargo, working withtourists to the Red RiverValley at the Farg o - M o o rh e a dConvention and Vi s i t o r sB u reau. This summer shewas in the Twin Cities, sublettingan apartment and rid-The author of C o l l e g eKnowledge: What You Need toKnow Before You Go, JenniferB a g l e y, wrote, “Most important,I wish I had known thatw h e re I came from andw h e re I want to go are b o t hi m p o rtant to re m e m b e r. ”N o rt h w e s t e rn seniorJeannine Lovas has re a c h e dthat realization, too, changingover the last three yearsf rom a painfully homesickf reshman into a rooted worldt r a v e l e r.Jeannine was born inN o rth Dakota on a farm thathas supported her family forfour generations. “My familyis very focused on home,”said Jeannine, who grew uprelating more to Minnesotawriter Patricia Hampl, whosaid, “It’s the Midwestern e r ’sb i rthright to wish to be elsewh e re.”“Being from Nort hDakota gave me the desireand need to venture out andexperience places with morepeople, more buildings, diffe rent ideas,” said Jeannine.But her first venture —out of state for college—lefther longing for home. “Ithought success in collegewas all about who could forgettheir home and familyand old friends as quickly aspossible and move on—forgetwhere you came from. Iguess I felt guilty for leavinghome,” she said, admittingshe put 16,000 miles on hercar driving home every twoor three weeks.Homesick but stubborn ,too, Jeannine stuck it out,re t u rned to NWC as a sophom o re, and things impro v e d .“My friendships really deepened.I also wrote for theB e a c o nand gained an identityas a writer and a close circ l eof writer friends,” said thecommunication studiesmajor and writing minor.“ N o rt h w e s t e rn pushedme,” said Jeannine, whobecame more comfort a b l e▼“What you learn atN o rt h w e s t n e rbreaks intoyour head and rattles yourbeliefs and gets you to lookclearly and critically atyourself.”▲ing the bus to her downtowni n t e rnship at the St. PaulConvention and Vi s i t o r sB u reau. And she spent lastsummer living in aManhattan loft, taking amedia ethics class at NewYork University.Last spring bre a kJeannine traveled to theNetherlands with a team ofN o rt h w e s t e rn students tos e rve at two youth hostels1 4 ▲ F a l l 2 0 0 3