Matt Swenson credits his sister Katie, a graduating senior at Gustavus, for bringing him here, but the environment of faith that exists on campus is one of the key reasons for Swenson’s love of being a Gustie.
Swenson has a double major of political science and communication studies and has thought about a career in politics. Most people who have met Swenson would jump on his bandwagon immediately, but his immediate plans are to attend seminary following graduation.
“If I could be a pastor in a small community, that would be ideal,” he says.
Several months ago, Swenson founded the Men’s Christian Fellowship, and it already has about 15 interested members. His hope is that the group will be able to use one of the houses owned by the college to locate their organization and to hold meetings for any interested students on campus.
“The support from everyone was very helpful in getting started,” says Swenson.
He also praised the overwhelming support from the faculty and staff for helping several of his friends start the Student Faith Advocates group.
“The Advocates rented the St. Peter theater to show the movie The Passion of the Christ and held a conference to discuss the movie and the issues it addressed,” he says.
Swenson is also on the board of the Center for Vocational Reflection and is very enthusiastic about their work, although to be fair, Swenson is very enthusiastic about almost everything.
“I took a class called “Changing the World,” in which we were introduced to life in the inner-city, and we looked at ways that we could each change the world. Chris Johnson, who is in charge of the Center, taught the class, and he is a great teacher,” says Swenson.
The center is being sponsored by a Lilly grant for five years, and Swenson expressed his hope that Gustavus will keep the center going after that.
The center sponsored a trip to Washington, D.C., about ecumenical advocacy for peace and social justice in which Swenson participated.
“We were the only college there, and it was really great to see how we could help,” he says.
A three-day conference at Shalom Hill Farm with the college chaplain and 15 other students to reflect and focus on the Sabbath was also sponsored by the Center and attended by Swenson.
Swenson is also involved in other campus activities. His love of theater led to a scholarship in that area, and he was very involved on stage in his freshman year. Scheduling conflicts have led him to scale back those activities, although he still helps with technical theatre, working behind the scenes.
Swenson’s tremendous speech skills are also noted on campus, and even President Peterson noted that he didn’t care to follow Matt Swenson at the podium.
Being a Gustavus Ambassador and a Career Center Ambassador also keep Swenson busy, and he enjoys those activities.
“You get to know new people and see all the good things that the alumni do for the college, and you get to work with employers who come the college,” he says.
Swenson was recently elected to the political science honor society and looks forward to the brown bag lunches where political discussions are the main menu.
Gustavus is a very special place to Matt, and his praise for the college is glowing.
“This is a great place to live and learn. It is such a positive place, and the people are great. There is an academic rigor so that classes are not easy and that’s good. Students build a base of knowledge and develop a good work ethic,” he says.
Swenson also praises the efforts of the professors and points out that the smaller class sizes allow for individual attention and allow for growth, not just in the subject area.
“There are so many opportunities to get involved at Gustavus, and the faith organizations are a great thing,” says Swenson.
Faith is an important part of Matt Swenson’s life, and it’s an important element at Gustavus. It seems, like a match made in Heaven.