By Vice President of Student Life Greg Kneser

There has been an ongoing community effort in Northfield to save, renovate, and expand the historic 1888 Union Pacific Railroad Depot. As I pass by this depot almost every day, I can’t help but think of how this space was important to generations of St. Olaf students who arrived, bag in hand, with high hopes for the adventures of college.

Of course, few St. Olaf students today arrive by train. This fall, one of our new students literally only has to cross the street to get to college. Many of them will come from the other side of the globe. And today, most of our students arrive with more than a single bag in hand.

More importantly, though, are the things that can’t be packed in a U-Haul. Like the generations of students before them, Oles today arrive with hopes and dreams piled up high.

St. Olaf is a new place, a new paradigm, a chance for students to become what they always dreamed they’d be. For some, perhaps, it is a chance to reinvent themselves.

A former colleague used to point out that there are two big questions in the minds of our new students: “Am I smart enough?” and “Will people like me?” The looks on the faces of the students arriving at the old train depot in Northfield 100 years ago (see the photo at left) suggest those very questions. The looks on the faces of new students this fall will likely look the same. The looks on the faces of parents is a subject for another day.

The one thing that has remained constant over the nearly 150 years we have been welcoming students to the Hill is the hopes and dreams our students bring with them. That was, and always will be, what defines the St. Olaf experience.