Honors Day 2009
Speeches

Laura Oliver '09
Laura is a mathematics, studio art, and economics triple major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She has studied in eleven different countries over three interims abroad and spent last summer in New York City interning at OppenheimerFunds. Here at St. Olaf, Laura runs cross country and indoor and outdoor track, serves as the events coordinator for Ole Ventures, and has been a mentor for the TRiO program. She works as a peer adviser at the Center for Experiential Learning and as a facilitator at the Tostrud Center climbing wall. She is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Epsilon academic honor societies. After graduation, Laura will begin work as a financial analyst for General Mills at their Minneapolis headquarters. Her parents, Robert and Angela Oliver, are able to be here with us today.
Read Laura's Speech

Jonathan Hernandez '09
Jonathan Hernandez is a senior from Los Angeles, California. He is a Spanish Education, English as a Second Language (ESL) and Linguistics concentration major. While at St. Olaf, Jonathan has been actively involved in multiple student organizations and programs such as: Presente, Muslim Student Association (MSA), Diversity Celebrations Committee (DCC), Reaching Our Goals (ROG) program, American Conversations and the ETS Mentoring Program. During interim of his junior year, Jonathan participated in the Multicultural Education in Hawaii, study abroad program. Jonathan is the first in his family to have gone to college; he is the oldest son of his parents and has a younger brother named Eliseo. Jonathan will be taking two ESL courses this summer, and at the same time will be participating in the Urban Education Summer Scholars (UESS) program up in the Twin Cities. In the fall, Jonathan will be doing his student teaching at Harding Senior High in St. Paul. Jonathan hopes that he can stay and become a language educator in the state of Minnesota.
Read Jonathan's Speech

Lynn Arthur Steen
Professor of Mathematics and
Special Assistant to the Provost
Lynn Steen has lectured in over a dozen different countries and is the author or editor of numerous articles and books including Everybody Counts (1989), Why Numbers Count (1997), Mathematics and Democracy (2001) and Math and Bio 2010 (2005). Steen is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and recipient of three honorary Sc.D. degrees.
Read Lynn Steen's Speech