Fall 2025 GNS+ Graduates

Majors: Asian Language and Culture, History

Certificates: Folklore, Southeast Asian Studies, Environmental Studies

Hometown: Madison, WI

Favorite GNS+ class: Supernatural in the Modern age

Favorite course from another department: Witches, Ghosts and Ghouls. CESP. Asia Enchanted. Medieval in Film.

Favorite memory from UW: Going to Chinatown with CLACC.

Something you learned about yourself in college: I am a scheduling wizard.

Future plans and dreams: Peace Corps, maybe grad school in China for folklore or pirates. Just keep learning about what I enjoy and going where life takes me because of it.

Any advice for incoming students? Keep track of your financial aid! Take time to talk and become friends with your professors and advisors.

Major: Chemical Engineering

Certificate: Scandinavian Studies

Hometown: Fitchburg, WI

Favorite GNS+ class: SCAND 410 – Introduction to Scandinavian Linguistics

Favorite course from another department: CBE 562 – Fundamentals of Fermentation Lab

Favorite memory from UW: Late nights in Engineering Hall studying and working on projects together with my friends.

Something you learned about yourself in college: No matter how daunting a challenge may seem, I am able to find success through persistence and careful prioritization without completely forgoing personal interests.

Future plans and dreams: In March 2026, I will be starting a job as a Technical Solutions Engineer at Epic Systems in Verona. Epic has a lot of international customers, so I am excited about the potential to use what I have learned about the languages and cultures of Northern Europe in my work.

Any advice for incoming students? UW is a big school, and thus offers great opportunities for those with niche interests. Regardless of your major, certificate programs provide great opportunities to pursue your passions under the guidance of field experts even if your desired field of work is completely unrelated to your certificate. Having fun classes (for me that meant Norwegian language and Scandinavian culture courses) between STEM lectures made my days much more manageable.

Major: Psychology

Certificate: Folklore

Hometown: Lodi, WI

Favorite GNS+ class: The Supernatural in the Modern World

Favorite course from another department: From Grimm to Gryffindor: German Fairytales (Re) Imagined

Favorite memory from UW: In the class, “The Supernatural in the Modern World”, our professor, Lowell, gave us 45 minutes to go around the Science Hall and try to have a paranormal experience. A few of my classmates and I found an old, secret attic. We went up there and brought down old artifacts from it, like old soda cans, newspapers, and bottles from the 1970s. There were also hand-drawn anatomy pictures of the human body from when the Science Hall used to be the building that taught anatomy at UW-Madison. We came to class after and showed everyone what we found.

Something you learned about yourself in college: I learned how important it is to recognize my mental boundaries and to honor them by giving myself permission to pause, rest, and recharge before continuing ahead.

Future plans and dreams: My future career goal is to be a clinical health therapist.

Any advice for incoming students? Seperate your spaces of where you do homework. Try to do most of your homework on campus and allow your living space to be a place where you can just relax.