I am a proud 4th-generation Norwegian-American!

Miss Norway of Greater New York Contestant '23, '24

Since age 5, I've been attending the Miss Norway Contest. The contest was special to me because it wasn't just a beauty pageant. In fact, nowhere in the critera were the contestants judged on their beauty, but on their poise, love of Norway, goals for the future, and service for those in need. To me, Miss Norways represent the American Dream come to life, because their successes symbolize the fruits of their immigrant ancestors' labors.

When I competed in the contest in 2023 and 2024, I told special stories. My mom is the oldest living Norwegian-American in our bloodline (everyone else lives back in Norway). We only knew who three of our Norwegian relatives were but weren't in contact with them. My mom's mom (my Bestemor) rarely spoke about the family, but after she passed away, I was inspired to search and put together the missing pieces. If you are interested in seeing my research that I presented at the contest, click here.

Becoming Fluent in Norwegian at St. Olaf College

After I had found a decent portion of information on Norwegian relatives (including the fact that my great-grandma's cousin, Reidun, was still alive but could only speak Norwegian), I decided that I needed to learn the language, not only to be able to converse with Reidun when I visited Norway, but so I could teach this language to my future children. Our family history had already been lost once, and since there are so few relatives on the American side, I want to do my part to ensure that this culture isn't lost again.

Click here to read my entry into the Amerikabrev (letters to Norway, from America) contest. Amerikabrev are letters written by Norwergian immigrants to family back home about their new lives in America. I addressed this letter to my long-lost family member, Peter.

Norwegian Classes I've Taken So Far:

NORW 111: Beginning Norwegian I

NORW 112: Beginning Norwegian II

NORW 231: Intermed Norwegian I

Norwegian Classes I'll Take in the Upcoming Semester:

NORW 244: Sami Tradition/Transition

LINGST 250: English Language and Linguistics

My Trip to Norway, June '25

In June 2025, I was blessed to visit my ancestors' homeland with my mom. We started in Oslo and toured the Southern part of the country, ending in Bergen, where we met Tante Reidun and many other relatives. The best part of the trip was being able to have fluid converstaions with Reidun in Norwegian. I recognized sights from my textbooks, such as Fisketorget in Bergen and Operahuset in Oslo. I was able to put all the skills I learned in Norwegian class to use, and I was very grateful to my professors at St. Olaf for teaching me these things.