Tell us about yourself.
My name is Blake H., and I’m from Fairbault, Minnesota. I’m currently a Junior, double majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Marketing. I also have a minor in Business Administration.
That’s a lot of subjects! Did you come into Augsburg knowing what you wanted to do?
Not at all! I started off my college career determined to major in Computer Science in 2009. I then switched to art for a while and did that for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I think that choice was my addiction speaking. That didn’t work out at all. When I eventually came to Augsburg, I was thinking about looking into sociology.
I obviously had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to do. At this point in time, I was sort of turned off to Marketing, as I had the impression that it wouldn’t result in job security. That was until I took my first Marketing class and absolutely loved it. I wanted to find a way to balance job prospects and still take classes that excited me. At this point, I turned to MIS and I recently reincorporated Marketing as my second major. I told myself that if I work hard, I can double major and still graduate on time. I won’t be able to take as many electives, but I can push myself to pursue other interests outside of school.
Word on the street is that one of those other interests is music.
Yes, absolutely. Artistically, music is the number one way I express myself – I love to mix and listen to music. I decided that I wanted other people to hear the music that I was making, so I started DJing.
Currently, I’m able to DJ at a bar twice a week, on Thursday and Saturdays, and it’s awesome. While I’m there, I’m able to mingle with all of these people who I wouldn’t otherwise talk to. I take requests and talk about music with people all night. It’s still hard for me to believe I get paid for it! I spend a lot of my free time listening to music, so I’m basically getting paid to do something I would be doing anyways.
Is that something you’d want to turn into a career?
Whatever my career path ends up being, above all I want to be of service. I want to make the world a better place. It could be the Peace Corps or it could be something else – I don’t know yet. I just want to work for a business where I can increase their efficiency and know that I’m helping a company that does good things. I want to do something that allows that side of me to be expressed on a daily basis. I think this desire to help others stems from my upbringing.
How has your upbringing influenced you?
I grew up in a really close, big family.I have two little brothers, three sisters, and a niece and nephew at home. My aunt was always around too – she’s like a big sister to me. We’ve always had a full house: full of friends and people staying over… Especially those that may have not had other places to go. I loved that environment and I want to continue helping as many as possible.
Do you perform a lot of service in StepUP?
I do a lot with Leadership Team at StepUP – I’m the chair for service. I help to maintain service commitments and check on people to make sure they’re doing okay. Being a part of that has been awesome, as it has allowed me to connect with the newer students and get them involved in the StepUP community.
I also try and get as many new students to come and enjoy weekly circle: a gathering of StepUP students and counselors to discuss current events. If you’re a first year here, I highly recommend that you go to circle. Usually, the people that don’t show up to their commitments end up relapsing. You have to hold yourself accountable here. If you foster relationships with the right people, you have that accountability.
Because I’m a Sophomore, I got to help out with the Freshman orientation this year. It brought me back to my own orientation. We’ve got orientation, we’ve got graduation, etc. Every event has significance. Even Thanksgiving – I mean, yeah, everyone’s excited about the food but it’s really representative of something greater. Graduation is incredible to see too.
Every event has some type of significance.
Can you speak to a specific event that was really significant to you?
StepUP had a Thanksgiving dinner for everyone and I was part of organizing the event. Everyone was calling me and asking what I needed and asking what they could do to help. On the day itself, all I had to do was answer calls – everyone more than contributed and made it such a success. That’s just one example of the community here at StepUP. I mean, I live with all these people in recovery that are always going to meetings, talking about spirituality, acknowledging our character defects, and working a good program. If I’m ever struggling, there’s always someone to pull me out of it. Everyone pitches in.
I also remember giving a prospective, first-generation student a tour last year and as he looked around he just didn’t seem to get it. He asked me how all of this was possible, saying he felt like he was in a foreign land. He told me, “I’m not supposed to be here … I don’t deserve this.” Surprisingly, a lot of StepUP students think like that. But we do deserve to be here. We get to be in this amazing place.
What attracted you to StepUP?
I simply heard that there was a large collegiate recovery program here. That was enough for me! I was instantly in the, “alright, here we go” mode. I applied as quickly as possible. At the time, that’s kind of what kept me sober – the idea that if I stayed sober, I could go back to school. That was my motivation throughout my first year at Augsburg.
What has StepUP given you?
It gave me hope and helped me stay sober. Even after I got sober I was depressed and I felt like I had nothing to live for. StepUP gave me the hope that I can do stuff with my life. You can get an education and walk away with a degree.
I didn’t think I was ever going to go back in school. I didn’t expect to have a job where my fellow staff enjoys my company, or teachers that give me good recommendations. Most of all, I didn’t expect to have the friends that I do. There’s so much that I never thought that I would have.
Thank you, Blake!