Liv Halvorsen

Born in Oslo, Norway.

Has lived in: Egypt, Holland, Pakistan, Venezuela, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and India.

High School: Notre Dame High School in Managua, Nicaragua.

Major: English

Liv was only months old when she left her home in Oslo, Norway to become "a citizen of the world." Following her parents to diplomatic posts around the globe, Liv resided in eight countries before she was eighteen. Fluent in Spanish, Norwegian, and English, Liv puzzled about where to attend college. She applied to schools in the United Kingdom and the US. She chose to come to Lewis & Clark--sight unseen--because of her history teacher's recommendation and because she liked the College's website! Unsure about her decision to study in the US, Liv waited until a week before the start of orientation to buy her air ticket. Liv boarded the plane with some trepidation, but she felt "welcome" and "at home" as soon as she arrived on the L&C campus! She has no regrets about her decision to study in the US.

Liv arrived in Portland in the fall of 2001. Like most TCKs, Liv adjusted well to the L&C environment and was relieved to find other TCKs and international students on campus. As a first-year student, Liv joined the debate club, the TCK group, and the International Students of L&C (ISLC). Liv has been active in all three groups, traveling the west coast to participate in debate tournaments, serving as a member of the TCK advisory board, and becoming vice-president of the ISLC, a position which required Liv to organize the annual international fair. Liv says she loves L&C because there are always things to do. Typcially, Liv is always busy!

Liv's involvement in the TCK group has been a rewarding experience for her. Along with two other TCKs, Liv traveled to the regional NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference in Spokane, Washington to give a formal presentation on L&C's TCK programs. Liv also represented Lewis & Clark TCKs at the fall 2003 conference of Global Nomads International in Virginia. Liv contributed time, energy, and enthusiasm to the L&C TCK advisory board and knew, probably from her sophomore year, that she wanted to be the TCK intern in her senior year. Liv accomplished that goal. This year Liv serves as TCK intern and has a full complement of activities designed for this year's calendar.

Liv says she is comfortable at Lewis & Clark. "It's nice to know that there are other people on campus with backgrounds similar to mine. I don't feel strange when I tell other TCKs that I had never seen the autumn colors of trees or waterfalls that have frozen over in winter. They understand."

When asked to name her favorite class outside her major, Liv named not one, but two. "Professor Stepan Simek's course on the history of the theater was lots of fun. We viewed movies, read plays and literature, performed skits, studied art, and even managed to incorporate current events into the class. Professor Simek made history come alive." Liv also spoke fondly of her Communication and Culture class. "One of the topics we studied was TCKs and it was all so relevant. Professor Kinsella was just great. I was so inspired after one of his classes that I went straight to Powell's Bookstore and bought a copy of Michele Focault's Archeology of the Order of Things.

Liv plans to graduate with her bachelor's degree in English in May of 2005. She loves children and is interested in teaching, perhaps in Eastern Europe or Latin America.