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Owen Meilander shares his thoughts and senior-year experience at Westminster

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Posted on Friday, October 1, 2021

Meet Owen Meilander is a senior Physics and Mathematics major with a minor in Materials Science. Not only is he currently completing two capstone projects and an independent study, he also holds memberships and leadership positions for ten campus organizations, he is a member of the College's Honors Program, performs for various music ensembles, and is of the two lead tutors in the Academic Success Center.

What are you involved with on campus? I am involved in too many things. I am president of the Society of Physics Students, vice president of the Campus Programming Council, vice president of Theta Chi Fraternity, treasurer of OKS, the Honors Society of the All-College Honors Program, treasurer of the Westminster Titan Marching Band, secretary of KME math honor society, and Chaplain of the Student Government Association. I am also involved in multiple other music ensembles on campus along with Frisbee Club, Math Club, and the college's Honors Program. Finally, I work as the student manager for the catering department of Sodexo, the Student Engagement Team Club Room Manager for Student Affairs, and one of the two Lead Tutors for the Academic success center.

How is your semester going so far? My year has been busy but rewarding so far. With 2 capstones and an independent study, I am doing most of my work independently, but all of it is very exciting and useful.

What’s your favorite class this semester? My favorite class so far this semester has been quantum mechanics. It has been a very demanding class, but it has been very interesting to learn the way that the tiny parts of our world work. 

What type of events have you gone to on campus? I have gone to many events on campus so far. Some of my favorites come from CPC. From bingo and DIY every week to bringing in a petting zoo and a Kona Ice truck at the End of Summer Block Party, they always have something great going on.

What has been something that has impressed you about how Westminster has been handling keeping students safe on campus during this time? The thing that has impressed me the most is the accommodation and amazing work that the faculty has done as they had to transfer from in-person to online to hybrid classrooms. It's not easy to completely change the structure of a class with preparation, and they had to do it without warning. For this reason, we were able to continue to learn even in these unprecedented times.

What makes you keep choosing Westminster each year? The support that the school has given has kept me here, both financially through the many scholarships that are offered and academically through the many nurturing professors.

If you had to choose one word to describe your college experience, what would it be and why? BUSY. I feel like I always have something going on or have something to do, but it's a combination of schoolwork and fun programming going on around campus. It's nice to have all these opportunities to keep me occupied.

Learn more about what it's like to get a PhysicsMathematics, or Materials Science degree at Westminster.