Hello Class! My name is Sven, Originally from NYC, I lived for 25 years in the Caribbean, primarily in Antigua. I worked in hotel and restaurant management. I also was a single parent raising my son there. He now lives in London, UK, and works in the shipping industry. I live in Vero Beach Florida
I have been lucky enough to enroll full time here at Penn State. I started in Fall 2014, and hope to graduate this December with a BS in OLEAD. I would like to completely change careers and work for a non profit. Currently I serve on two non profit boards, Literacy Services of Indian River County, and out local Humane Society. I find this work extremely gratifying and enjoy giving back to the community.
One of my favorite leadership quotes is from Winston Churchill, who is the source of many great quotes: “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Like most of us I have had my share of challenging experiences and knowing that if I work hard and keep trying I can get through anything, is an oddly comforting feeling for me.
I also love the ocean, I guess the most unusual fact about me as a child was that I sailed across the Atlantic with my family five times on a 52 foot sailing yacht. As an adult I guess I enjoyed being underwater more because while in Antigua I did over 3000 dives having fallen in love with SCUBA
I love going to the gym, running and playing tennis. I also love spending time with my two rescue dogs, Rosie and NB (short for Northbeach) Unfortunately NB is now 15 and doesn’t like to do much more then sleep, get petted and eat. but Rosie makes up for it by being my little shadow. She is a doxie terrier mix so she loves to sit in my lap. Here we are doing another favorite thing which is going to the beach. Living in Florida by the coast does have some advantages!
I hope you all have a great term, I look forward to taking this class with you all.
Brian Redmond says
It’s great to meet you Sven. It seems like the ocean is a big part of your life, and a great one at that. I look forward to working with you this summer.
–Brian