Viking Magazine - February 2021 - 28

Member Matters
and France with the Blue Lake
International Youth Symphony
Orchestra.
" Going to all these places,
experiencing different cultures and
how people live has made me more
open-minded and empathetic. I
don't jump to conclusions, " says
Chrissy. " I also think it influenced
what I want to do with my
career, which is storytelling and
filmmaking. I want to tell stories
about different people. "
Chrissy recently graduated with
a degree in film and media studies
from Yale University, and now
hopes to apply her knowledge
to crafting both fiction films and
officer and a key player in gathering the delegates
to make the Norwegian Constitution of 1814,
while Wergeland was a priest, writer, politician,
and one of the signers of the constitution.
Since joining Nordkap Lodge 5-378 in
Farmington Hills, Mich., with their mom, Connie,
the sisters have been able to attend meetings,
volunteer at lodge events like the Scandinavian
bazaar and Christmas party, and teach Viking
chess, or hnefatafl, to other members. During a trip
to Norway in 2014, Connie and her family learned
the game from a cousin. After returning, Catie
and her brother Joseph taught hnefetafl at a lodge
meeting, later running a tournament with Chrissy
for the lodge's annual Syttende Mai event.
" My parents [a first-generation American
mother and immigrant father] grew up with
international perspectives, and raised me with a
similar international perspective, " Chrissy, 22,
wrote in her " young achievers " essay to Sons
of Norway. " They instilled me with a desire
for learning about the world, traveling and
understanding other perspectives. "
This has translated to a passion for traveling for
Chrissy. In addition to visiting family in Norway
and Denmark, she has taken part in a service
trip to the Dominican Republic, studied abroad
in Spain and England, and toured Germany
28 VIKING FEBRUARY 2021
sonsofnorway.com
documentaries. As she stated in her essay, " I want
to contribute to reshaping our collective cultural
consciousness through the media we consume,
both in terms of gender and racial equality. "
Chrissy also studied Norse mythology and Viking
history and aims to use those themes in her stories
and films.
These human rights issues are important to
Catie, 17, as well. A senior at Huron High School
in Ann Arbor, Mich., she is the fundraising officer
for the Black Student Union and the president of
the Women in Science and Engineering club.
So it's no surprise that Catie will be attending
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona
Beach, Fla., her top-choice college, next fall.
She was accepted to the school's aerospace and
mechanical engineering programs, and recruited
to row crew, a sport she's participated in since her
freshman year of high school. Crew has allowed
her to pursue her love of water sports and compete
in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the
country's largest, most challenging regatta.
" Crew is a big part of my life, and when I'm at
practice with my team, I always work hard and
encourage my teammates to work with me, " Catie
wrote in her young achievers essay. " There's a lot
of teamwork involved, more than other sports.
You're all in one boat together. "
pg 25-29.indd 4
12/16/20 11:16 AM
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - February 2021

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