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August 2001

2000 Augsburg biology graduate Are Hansen

Are Hansen, a Norwegian exchange student who completed a biology major at Augsburg in 2000 was back in Minneapolis this summer and brought us up to date on events in his life. It has been an eventful couple of years for Are. First of all, Are got married in the summer of 2000 to Jessie Jacobson, a Minnesota native and former Augsburg student who graduated in 2000 with a degree in elementary education. Now that Are has family ties on both sides of the Atlantic, he promises he'll stop in to see us on occasion when he comes back for visits with the in-laws.

Are also completed his first year of medical school at Copenhagen University in Denmark last year and is now embarking on his second year. Are was very pleasantly surprised by how well his biology courses at Augsburg prepared him for medical school. "My first year coursework was mostly a review of what I had already learned at Augsburg ... it was pretty much the Augsburg biology curriculum compressed into one year", said Are. He added, "Being so fortunate as to experience two very distinct school systems at the university level, I must say I am impressed with the level of education the biology department at Augsburg has to offer. The base I built throughout those four years, has given me a profound insight in the basic science of medicine, thus providing me with excellent opportunity to fulfill my dreams; to become an MD".

It would seem that going to medical school in Denmark might present a special challenge in that classes are all taught in Danish. However, Are explained that Danish is quite similar to his native Norwegian, and though it was a little challenging at first, he quickly got up to speed in Danish and is now very comfortable with the language.

We wish Are well in his endeavors and look forward to future updates when he comes back for visits to Minnesota.