Student Senate President says time flies, so find community to spend it with

2025-2026 Student Senate President Quinlan Hendrickson

Photo credit: Quinlan Hendrickson

Fellow students of Concordia University Nebraska:

Welcome back to all the returning students this year. Welcome also to all the new students joining campus.

My name is Quinlan Hendrickson, and I am going into my senior year at CUNE studying Criminal Justice. On campus, I am involved in the Student Senate and the Speech and Debate team, and I work at the school library.

After several months of summer, I am sure many of you have been anticipating the return to friends, sports, or clubs. I can also guarantee that many of you (myself often included) wish that summertime could continue for the rest of your life. No matter where you are coming from mentally or physically, I hope that this school year far exceeds your expectations.

A successful school year starts and ends with community. Finding friends in Janzow, on your sports team, or in your hall are all valuable opportunities to make school fun. Without people to spend time with outside of class, school will quickly become a monotonous chore. These first weeks fly by faster than it seems should be possible, so take advantage of every opportunity you find to make new connections across campus.

As the Student Senate President, I don’t somehow have more knowledge about people or campus than any other student. I can’t provide magical advice about how to make school better for you individually. All I can say is that if there are ever problems with friends, your hall, or the campus at large, notify your RA, SLO, or the Student Senate. These three groups of students and staff allow all of us to have an enjoyable experience on campus as we study our individual fields.

Our time on campus will be relatively short. Before too long we will be having Thanksgiving Break, then Christmas, and after another semester the year will be over. Don’t let that time disappear. There are so many advantages to having a small, close-knit, and Christian university like Concordia. Make some friends, enjoy your sports or activities, and study hard. Before long this school year will be over, so enjoy the time you have here to the best of your abilities.

We’re all different. Nothing I can say will apply to everybody equally. Find your own individual path to success and try to bring some friends along for that ride.

Blessings on this school year.