Schools at Beloit College design curricula that make it easy for students to figure out which classes to take, what experiences will be meaningful, and how to have fun doing it. The School of Health Sciences curriculum prepares students for further study in the health professions such as medical school, pharmacy school, physicians assistant programs, and nursing.

Personal connections are a key feature of students’ professional exploration. Students build relationships by building a course schedule that includes acting, entrepreneurship, modern languages, and art. Bergstrom is proud of her own liberal arts undergraduate experience and how a liberal arts education at Beloit College prepares students for the interdisciplinary work of healthcare and the health needs of diverse populations.

Your last great watch, listen, or read?

I’m reading multiple books at the same time. One is about a dystopian future on Lake Superior, I Cheerfully Refuse, by Leif Enger. Love that one so far. Another is the fifth book in the fantasy series, A Court of Thorn and Roses. It’s been a busy year and I have used my brain a lot! It’s wonderful to just enjoy a novel. I’m on the prerelease list for books six and seven.

I watch comedies and dramas. Letterkenny, a series about friends whose lives are not exactly on track and the general antics of a rural town in Canada, Letterkenny. I love Call the Midwife. Love, love, love. The midwives care for people, wherever they are, whoever they are, however they are. The time period, 1950s and 1960s, is a great background to reflect on issues in healthcare still relevant today.

Your favorite food or meal?

Sushi. I will eat my weight in sushi. Spider rolls with softshell crab are a favorite, softshell crab. Rainbow rolls too, with all kinds of fish and spicy tuna rolls. They’re delicious. I like veggie rolls with cucumber and avocado. I like it all. I will eat it all. On a visit to Seattle with my sister, I once ate seven and a half rolls at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. The chef said he’d never seen anything like it! I can’t do that anymore…

With friends and family, we make our signature Peepsm’ores where you roast the Peep until the sugar is caramelized and crusty. The more aged the marshmallow, the better. We poke holes in them to age them. On the day after Easter we stock up for the summer season.

Your favorite place on campus or in the Beloit area?

My office. I set it up to be like home, which I also love, because I spend so much time there. It has lots of plants and glittery things, photos of family, and a coffee maker.

Off campus, I am frequently at Bagels & More, and most mornings you can find me running on the Beloit River Trail.

Your favorite place in the world outside Beloit?

My parents house in Juda, Wisconsin. It’s a scenic spot on a hill overlooking cornfields. Beautiful. I’m lucky that my position at Beloit College allows me to be close to them and I have many good memories there.

How do you spend your free time?

Lots of knitting. Lots of crafting. Lots of time with my family. Lots of running.

I started running in college and I am working my way back to ultra running post-pregnancies. Ultra running is a distance longer than a marathon. The longest I’ve run is 50 miles and I would like to complete 100. The best part of ultra running is the aid stations. They’re not your typical water and banana. Instead they are smorgasbords — pickle juice, canned boiled potatoes, Twizzlers, M&Ms, chips, hamburgers — entire meals. I once left an aid station with two sloppy joes, one in each hand.

What three things would you want if you were shipwrecked on an island?

I’m assuming I’m already with my family so my knitting, a solar-powered chainsaw, and a breeding pair of sheep that will provide more wool and more sheep for milk and meat.

Who would you like to share a meal with, real or imagined?

Right now, for this season of my life, Farmer Ben from Dalscone Farm would be fun to have dinner with. He creates daily videos on YouTube about farm life, lambing, actually a lot of animals being born, and he is such a delight.

I would also like to share glitter maple syrup on pancakes with a unicorn.

A favorite quote or words to live by?

“Failure is always an option.” unattributed

“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.” Mythbusters

This moment in your own words?

In the School of Health Sciences SO MUCH is in progress. We have so much more to come. The health sciences major is live and kinesiology is on its way. Our next cohort of nursing students is starting. Graduate programs are being worked on. Our students learn to learn, and we are dreaming big and keeping students excited while keeping all the things that make us exciting as a program — our quality STEM education combined with the interdisciplinary and extracurricular experiences students have access to. I’m really having fun.

Why Beloit?

I take on a lot of projects here I never thought I would have the opportunity to implement, based on my experience in graduate school. My colleagues take my ideas seriously. I am able to act on them, see them through. It’s fun and it’s healing. The city of Beloit is a wonderful place to live, and that’s important. I’m the type of person who reminds myself I have other options because it helps me to think about what I’m doing and to be intentional. I choose Beloit College every time I come into work. I like making that choice, and putting in the effort to make it work.

I once had an advisee whose mom told her to make the choice that gives the most choices. That’s what choosing Beloit College means. Students are not locked into one thing. They have many options and opportunities, and it’s a great place to fail because we’re going to love them through it all.