Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon met with students and staff for nearly two hours.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — In 40-degree weather, some St. Olaf College students wore shorts and flip flops to class as a prince walked through campus.
Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the throne in Norway, was there to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Norwegian migration to the United States.
“More than 800,000 people, Norwegians, emigrated between 1825 and 1925, which means that around 1 in 3 Norwegians left the country,” Haakon said. “Today, there are millions of Americans that have Norwegian ancestry.”
He said 53 people arrived on the first boat to the U.S. The crown prince said many of them came for the land, liberty, and a chance to live their faith.
“They built churches and schools. They built lives and they built a bridge between our nations that still stands today,” he said.
St. Olaf was founded by Norwegian immigrants in 1874. Norway’s queen and prime minister have both visited the school in the past few years.
People lined the sidewalks in the heart of campus, waving Norwegian flags. He listened to several students giving presentations on their studies.
Two of those students were senior Evan Atchinson and junior Otelia Lighthill.
“This opportunity doesn’t really come across any other schools,” Lighthill said. “It’s honestly, the greatest honor of my lifetime. I don’t know if anything will live up to this.”
She gave her presentation in Norwegian, wearing a Norwegian folk dress. Lighthill said her dress references the region of Norway her family has roots in and is a symbol of pride and heritage.
“My mom is from Norway, and I grew up very Norwegian American, and I grew up migrating back and forth,” she said.
Atchinson doesn’t have Norwegian ancestry, but he spent several weeks in Norway performing with the orchestra and as a Peace Scholar, an annual summer program in Norway.
“Having Crown Prince Haakon coming here is just a reflection of we’re trying to build a bridge between our nations, a bridge between our worlds,” Atchinson said.
He said those 10 weeks in Norway were the most formative of his life.
Atchinson said he’s appreciative that the crown prince came to visit and took the time to meet and talk with people.
“It just shows that people are here to listen,” he said.
Haakon then sat down for a 20-minute panel discussion, where four students asked questions about his decision to go to college in the U.S., the importance of the U.S. and Norway maintaining their current bond, and music.
Before Haakon visited the college, he met with Governor Walz and the National Guard on Tuesday. His next and final stop on his trip to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Norwegians arriving in the U.S. is New York.