Kristofer Jönsson is from Sweden and an incoming student at the University of Oxford, England
“It’s good, I think I have found something (political science) I can imagine myself doing for the rest of my life.”
Kristofer Jönsson
Often the motive behind striving for change is the need to escape a daunting reality, not so for Kristofer Jönsson. Born and raised in a country with a 99% literate population, no international disputes and one of the very highest living standards in the world, this facetious youngster wanted more.
Until his late teen years Kris lived and attended school in the city of Borås, Sweden, learning English as a second language. Near the end of high school (the British 6th form equivalent), along came the familiar feeling of needing to be ‘somewhere else’. It was and still is not uncommon for Swedish high school students to spend an ‘exchange year’ abroad so Kris decided he would to head off to Hong Kong.
If only it had been that easy. Like a child in a candy shop, Kris’ thoughts and searches took him from Hong Kong and Canada to Britain and the United States. When he finally applied to a boarding school in New Jersey through a scholarship programme, his application proved unsuccessful. Again he tried, this time through the American Field Service (AFS) and was accepted to a public high school.
As he packed away his belongings, including old rejection letters, Kris noticed something in the scholarship rejection letter that had escaped him earlier. Disappointed and angry, he had never read the letter to completion. In the letter was commendation for his application and a recommendation that he apply to yet another scholarship programme, ASSIST (American Secondary Schools for International Students and Teachers). Quickly, he applied to ASSIST, and traded in a non-financial aided spot through AFS, for a full ASSIST scholarship to ‘some private school in the US’.
Do you know where you're going to?
When he was accepted to ASSIST in March of 2001 Kris had no idea where this new school was. In September, he found himself being driven through “the backwoods of the backwoods and in the forest suddenly appeared a school.” He had arrived at Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine. ”The change of scenery was great, I had a chance to improve my English and I had a new friendship circle of ambitious people who were all applying to liberal arts colleges where one could study many things at once. In Sweden I was in a social science only class and I felt limited. I don’t believe the government should make you specialize into subject specific programmes in high school.”
As great as it was, the Hebron opportunity was designed for only a year, at the end of which Kris would return home empty handed to complete high school.
“Why?” he thought. It was not long before Kris was sure that if he “made something of this”, more doors would swing open and he spoke with his advisor about receiving a diploma from Hebron.
What would he have to do? Complete a two year curriculum in one year. In one extremely exacting year at Hebron he played junior varsity tennis, edited the campus paper, competed on the varsity Nordic ski team and completed a two year academic curriculum. At his graduation Kris was named the top student in religion and ethics and was inducted into the Cum Laude Society in addition to receiving a Hebron diploma.
Square peg in a round hole
Once home again, Kris was no longer as motivated and intrigued by the idea of the American liberal arts college environment. He had applied and been accepted to Bates College after leaving Hebron but now “inspiration was lacking”.
“Swedish universities are free and everything is based on your GPA and nothing else; it is very straightforward.” On the encouragement of his parents, Kris opted to pursue higher studies at the faculty of law at Lund University in Sweden. However, once enrolled in this elite faculty, something felt wrong.
“I was shocked by the cheating and dishonesty. If there was a communal book, people would rip the pages out so that others could not use it. Students knew little about politics and the world around them. I was amazed at how naive the students were but they would still get top grades. I mistakenly thought that I would find peers who shared my passion for learning but people weren’t really academics. Studying was a means of either maintaining one’s position in society or moving up the social ladder and not a means of growing and enriching one’s life. It was about memorizing enough to get a good grade.”
At the end of year one, although he had done well at Lund, Kris was again knocking at the door of Bates. This decision was criticized by friends and family as he was giving up free education and a chance at making “a very decent living very early.”
However, the decision stood and he said goodbye to his parents and sister once more.
It feels right now
Kris came to Bates knowing he would major in political science. However, a seminar on the topic of ‘Whiteness’ opened up his eyes to the study of social anthropology and he decided to add a major in anthropology, a subject he was previously oblivious to. Over his four years in college, anthropology emerged as Kris’ primary academic interest and he spent his final year writing an honors thesis on tourism in Maine that incorporated months of fieldwork and original research.
During his time at Bates, Kris participated in Mock Trial and was named an outstanding witness at the divisional level. He also held elected office as a Vice President of the Student Government for two terms as well as Co-President of the International Club.
Following a post graduation year during which he worked as a freelance writer and with government relations for a large energy company, Kris will resume his anthropology studies in the fall of 2009 as a masters student at the University of Oxford in England.
“Looking back at the things I have been able to do and the people I have been able to meet and befriend over the past five years, I thank myself for following my heart and dropping out of law school in Sweden in favor of a more uncertain trajectory in the U.S.. I don’t know where my masters studies will take me but I have a feeling things will work out. It feels right.”
What about home?
“I am attached to Sweden and I do have urges to go back and help bring about political change at some point.”
Kris is a staunch liberal and a critic of the collectivist solutions to social problems that are common in Sweden. “The Swedish model of helping society’s weak is giving them money. It’s about money transfers [from the rich to poor] and high taxes. I don’t think getting paid because you are poor is the way to do it—that just creates dependency on the government. Instead, efforts should focus on education and helping people become independent and be able to stand on their own and support their families through the fruits of their own labor.”
Kris’ non-academic interests include architecture, photography and he is a self-proclaimed “news junkie”.
So , you opened my eyes to the fact that comfort can make a people lack ambition. Sorry that Swedes no longer make stuff like A Nobel did but you know I insist some of us wish we had Sweden's problems. Thanks for sharing about your decison to be different Kris and we are all blessed to have you here. Continue to excel , we need some good policy makers for the Republicans :)
Dearest Kris,
Just have one word to say - you are not just a white boy :D
Much love, Trang