Nels Birkeland spent much of his high school very involved with sports.
Nels Birkeland
Nels Birkeland is a prime example of an active, passionate, and hard-working Red Knight; he spent six years in the BSM community, becoming a star inside the Haben Center and on the soccer field, while also finding a passion in becoming an Eagle Scout.
Birkeland got involved with BSM’s basketball program becoming a water boy and manager for four years before becoming a seventh grader in the junior high. “I was able to watch good basketball and be around good kids which really made me excited to come to Benilde and play basketball,” Birkeland said.
Just a couple years after becoming a Red Knight, Birkeland was put on the varsity roster to play for that team he had helped prior.
After six-plus years of being in class at BSM, Birkeland’s main takeaway is to always stay connected and plugged in. “Honestly, you gotta do your schoolwork. The nice thing about Benilde though is that it’s not really stressful. Don’t worry that much about getting everything done, teachers are understanding and everything will work out,” Birlekand said.
“But if I’m going to take away one thing from Benilde, it would be the senior soccer season,” Birkeland said.
After spending a significant portion of his high school career with the same group of friends from soccer, some memories from being with the team will last for a long time in the future. “This most recent senior soccer season was the most fun I’ve had with the team. We started out the year where we found this zucchini in Minneapolis and brought it to a girls’ soccer game, and it brought good luck. We went up to Ely for our team bonding trip and stayed in cabins which was a lot of fun spending a lot of time with the guys going canoeing,” Birkeland said.
While the soccer season may not have gone the way they would’ve liked, there were some notable games in which they succeeded. “Beating De La Salle in the section quarterfinals and tying Saint Louis Park becoming the only team to tie them… if I’m going to take away one thing from Benilde, it would be the senior soccer season,” Birkeland said.
Mr. Dave Platt coached the varsity soccer team that Birkeland played for. Platt was able to witness Birkeland’s improvements not just as a player, but also as a leader for the team. “Nels Birkeland came to the soccer program and to our team way ahead of the curve in terms of his personal development and growth. Not only is Nels a natural-born leader, but he is also one of the most mature and most true young men I’ve had the honor of coaching over these many years; with Nels, you get exactly what you see, which is a thoughtful, passionate, driven, hard-working, caring leader and friend … We were truly blessed to have Nels as a teammate and a leader these last three years, and he will most surely be missed,” Platt said.
While balancing basketball and soccer with extracurriculars like RKVC, Birkeland managed to pursue his passion in becoming an Eagle Scout. “The biggest thing about getting your Eagle Scout Award is getting to do a project that serves a community … I made benches for the little knights at Benilde, and I finished the project with my mom,” Birkeland said.
Next year, Birkeland is carrying on his family’s legacy and attending Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where he plans to play basketball and get into business and accounting. “My grandma went there; my grandpa went there for one year and then transferred, and my cousin currently goes there. A bunch of family from my dad’s side has graduated from Concordia, probably about seven or eight people,” Birkeland said.
Favorite Restaurant: Taco Bell
Favorite Food: Cereal (no particular kind)
Favorite Movie: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Favorite TV Series: Ozark
Favorite Song: “American Kids” by Kenny Chesney
Spirit Animal: Giraffe
Favorite Activity/ Sport: Volleyball
Favorite Meme: “this is fine” with fire in the background
Favorite App: TikTok
Favorite Book: Toughness by Jay Bilas, Catcher in the Rye by J.D Sallinger
Advice during online school/ quarantine: Try to make sure that you’re staying close with the people you really enjoy and are talking to because you should try to hold on to the high school memories as long as you can. Create new habits like bike riding, running, and working out.
Harry Meshbesher
In the grand scale of things, there have been a lot of people who would qualify as tremendous. Names like Mandela, Da Vinci, and McCringleberry come to mind. Well, it just may be that when future generations think about these sorts of people, a good portion of them will immediately think: ‘Mesh’. Harry Meshbesher doesn’t have any superpowers (although some may argue super-intelligence) but his overall tremendousness certainly makes him one of the more esteemed members of the BSM community.
Meshbesher was a knowledge bowl team captain the past two years, an activity that he started doing partially because of sibling rivalry: “My brother Sam was on the knowledge bowl team, and I just wanted to be better than him, which spiraled into me [being on the team] for six years,” Meshbesher said.
Though many can relate to wanting to beat a sibling at something, Meshbesher took it to the next level. Last year, Meshbesher was invited to attend the Individuals Players’ National Championship for his knowledge bowl mastery. After an impressive season, Meshbesher was able to go to this national knowledge bowl tournament in Chicago, where he competed against other rising knowledge bowl prodigies from around the country. “I did decently,” Meshbesher said.
Naturally, Meshbesher is not just a gifted knowledge bowl competitor. In his six years of being a part of BSM, he has racked up a healthy amount of achievements and new experiences: “I’ve been able to try out a lot of activities, especially recently, that I’ve realized that I enjoy quite a bit,” Meshbesher said.
As well as running with the cross country team throughout his junior high and high school tenure, Meshbesher has also been able to expand his horizons by doing track the past two years and picking up nordic skiing this winter season. “I liked [being on the nordic skiing team],” Meshbesher said.
Meshbesher has also managed to gain success musically both in school and out. He played alto saxophone for several years in Mr. Paul Keefe’s very own, the BSM Band. Though he does not keep up much with the sax anymore, Meshbesher likes to stay busy by playing the piano. He particularly enjoys replicating Beethoven compositions and will freely admit that he has a keen ear and a taste for the more refined tonal frequencies of life. “I’d say my favorite composition has to be Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, the glissando is absolutely to die for,” Meshbesher said.
You may also find Meshbesher out this summer on his mountain bike, which is one of his favorite jaunts when not composing music and winning knowledge bowl competitions. He will be attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities next year with an undecided major.
Favorite Restaurant: Nando’s
Favorite Food: Fish and chips
Favorite Movie: Spiderman into the Spiderverse
Favorite Song: “Social Queues” by Cage the Elephant
Spirit Animal: Bottlenose Dolphin
Favorite Activity/Sport: Mountain biking/Nordic skiing
Favorite Meme: AP Euro Memes
Favorite App: TrailForks
Favorite Book: Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick
Advice during online school/ quarantine: Try.