President Bergman spotted Korpela wrangling Gus at an Athletics recruiting event this fall. Then she saw her taking tickets for the fall production of Our Town. “I see you do everything here!” the president exclaimed. Korpela laughed. Game recognizes game, as they say.
As Student Senate Co-President, she meets with President Bergman once a month (along with Co-President Robby Swenson ’25). She admires how the president is an all-in leader: In one of their meetings, President Bergman was handwriting cards for Christmas in Christ Chapel. “Becky has a million things to do, and she tries to make it to everything.” Korpela says.
As a student representative, Chance works a balancing act, too. As a first-year, she dove headfirst into Gustavus. She toured internationally with the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, attended Chapel services, and joined Women in Leadership. She started thinking about how collective student voices come together to create change at Gustavus. “I felt like something was missing in my extracurriculars,” she says. “I needed to get involved in another way.”
Her junior year, she received an email asking for class representatives. With four years of high school senate experience behind her, she put her name forward. And won. She relished the role, meeting with students and tackling their top priorities, like sustainability strategies. “It’s so nice to work with a mix of people. We’re not all Poli Sci majors. We’re voicing the students’ opinions.”
During her three years as a student, college leadership across campus has adapted to the pandemic and new technologies, and revised academic guidelines. Students had questions, and continued to, and the next Senate presidents needed to be strong communicators and effective advocates. When classmate Swenson asked if she would run for co-president with him, Korpela was thrilled.
Together, they’ve built a platform emphasizing transparency, inclusivity, and a long-term vision for students. Health, housing, and sustainability remain top priorities. Her proudest accomplishment as Co-President? A resolution to create guidelines for using AI at the College.
Through it all, Korpela has always looked forward to her conversations with President Bergman. She loves learning how the College works, and she’s inspired by the president’s leadership. “It’s awesome to interact face-to-face with someone in her position,” she says. Now in her last semester, she’s still out here hustling. “Everyone’s voice is so important.
We need people in these positions. I’ve even gotten some people to join the Senate!”
Whether stage managing a show or designing concert posters, Korpela focuses on building community through music. “I think of teamwork and leadership in band. It’s every single aspect of life, and it carries into everything you do.” She’ll graduate this spring with a Business Management and Music double major and minors in Arts Entrepreneurship and Honors Conducting.
