Meet UT’s Kevin Scott Helgren
From biking to Anchorage to the best pho in Austin, Helgren talks life in the burnt orange.
By the Study Breaks Staff
1. What is your major? Neuroscience, Psychology, Liberal Arts Honors
2. What is your dream job? Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, President of The University of Texas…who knows? Something in student affairs.
3. What academic focus most interests you? Educational leadership
4. What are your intellectual strengths? Critical thinking, effective communication, problem solving and crisis management
5. What will you never understand? Eighteen-wheelers that drive in the left lane, slow people in buffet lines, professors who leave streaks of dry-erase markers on the whiteboard—the list goes on. On a more serious note, I will never understand the many types of hate that exist in the world—racism, homophobia, misogyny, etc.
6. What qualities do you most admire in a person? A deeply rooted moral compass, a strong sense of values, and determination, drive and ambition
7. What is your most marked characteristic? My public speaking ability. I’m a campus tour guide, so my voice can be heard ringing across the 40 Acres most Friday mornings. This is a nicer way of saying I talk too much and too loudly.
8. What angers you? A lack of social awareness. It’s okay to not have all the answers—but you should never stop searching for at least some of them.
9. What is currently on your mind? CAMP TEXAS! I leave for my last year as a Camp Texas counselor tomorrow—very bittersweet.
10. What historical figure do you admire? Barack Obama. Pretty impressive that he’s already made history, huh?
11. What fictional character do you most identify with? Peter Pan—I’m adventurous, I’m curious and I’d love to be a kid forever.
12. What movie has had the biggest impact on your life? “Love Actually.” It places a huge emphasis on the power and importance of loving unconditionally and intentionally. If you’ve never seen it, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Stop reading this questionnaire and go watch it. Right now.
13. Who are some of your favorite authors? Malcolm Gladwell, J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl.
14. What music are you into at the moment? I’ve spent the past few days creating the playlist for Camp Texas, so I’m really into anything and everything upbeat.
15. What is your favorite place on the internet? “Huffington Post,” “New York Times,” “Thought Catalog” and Facebook (what? I’m a millennial!)
16. What is your favorite meme? How do you meme? I’m too old for that stuff.
17. Where do you take most of your selfies? In front of the UT Tower (join me in participating in #TowerTuesday)!
18. Who is your favorite person to follow on Snapchat? I don’t snap. Does that make me lame?
19. What is your favorite Instagram account? Any account that posts a considerable number of corgi pictures!
20. What is your most treasured possession? The bike I rode from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, to raise money for cancer research. His name is Cosmo!
21. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? A cold beer on a summer afternoon—so refreshing. I also like whiskey. I’m not particularly picky when it comes to alcohol.
22. What is your typical outfit? Short shorts (sorry, Mom!), short-sleeved button down and Birkenstocks. I don’t take very kindly to change.
23. What is your favorite place to eat? Pho Saigon. Don’t like pho? You’re wrong.
24. What’s a secret talent of yours? I can put both legs behind my head and walk on my hands. Weird, I know.
25. Where do you want to go most in the world? The small village I spent a lot of time in two summers ago outside of Maun, Botswana.
26. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? The extent to which and the frequency with which I sweat in a suit. Hint: I sweat profusely in suits. I also have a tendency to spread myself a little too thin.
27. What is your definition of failure? Not trying your absolute best to succeed.
28. If you were to have children, what would you name them? Adeline, Willa, Benjamin, and Oliver. What? I’ve given it some thought!
29. Where would you be if not in college? Traveling the world in an effort to learn as much about different cultures as humanly possible.
30. What makes you nervous? Heights. I’m incredibly scared of heights.
31. What is your biggest indulgence? Blue Bell Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough. Get it away from me.
32. What living person would you most like to meet? Adele. Beyonce. Hillary Clinton. Any powerful, independent woman, really.
33. What is important to your right now? My relationships. I try my very best to invest time and energy in those around me.
34. What is your greatest achievement? I’m extremely humbled to have been elected Student Body President at the University of Texas. It’s one of my greatest achievements, and I work hard everyday to deliver on the promises my team and I made to the student body.
35. What is your motto? “Promise me you’ll always remember—you are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” –Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh
