Welcome Morgan Andenas

June 15th, 2009 by

Last week we introduced you to Nicole Lauck who will be writing posts for us this summer.  Today, we’re sharing an interview with Howard native, Morgan Andenas.

Where did you grow up, where are you going to school now, and what are you studying?

I grew up in Howard, SD on my parent’s farm 7 miles north of town.  I went to Howard High and graduated with a class of 38.  I am now going to college at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT.  In the fall I will be a junior continuing in the Architecture department.

What do you hope to write about this summer?

I hope to write about what I see when I come home from school.  Every time I come home (for Christmas, Spring Break and summer) I see what used to be my day-to-day surroundings differently.  I hope to write about what differences I see, and also how my education affects the way I see the world.  Instead of taking my surroundings at a glorified face-value, I’m beginning to look deeper, both in terms of design and of reality, no matter how harsh it can be.  I believe we cannot just say, “That’s the way it has always been,” and that’s the end of it.  Communities can work towards something better, and I think design can play a large role in that.

What’s one of your most favorite memories about growing up in a rural community?

That would have to be the neighbors.  My closest neighbors are a full mile down the gravel road, and our other neighbors are up to 8 miles away.  But, no matter the distance, everyone helps everyone and it’s such an amazing community to grow up in; I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What’s one of your least favorite memories about growing up in a rural community?

The distance between everything was one of the most inconvenient things.  To get to any reasonable shopping (above the groceries, gifts and florist shop in town) you have to go at least 30 minutes in any direction.  Going to the movies takes 30 minutes, and the closest mall is an hour.  Even my friends were at least ten minute drive away.  It definitely makes spur-of-the-moment plans much more difficult.

What’s the “coolest” small town or place in a small town that you have been to?

I think any small town that tries to keep its young people around and trying new ways to keep the community alive is pretty cool.  We now have a really neat coffee shop in Howard and I love it!  After getting hooked on my occasional mocha at school (especially after a long night working on a project), I really appreciate being able to get really good coffee and food right on my hometown Main Street! (I highly recommend the Oriental Orange Salad.)

 

As readers know, the Rural Learning Center believes community design is an important element to the success of rural communities.  And research seems to suggest that community design (including architectural elements) are very important to Millennials.  It will be cool to hear how Morgan reacts to some of that research.  Hopefully, community leaders (myself included) will “listen” to both Morgan and Nicole.  After all, if we want our communities to be places where young people want to live, we’d better listen.   

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Posted in Gen Y, Rural, Uncategorized | Comments ( 2 )

2 Responses to “Welcome Morgan Andenas”

  1. Stephen Streng Says:
    June 17th, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Hi Morgan,

    I was wondering if you could give me a citation for the research showing that community design (including architectural elements) are important to Millennials. I’d be very interested in reading it and similar research. Thanks for the interesting posts.

  2. Morgan Andenas Says:
    June 18th, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Thanks for the question Stephen. Here are a couple websites that I found helpful. The first one is a lot of interesting statistics from a survey done by Kelton Research and commissioned by AutoDesk, Inc. (the makers of AutoCad). The survey responses really show that design plays a large part in Millennial lives. The second link puts into context a few reasons why Gen Y-ers have such a large gravitation to design. The last link is a rather lengthy article talking about housing choices of my generation. You might not be interested in the whole article, but there are interesting tidbits throughout so I would suggest at least skimming all the way through.

    I hope you find these resources to be helpful, and thanks again for your question!
    Morgan

    http://www.pr-inside.com/survey-reveals-great-design-is-a-r105800.htm
    http://biznik.com/articles/product-design-and-generation-y
    http://www.builderonline.com/sales-and-marketing/the-growing-echo.aspx?page=1

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