St. Olaf College is a liberal arts college nestled in the town of Northfield, Minn. Lately, Bismarck graduates have created quite the stir there.

At St. Olaf, four of the past 11 presidents of the Student Government Association have been from Bismarck. Three of the students have been elected in the past six years.

The small college is known for its beautiful campus and is regarded as an environment that is centered mostly on community and saying hello to your neighbor.

At St. Olaf, the Student Government Association plays a big role in organizing events and services for students. The association also is fiscally responsible for many of the projects and programs at the school.

St. Olaf College Vice President and Dean of Students Greg Kneser explained that there isn't a marked difference between students from Bismarck and other parts of the region.

Taylor Brorby is the president-elect at St. Olaf and a Bismarck High School graduate. To him, it is the feeling of community at the school that allows so many Bismarck students to succeed as leaders.

"There's a great dynamic at the school, and because I'm from Bismarck, I'm kind of used to that community aspect - it really allows us Bismarck kids to bloom and take charge,"Brorby said. "Even for other friends I have from larger cities, it's an adjustment to come to a smaller community. If you don't know a person and you make eye contact with them, they'll say hi to you. Because us Bismarck kids have been used to that all our life, the mentality of that kind of feels like home."

Brorby graduated from Bismarck High School in 2006. He was elected as president on March 11 and is slotted to take office next school year. He also was the vice president of the BHS student council his senior year of high school. Brorby is working on his major in history and English.

Tyler Hauger, who graduated from BHS in 2004, was the president from 2007 to 2008. He is working with the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem, where he has a one-year internship.

"I am working with Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem and the West Bank. It's a gorgeous city,"Hauger said. "It was Palm Sunday this Sunday so it was beautiful seeing over 20,000 people in the streets. You learn a lot and you are challenged every day! If SGA taught me anything, it is to celebrate the unexpected sometimes, to take pride in the little accomplishments."

Former student government president Seth Heringer, who graduated from Shiloh, also was the vice president of student council his senior year. He was the president at St. Olaf from 2004 to 2005. When the Tribune contacted him, he was at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. Heringer is working on his doctorate in theology.

About his experiences with the student government, Heringer said, "We ran all organizations, activities, the pizza place, all the student concerts and the malls, so SGA is a big part of the campus. We did student advocacy for the senate, we advocated for financial aid work with faculty, and are essentially just one body that students can go to for anything - it is really a powerful institution at St. Olaf, and I learned a lot."

Lynsey Struthers, who was president from 1996 to 1997, graduated from BHS in 1993, where she was the editor of the school newspaper. After her stint as St. Olaf president, Struthers worked at the alumni office at the college. She is with the Lawlor Group in Minneapolis, a consulting firm working with private colleges on communications and enrollment.

"During my year as president, we built a brand new student union costing $26 million, and I got to be on the planning committee for that," Struthers said. "So we visited architect firms and I learned a lot about the process. I was really involved in planning for the building-that really was the highlight of my experience. It was very special, and turned out to be the building I got married in a couple years later. I also enjoyed the chance to develop some leadership skills and work with different kinds of people."

"Something good must've happened in Bismarck, because all these kids were successful," Kneser said. "I don't think that we screwed them up too bad, either."