Graduate Spotlight: Bjorn Jensen

After nearly seven years in the U.S. Navy and earning his associate arts degree, Bjorn Jensen, ‘26, had his heart set on transferring to a big state university to major in (English) creative writing until he set foot on the Seattle University campus.

“I just really liked the vibe of SU, the campus and the student body,” says Jensen. “And I really liked the appeal of the smaller class sizes, getting to know the folks who are in your degree path.”

During his time at SU, he's worked at the Veteran and Military Student Center, helping with everything from scheduling to making sure the space was welcoming. Veterans arrive on campus with a different background than the average student, he says, and it is important to make sure Seattle University has a space and community that understands their experience.

Learn more about Bjorn in this video. 

“We're all a little bit older than the average student and we're coming to college from different jobs and different deployments,” he says. “Helping to foster that space has really been rewarding.”

Originally from Shoreline, north of Seattle, but now living in Marysville with his husband, Cade, Jensen served deployments around the world, working with radios and computers in the air and on the sea. His service ranged from serving aboard the USS Forrest Sherman, a guided missile destroyer ported in Norfolk, Va., to a Whidbey Island-based P-8 squadron, an aircraft used for maritime patrol and reconnaissance.

Following his service, as he considered a career departure from information technology, Jensen asked himself, “What is the one thing that has been a constant passion for me that I could put into a new career?”

From early on he played Dungeons and Dragons and was hooked on the Redwall fantasy novel series by Brian Jacques.

“Creative writing was the one,” he says. In addition to working on science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories, he plans to take a year off to consider MFA programs. In the meantime, he is exploring jobs in copywriting, grant writing, editing and technical writing.

“Just using language to communicate with other people,” he says. “Whether that’s in a more formal setting or creating something artistic, helping somebody else reach the potential of their own creative work is something that I really enjoy.”

Some of Bjorn’s Favorites …

Favorite place to study: My favorite place to study on campus is for sure the Veteran Center, specifically in the Quiet Room, since it's got lots of cool older furniture and a fireplace that reminds me of an old school study. Plus it's quiet and removed from a lot of campus, which really helps me to lock in and get some work done.

Favorite spot on campus to find a peaceful place to sit: I usually go over to the Labyrinth, since there's typically not a lot of people over there and there's shade and lots of nature. Or over to behind the Administration Building for similar reasons and there's nice benches along the path.

Favorite place to take someone new to campus: I'd take them around to the gardens on campus (the Vi Hilbert Ethnobotanical Garden, the Japanese American Remembrance Garden), since I feel like they're often overlooked in campus tours.