Sterling Stecker is always down for almost anything, he accepts almost every opportunity he is given. He’s a tall lanky guy with brownish blonde hair and he’s known for always having a smile on his face. Sterling see’s every new opportunity as an adventure and once snuck onto a tubing hill in the middle of the night to sled with some random people. “It was a fun night, but it was also super dangerous.” Sterling said excitedly. “We couldn’t see anything so if you hit a bump you would go flying and get a nasty bruise or cut.” He said they had to leave after about an hour because they saw lights and thought it might be police officers.”As soon as we saw lights, we sledded down the hill as fast as we could to try and get to our cars! We thought we heard someone yelling at us but we didn’t stay behind to see if anyone actually was!” Sterling said laughing as he finished telling the story.

Sterling is from a small town in Iowa called Forrest City, which is close to Minnesota. Forrest City is known for a Winnebago camper plant and they even have a big festival of campers every year.”One of my friends asked to help volunteer at the festival and I was down because I would always meet people from all over the country and get a free shirt!” Sterling said this while he was wearing a Winnebago camper shirt. The town itself isn’t very big, Sterling said he, “grew up in a small town culture with not much to do for fun.” He ended up always looking for an adventure. He said, “I didn’t really do much besides climb trees. Anytime anyone asked me to go and do something I’d always be down!” Sterling said. He still loves climbing trees to this day and has been known to climb quite a lot of trees on campus. He says he really opened up in college and would’ve even called himself an introvert in high school. “Compared to most people, I would say Sterling wasn’t an introvert at all! I can’t believe he said that!” Was the response Sterling’s High school Friend Naddie Meyers gave when I told her about my profile on Sterling. “He’s kind of eccentric I guess, like I always see him climbing trees or hear about him doing something crazy!” She said smiling. Naddie, like everyone that knows Sterling, know Sterling’s sense of adventure can get him into some crazy situations. During High School he participated in several musicals and loved to dance. This is more evidence that he loves to try new things and get out of his comfort zone. Right before college, Sterling decided to spend a summer in Minneapolis.

“My relative offered me a place to stay in Minneapolis if I wanted, and of course I said yes!” Sterling told me this when I asked him why’d he go in the first place. In Minneapolis, he acquired an assistant manager job at a very busy Pizza Hut right in the city. “I was never thinking that I wouldn’t get the job, I just applied and went to the interview full of confidence even though I know not many people at my age can get a job like this.” This job helped Sterling to gain leadership skills and learn some interesting social skills. “Being the boss of people older than me was really challenging, but it really helped me gain confidence!” He began a new hobby in his off-time in Minneapolis. “I wanted to learn how to make things with my hands so I just started reading a lot of books on electronics and coding.” Sterling said grinning. Sterling said began tinkering with different electronic kits and also bought several coding books in an effort to learn some useful new skills. He created different interesting gadgets and also coded several simple programs and templates. “I actually created a device that shuts down wifi networks, don’t tell anyone but I was experimenting with it one time and shut down a big wifi network for about 15 minutes! It was super funny but also kind of scary because I wasn’t sure what to do!” Sterling said this in between lots of laughter. Sterling named this period of his life as a really crucial time in his development. “Being away from my small hometown was super refreshing, I loved being able to spread the wings a little bit!” Sterling said he had already decided to come to Morningside at this point in his life and that he was “excited to begin his college career,” as soon as he got back from summer vacation.

He found his way to Morningside through several campus visits and really liked the atmosphere. Sterling said he thinks Morningside is the “perfect place for him because it’s located in a city where I get anything I need and there are plenty of people to make friends with.” His high school friend Naddie also came to the same school as him and had this to say about what Sterling is like in college, “Sterling is very outgoing and active at Morningside. I think he is the most involved person I know and I really think he’s made some positive changes on campus.” He said he thought about doing sports to keep busy, but didn’t think he could compete at the collegiate level. So rather than “sit around and do nothing,” as he stated, he decided to help the college and student body anyway he could. He said, “When I first got on campus I didn’t think there were any fun events to go to or participate in.” With the lack of events available to him, he said he decided to attend a MAC meeting in order to provide his own insight and to help get more activities on campus. Sterling said he liked the experience so much he decided to join the council. “I’m actually the public relations officer now so I always create the ads for all the events that go on around campus!” This helped jumpstart Sterling’s passion to help Morningside,

Sterling is involved in almost every organization Morningside has to offer. “Once I joined MAC I decided to look around at what other organizations are on campus. I joined E-group, Active Minds, Student Government, the rocket club, and some other ones!” Sterling said with a look of pride on his face. Sterling continued on, “I like to make sure I can help the college and students any way I can, but I can’t lie. Being so involved is a whole lot of fun.” Another member of the rocket club Skyler Briggs had this to say about Sterling, “He’s an awesome guy to be around, at every meeting he always adds great insight and stays around afterwards to help get things done. One time a rocket we launched caught his pants on fire and the dude took it like a champ!” Sterling is always around to help anyone and loves to do crazy adventures. He is a very interesting guy and if you see him around campus, he’s sure to say hello to you!