For Kristjan Thorlacius of Hallock, the road to Bemidji State University was paved with mixed blessings. Since then, he’s made the most of every opportunity.

A 2007 car accident landed Thorlacius on life support in a Fargo hospital. It took him 16 weeks to regain the ability to walk unassisted and a year to fully recover. Then the 2008 financial crisis hit, and Thorlacius left his sophomore year of studies at Minnesota State University-Moorhead to work full-time.

He eventually joined Digi-Key in Thief River Falls, worked his way into purchasing operations, met his wife — also employed at Digi-Key — and decided he wanted to finish his degree.

“We resigned, cut our finances in half, moved, married and found jobs in Bemidji,” Thorlacius said. “It was a big gamble, but it’s been paying off. My classes are great, my professors are great and my family has been supportive.”

In addition to his studies, Thorlacius joined the BSU Student Senate, Policy Committee, the President’s Student Commission and the Human Resources Management Club, where he served as vice president.

He also discovered a passion for civic engagement, spurred in part by an incident on his skateboard, called a long board. While skating (skateboarding) to campus one day, he nearly got a citation. It turns out the city of Bemidji had an ordinance that prohibited skating in its downtown. The university, too, had a policy that prohibited skating on campus.

“Just because things are the way they are, doesn’t mean they should be,” Thorlacius said. “I got the city to change its ordinance to allow skating downtown and BSU to change its policy so you can skate on campus.”

This year, he gained valuable experience as an intern with the Small Business Development Center. He also works with a Northwest Minnesota Foundation task force to gain better insights about how to address unemployment in the region. Eventually, he plans to pursue graduate studies.

“Kristjan is an excellent student with diverse interests, a lot of ideas and a good sense of humor,” said Doug Leif, professor of business administration. “He’s taken advantage of every opportunity that comes along.”

Thorlacius wouldn’t have it any other way. Inspired by his experiences at Bemidji State, he plans to stay involved in community development, advocating for civil rights, social action and economic empowerment.

Being involved is “good for business and the health of the community. It’s important and worth my time,” he said.