Turning Heritage Into Opportunity

"I came to college knowing what I wanted to do," says Ellexa Orbeck '26.

When she first arrived at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN), Ellexa was already two semesters ahead of her peers due to the college credits she earned by taking concurrent enrollment courses at her high school in Eden Valley, MN.

To lean into her dream of becoming a veterinarian, Ellexa took introductory college courses in physics, biology, psychology, literature, German and more. These courses were offered through several Minnesota colleges and universities, including the UMN’s College in the Schools (CIS) program.

The courses provided an academic foundation Ellexa couldn't fully appreciate at the time. Ultimately they would help her discover new fields of interest and navigate the demands of an ambitious double major. But in her junior and senior years of high school it was the financial reality of attending college that was always top-of-mind.

“Applying was the easiest part because my family’s low-income situation allowed me to have my application fees waived,” Ellexa shares. One of her strategies was to cast a wide net by applying to numerous schools in Minnesota and beyond.

The opportunity that changed everything came from an unexpected source. A scholarship from the UMN Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch (GNSD) helped make her dream of attending the University possible. This opened the door to an academic journey that would ultimately span multiple colleges, disciplines and degrees.

Language as Legacy

Ellexa’s connection to German was personal long before it was academic.

Born into a German-American family, her mother was studying to become an accountant when her passion and talent for the German language led her in a different direction. A few years after Ellexa was born, her mother accepted a position at Eden Valley-Watkins (EVW) School, where she continues to teach German, including UMN German language courses as a CIS instructor.

Although Ellexa didn't begin studying the language herself until ninth grade, her mother's professional role made the decision feel all but inevitable.

"Truthfully, I didn’t feel much of a choice when it came to choosing between German or Spanish at the time; there’s lots of peer pressure when your mother is the German teacher," Ellexa says.

In tenth grade, armed only with one year of Introductory German, Ellexa left Eden Valley for Oldenburg, Germany, to study through the German American Partnership Program. It was her first time outside the United States and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, the pandemic was an incredible influence on my study abroad experience. I don't consider it a negative one,” says Ellexa. “I flew alone from Minnesota to Germany and navigated myself by train to my host city. I lived with a large and generous host family that had four daughters, which was a huge culture shock for me as an only child.”

It’s a period Ellexa remembers fondly and now recognizes as a turning point: when her German heritage began opening unexpected possibilities for her future.

A Scholarship That Altered the Path

Despite a lifelong dream of attending the University, the financial reality of her family’s low-income status nearly led Ellexa elsewhere. 

“My mother understood how passionate I was about attending the UMN Twin Cities, but we both knew that was never something we could afford, even with loans. She pushed me to apply for the CIS scholarship through the German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch department, which truly altered my life. Had I not received this scholarship, I would not be where I am today.” 

Awarded annually, the GNSD College in the Schools Scholarship is designated for an incoming freshman who has studied German through College in the Schools and declares German as a major. Recipients receive the award each of their four years as an undergraduate.

For Ellexa, the scholarship not only made her University dream come true, it also cleared the way to subsequent learning abroad experiences throughout Europe during which she continued to build on her heritage as a professional asset.

"I can confidently say that neither my mother or I expected our bloodline to play such an important and unique role in our lives," Ellexa reflects.

From Classroom to Career

By the time Ellexa graduated from the University, the future she imagined as a high school student looked very different from the one she ultimately pursued.

What began as a dream of becoming a veterinarian grew into a path shaped by language, business and international experiences, which fed her budding interest in marketing. The same determination that helped her navigate Germany as a teenager and pursue ambitious goals in college allowed her to thrive across multiple disciplines.

The result was an unusually interdisciplinary education: a Bachelor of Arts in German from the College of Liberal Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Carlson School of Management and a minor in Agricultural and Food Business Management from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

She admits that the journey was far from easy.

“Along the way, I balanced full-time work, multiple jobs, a nearly two-hour commute after moving off campus, and countless hours dedicated to both academics and professional growth.”

Throughout her time at the University, Ellexa built professional experience at Novation Financial, progressing from bank teller to marketing intern and marketing assistant while continuing her studies.

Leveraging the strategic communications and branding skills she developed as a student, Ellexa was recently promoted to Marketing Communications Specialist at Novation. In this role, she draws on strengths cultivated through both her academic and professional experiences, including cultural fluency, relationship-building, adaptability and a willingness to embrace unexpected opportunities.

“I can confidently say that I have loved each and every year at the UMN,” Ellexa says. “I've had the fun and unique opportunities and experiences I have always dreamt of thanks to my scholarship.”

She is equally grateful for the college-level opportunities that began much earlier.

“To this day, I find it incredibly lucky that my school, considering its small size, offered college courses through the University and other colleges and universities,” she shares.

Her advice for current high school students is to approach concurrent enrollment with curiosity rather than viewing it as an option reserved for only the highest-achieving students.

“CIS classes aren’t just for top students. They’re a great way to explore subjects you’re interested in and earn college credit along the way. Some of the most fun and engaging classes I took in high school were CIS courses!”

For Ellexa, the value of those courses extends far beyond the college credits she earned. They were the starting point of a journey that led her across disciplines, across continents and ultimately to opportunities she never imagined when she first began to study German.

Photos courtesy Ellexa Orbeck and Hayley Faith Photo