College of Biological Sciences

What department/unit are you with?

CBS Communications and Marketing

How long have you been at the U?

Since February 2014.

Describe something interesting or unusual about your work here?

I have two homes here in CBS. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, I work in the main communications office in St. Paul. On Wednesdays, I work in the Student Services office on the East Bank.

You spent some time living abroad, can you tell us about your experience?

I studied abroad my junior year of college during the spring semester of 2010 through the MSID-Kenya program in Nairobi. Half of my semester included taking classes on Kenyan history, politics and Kiswahili and I interned the second half with Filamujuani, an organization that teaches youth how to gain skills in film and communication to advance their lives. Most of my time with Filamujuani included working with students in Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world. It was an amazing semester. I was truly challenged in many aspects of my life. I saw a cheetah kill a gazelle and almost got charged by an elephant at Maasai Mara National Reserve, spent over 30 hours in one weekend traveling to and from Zanzibar in Tanzania and learned a ton about myself and the world.

What do you do with your free time?

I love delicious food, so I really enjoy checking out local coffee shops and restaurants, particularly as a fairly new resident to the Twin Cities after moving from Chicago just over a year ago. I love to read, run and swim. My wife and I have our first community garden plot this year, so we will be doing lots of gardening this summer. I'd also like to start refinishing furniture over the next few months.

Looking to connect with students?

Lance can help with that! As part of the CBS Communications and Marketing team, Lance focuses on student communications, undergraduate student marketing and collateral material creation. Contact Lance at ljanssen@umn.edu or 624-0774.