When English and gender studies major Tessa Hurlburt (’26) arrived at Nebraska Wesleyan in 2023, she believed success was about filling her resume. But she soon discovered she could accomplish something more by also focusing on “what fills my cup.”
Every decision Hurlburt has made at NWU—from the courses she’s taken to the clubs she’s joined—has been about balancing academic achievement and personal fulfillment. A packed schedule positioned her to graduate a year early this May with both a full resume and a full heart.
She’s studied literature and criminology. She’s joined a bowling league and NWU’s Knitting Club.
“I didn’t know how to knit. But it looked fun,” Hurlburt said. “And you don’t meet amazing people watching TV alone in your room. So I made a deal with myself: I’ll show up every single Wednesday. I’ll meet people. And they’ll teach me.”
She brought that same mentality to Assistant Professor of Sociology Heba Khalil’s “Women and Crime” course her first semester. “And she quickly stood out,” Khalil said. Her research on crime victims “exemplified what we hope NWU students will do: use their education to uplift and work alongside affected communities.”
Another NWU course on journalism and free speech sparked a yearlong internship as a Lincoln Journal Star reporter. Even then, Hurlburt felt she had room to pour in a little more.
“I left high school convinced I was done with sports,” she said. “But I missed being on a team.” So, she reached out to coaches and joined the golf and basketball teams her junior year.
“Do I get a lot of minutes?” Hurlburt said. “No. But I’m the hype girl. When the team needs that energy, I’m there. And I love it.”
Professor of English Sarah Kelen is Hurlburt’s advisor, and her fan. “In three short years, Tessa has fit just about everything you can reasonably—or even unreasonably—put inside a Nebraska Wesleyan experience,” Kelen said. “She’s fearless about trying new things.”
Next up: Hurlburt has applied for a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in the Czech Republic. She’s also considering nonprofit work, graduate study or law school.
“Whatever it is,” she said, “it’ll be something that fills my cup.”