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What do multi-generational farming, a personal connection with Abraham Lincoln, and welcoming your toddler into your daily school routines have in common? Our 2024 Veritas Scholars Academy Valedictorian, Daniel Ekstrom! Join as he looks back on a full K-12th grade Veritas experience and gives you an inside peek at what live online classes at VSA are like.

Episode Transcription

Note: This transcription may vary from the words used in the original episode for better readability.

Marlin Detweiler:

Hello again and welcome to another episode of Veritas Vox, the voice of classical Christian education. Today we have with us our 2024 valedictorian for, Veritas Scholars Academy, our online school. Daniel Ekstrom! Daniel, welcome.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Thank you for having me on.

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, it's nice to visit with you today. When this will air will be maybe a little different than the end of year gathering at which, you will be speaking as the valedictorian. And, of course, that's in the future from today. But when people view this, it may be in the past. So, tell us a little bit about yourself. tell us, your background and family, where you live and that sort of thing.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, I live in southeast Minnesota. We have a generational farm here. I come from a long line of farmers at least five generations back on all sides.

Marlin Detweiler:

Wow! All in Minnesota?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Not all in Minnesota, but in the general area. Dakotas, Wisconsin. All that. And. Sorry, I lost where I was, but…

Marlin Detweiler:

Where you were talking about your family and the generational aspect. I interrupted you with a while because I was impressed with five generations of farming!

Daniel Ekstrom:

At least, or more than that. And they've been part-time farmers or full-time farmers. And the one farm I live on now, I'm the sixth generation of that farm. My great-great-great grandfather bought it from a contractor of the U.S. government in 1863. And the patent on the farm actually has the signature of Abraham Lincoln on it, as it happened during the Civil War.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh my word! Now, when you say patent, you mean the deed to the property?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah!

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. All right. So the ownership of the property, the one that happened originally when it came into your family, was signed by Abraham Lincoln as the President?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yes.

Marlin Detweiler:

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. That's really incredible. So you have lived there all your life?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Not all of my life. The first three years of my life, we lived on a farm in Wisconsin. Which was a large dairy farm. And my father was a manager there. But we moved back in 2010 when I was three, to the farm here that I live on. And at that same time, we started doing Veritas, actually.

Marlin Detweiler:

So you must have older siblings because you didn't start at the age of three?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Well, I actually did.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh my goodness. Tell me about that.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah. You see, when my family came back, my sister was five. She's about a year and a half older than me. And my mother wanted to homeschool us. There's only really a public school in the area. As we live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, essentially. And she'd gone to that.

Marlin Detweiler:

I’ve never been to southeastern Minnesota, but I can only assume that to be the case.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah. And so she then decided, and she didn’t want us to go to that public school that she went to. And she looked around, browsing for different homeschool materials, and she came across Veritas and she really enjoyed it. She liked what was taught, what they offered. And so when she started homeschooling my sister using the Veritas curriculum, and, you know, I'm three, I'm pretty good friends with my sister.

And I came to the table, with her daily to do our schoolwork. And, you know, my mom was like, “He will grow out of it eventually. It's kind of cute that he’s doing it. I will go for it.” But I never stopped coming to the table. And up through sixth grade, my sister and I did basically everything of school together.

Marlin Detweiler:

Did you start and see your three, three and a half years old? Did you start with the Phonics Museum?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I believe so, yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh that's great.

Daniel Ekstrom:

I still have the box with the phonics museum characters!

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. Well, it's an app as well as, a tangible goods product, a curriculum. That is hilarious. So you have one sister?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I have a sister and a younger brother.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. And how old's your brother?

Daniel Ekstrom:

He is 14 right now, and he just finished up eighth grade.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. So he's four years behind you, and your sister is two years older than you. But did she graduate before you?

Daniel Ekstrom:

She graduated last year.

Marlin Detweiler:

Last year? Okay. Very good, very good. So you said that some of your family are full-time and some are part-time farmers. Which is it for your father?

Daniel Ekstrom:

My father is a full-time farmer.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. I don't know much about agriculture. My mother's father was a farmer in Iowa. Small, farm. I remember going there. You'll get a kick out of this, I'm 67 right now. And when I was a young boy and we would visit, I had to get used to an outhouse with no indoor plumbing.

It was pretty funny. So I know a little bit about farms, and he kind of had a little bit of everything. Some crops, some animals, dairy, some hogs. What's the focus of the farm that you all have?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, in the 60s, we would have had more things. We had the hogs, chickens, and cattle. But after the '60s and into the 70s, a lot of farms began to specialize and so we specialized. And we specialized in the Angus cattle that we have. We have Black Angus cattle. And the herd was started in 1898 by my great-great grandfather.

And now, not really ever publicized this at Veritas, but it is the oldest continuous registered herd of black Angus cattle in America.

Marlin Detweiler:

Really. That's incredible. Now I got to ask you a question because we're pretty careful about how we eat. What kind of pressure have you felt and what do you all do with regard to, grass fed and, and non-GMO, kinds of considerations?

Daniel Ekstrom:

We've experienced a little bit of that, though not as much as other people, because what we do is we're a stock farm, which means that we raise our animals, to sell them to other farms, to improve their genetics. So we work on the genetics, we analyze the numbers of our cattle, and we try to make the best breeding stock for other people to use.

So we don't do so much of the direct meat to consumer. That's a little of what we've worked with here and there. And yeah, grass raised beef is nice. A lot of people don't, care so much about it. Most people aren't going to pay the premium that comes with it.

Marlin Detweiler:

And that's a premium, isn't it?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, but there is still demand for beef and demand for the other different types of beef whether raised, conventionally or not.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. Now tell me a little bit about how you as, now finishing up high school, what involvements have you had in the family farm in recent years?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I have helped a lot more with our harvests and driving the big tractors. I work cattle, I work with the hay, have planted hay. I've cut hay, raked hay. Everything to do with hay. And I've helped some with the corn as well. I'm just a general management hand to help my father out with his work.

Marlin Detweiler:

Are there other people? Do you employ people outside the family as well?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Every so often, but only on certain days when we're working the cattle, like vaccinating them, sorting them, weaning them, etc.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. What will he do when you go off to college?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Employ my brother to do my job.

Marlin Detweiler:

So he gets a promotion into your job, and then who fills in? I'm sure he's doing work, too. So who fills in for him?

Daniel Ekstrom:

In the winter there's not so much work to be done. Mostly just feeding the cattle and making sure that they survive still. And then I'll be back in the summer to help with the harvest. With the corn.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. Very good. What's your sister up to now?

Daniel Ekstrom:

She is a student at Hillsdale. She'll be a rising sophomore this year now. And she is a violin performance major.

Marlin Detweiler:

Wow. Do you know what her plans are when she finishes college?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Her biggest plan is to become a stay-at-home mother and to also homeschool her children like our mother.

Marlin Detweiler:

That's great. That's great! So tell us a little bit about, Well, I'm gonna see what order I want to take this, you've become the Valedictorian. Of course, that's something that you probably only learned in the last few months. Was it something that you aspired to for a long time?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, I knew it was a possibility. And it was something I thought, “You know, if this happens would be pretty great. It would be a big honor for it to happen.” And I was in the program to be lined up for valedictorian, but it wasn't something I was specifically aiming for throughout my high school career.

Marlin Detweiler:

As your high school career unfolded, what motivated you to take the courses for a diploma, to stay not only on track but really to excel at them?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I was set up on the track to be in the Highest Honors track, which is the track to Valedictorian and Salutatorian.

Marlin Detweiler:

Let me just ask you to pause there for a second. We have four levels of diplomas at Veritas, as you know, but not everybody listening does, the standard level and then an associate level, which is intended for people who need some flexibility because of schedules and that sort of thing. Then we have an honors track which people can choose to do, or they can choose for their children to do. And then highest honors is by invitation only, because it's quite rigorous. And we want to make sure that we don't allow a student that won't be able to succeed at it. But when were you invited into the highest honors track?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I think in eighth grade.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. Very good. That's very early. That means you and your mother did some serious work to get ready for that. Good for you.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, but besides that, I always really liked the courses at Veritas, and so I intentionally chose the more rigorous courses in the electives because they interest me.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah.

Daniel Ekstrom:

So with that, I want to do good on my tests and get good grades and just the work of it motivated me to continue working harder.

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, we're going to come back to things about the Veritas curriculum and that sort of thing. But before we get too far afield, tell me what your plans are for next year.

Daniel Ekstrom:

I will be joining my sister at Hillsdale College, and I will be a history major.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay. And why did you choose history?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I always really liked history. And as I said, there's, my farm has a lot of history itself. The buildings that we have around here were built by my great great-great-grandfather and his father, and they're from the 1800s. And so I always like to see how my own family fit into the history of the 1800s. You can even go further back than them and see how everything works together in history. And I like to see the flow of events and the flow of worldviews that are displayed throughout history. And I've always found that very interesting.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, that's really neat. I'm still stuck on the idea that Abe Lincoln was involved in the transaction when your family bought the, farm. Really incredible. So you're going to study history at Hillsdale, and what plans do you have after that?

Daniel Ekstrom:

We'll see what Career Services tells me! I'm planning on coming back to the farm part time to work. There's not the same amount of money that's in farming as there used to be in the past. And so to be able to farm, essentially, you're going to need to have an outside source of income coming in. And so that's why I'm going to history is to get another job that I'll be able to use. But what that other job is, I don't know.

Marlin Detweiler:

If you live in a remote area like you've described, the area. And when I think of remote, I think of towns that are less than 10,000 people and that sort of thing. Is that, typical of where you live?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah. The nearest town is, a little over 700 people.

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh my, how far do you have to go to get to a town of, say, 25,000?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Perhaps an hour's drive.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. That's incredible. Many people really have little appreciation for a lifestyle like that. And it's fascinating to visit and come to understand it a bit. It's been a long time since I have spent much time in rural America, but I remembered fondly, and it sounds to me like it's something that you don't want to leave.

Daniel Ekstrom:

No, I didn't want to leave. And I don't want to take my kids if I have any in the future off the farm either.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, but being able to work remotely, whatever that might be with a degree in history will be a possibility today like it wasn't ten years ago. It gives a lot more flexibility. Are those things that have entered into your thinking?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Right. Yeah. And of course, I go to an online school, so I know how remote jobs work. And there's a lot of now, especially after Covid happened a few years ago, there's a greater appreciation and supply of remote jobs and online jobs.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. That's right. Yeah, that's that's wonderful. So, farming remains a part of your foreseeable future in addition to something that, remains unknown yet, have you considered graduate school or anything like that, or is that a little too far out to think about it?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Yeah, all that I’ve thought about graduate school is that one day it might be fun. Doctor Daniel, sounds pretty cool.

Marlin Detweiler:

That's great. That's great. So tell me now, you were three years old at the time, but tell me, what attracted your family to Veritas?

Daniel Ekstrom:

I think in that city I described, that's an hour away. There was another classical Christian school, an in-person school.

Marlin Detweiler:

Okay.

Daniel Ekstrom:

And that was a little too far away for us to go to. But, mom really liked the curriculum that was in there. They had Saxon Math, maybe even Omnibus, I'm not sure. But a lot of the the same classes that she saw in the same materials that that one school had, were the same that Veritas had. And I think she would have gotten to know Veritas at a homeschool convention that she went to, probably. Just thought it was the most solid curriculum that she wanted to be using for us.

Marlin Detweiler:

As you have progressed through, what observations do you make from the insider perspective as a student? What do you observe about Veritas? Do you have a frame of reference to compare it to other things? Are you so immersed in it without observation of things outside of that that it’s an unfair question?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Well, I don't have the most solid frame of reference, to put it that way, but I've noticed what the point of the curriculum is, and why these textbooks and the way everything's taught is chosen. And the reason I've seen, I really like this aspect about classical Christian education, is that the books that have been used and the different studies that have been made, is that we want to foster an environment where the students will be able to pull from a large variety of subjects and a large variety of studies.

So Veritas doesn't teach math for the sake of you to do equations. And we don't teach science for the sake of you to repeat facts to us. And this is especially evident in the Great Books course and then Omnibus courses.

Where you analyze a large variety of skills in a large variety of topics and then put them together so that you're not trained to do things, but you're trained how to use the knowledge and wisdom that you've been given in order to make complex decisions and to appreciate things. After you leave high school.

Marlin Detweiler:

I love hearing that, that gets me up in the morning, Daniel. That's what keeps me going. Thank you. As you look at your experience at Veritas, tell us about some of your most memorable events. What is it that made you continue? You had a very consistent experience from beginning to end with Veritas. And we've often said, and maybe you can comment on this, this might be a little bit easier question, but, do keep in mind the, the broader question, but one of the things that we hear a lot is “Can students really do that kind of work? Can they read that in seventh grade? Are they ready for Algebra in seventh grade? Can they really do that kind of logic work and that sort of thing?” And my answer is always the same, that a student coming up in our system has no problem because they've been set up for that. But many other systems don't have the same pace, the same expectation of the students, the same academic rigor. And so gaps have to be overcome.

How did you find the work as you came up? Not only did you do it to the level of being a valedictorian, but you did kindergarten work essentially as a three-year-old, which tells me that you probably did second-grade work as a five-year-old. How did that work? How did that happen?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Oh, that's a good question. It does certainly help to start off, doing those things. And yeah, I've seen times, especially when you can compare my own performance with my sister's performance in the same tasks. You know, there's been some time for math was difficult, especially for someone young like me. But yeah, having that foundation and doing complicated things earlier, and to a greater degree, that has definitely helped.

And, do you mind repeating the broader question as well?

Marlin Detweiler:

Oh, if I could remember it, I would, I guess the broader question, maybe this isn't the same one, but what was it about Veritas that you really enjoyed?

Daniel Ekstrom:

There were a lot of great moments with teachers and students that I've had. And a large, nice part about Veritas is that you get a sort of community within the classes. And whether you're homeschooling or whether you're, you're doing it in a live class, if you're homeschooling then, the community is you, your mother, maybe your father too, and whatever siblings might be there as well. Or if you're in a co-op or a live class, then your classmates will be there with you and your teachers. And so sometimes, as classmates, we will, you know, make inside jokes or do things together.

One way I like a lot was in Greek, where my Greek teacher sorted us all into teams for the year. And so whenever we got into breakout rooms to work on translating a passage or something like that, we would always be with the same four kids. And that really gave us a great sense of community, and we made a lot of inside jokes and had fun actually working with the material that we had and engaging with it, and that also helped our comprehension of it go up.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah. I'm going to go out on a limb here. I'm curious, what percentage of your good friends would you say are people that live somewhere else because you got to know them online and your classes?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Say probably about 90. Most of the people I know are at Veritas.

Marlin Detweiler:

90% of your good friends are Veritas students who obviously live somewhere else. Maybe with the exception of your sister and brother.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Well, and part of that, I should say, is because this is a farming community. Most people are elderly, in their 60s, 70s and 80s. So there's not a lot of young people here.

Marlin Detweiler:

And I understand that, and that's fair. But what it addresses is the question that people many times ask, “Can you really have community online? How would you answer them?”

Daniel Ekstrom:

Well, for sure, you can have community online. And I've gone several times to visit my friends. say, last time I was in Missouri, I went down to Missouri. Oh, decent trek from Minnesota to visit some of my friends. And we, even while I was there, started to work on the stock market game and we've been trading stocks together. Yeah, it's definitely possible. And there's lots of ways for you to interact with the people you know. Whether you go on mic to answer questions or comments in the chat box, lots of ways for you to get to know people. And that is definitely a myth. You get to know people very well at Veritas.

Marlin Detweiler:

Yeah, I've observed it. It's just it bears repeating because it's not intuitive to people that haven't experienced it. So, thank you for reinforcing that. Tell us about the value of a biblical worldview permeating all of the education.

Daniel Ekstrom:

The biblical worldview is very permeated. As you said, it's everywhere. We even consecrate our classes to God by praying at the beginning and often the end of class as well. And that gives you a different frame of mind while you're in the class, right? If you're in science class, and I'll use the example at the beginning of Anatomy and Physiology, where we were looking at all the microbiology that's found in a human, you can look at the individual cells and how they work, and then how they are put together into the whole human. And it's a running joke throughout the year, “Wow. That's amazing that evolution created that.”

And that does give you a different perspective as you're going through the year thinking about God, seeing how this relates to God and the Bible and it definitely enforces your worldview and helps you focus and grow your walk with Christ.

Marlin Detweiler:

So let's say that you are in a conversation at the End-of-Year Gathering, and there's somebody there that just happens to be there. They're not associated with Veritas, but they learn a little bit about, they find out that you've been in the program for 13 out of 13 school years. And they say, what did you really enjoy about it? What was what was good about it? Why would why should I have this for my children? What would you tell them?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Well, first, what I would do is figure out the individual situation that the person has. I think that that's most helpful for addressing the situation. And the reason for that is because there are so many ways that Veritas can be used as a curriculum. It can be a supplement to your teaching. Like what’s at your co-op or another private school.

Marlin Detweiler:

Versatility has always been important to us because the homeschool community is like herding cats. They're everywhere. They do lots of different things, lots of different ways.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Right. And I think that's a large reason for why Veritas has grown so big so fast is because there are so many options for people. And so if you just want a supplement, I'd say, great, go for that, because Veritas has a lot of very qualified teachers, with very good curriculum that's been carefully selected and a lot of even published by Veritas itself.

And so there's really high-quality academics, but there's also a lot of great people, similar-minded people who think about things different ways and interact with you, and that really becomes evident if you're a full-time student or even a largely part-time student at Veritas, you'll really see the the ideas coming together and people discussing and making improvements and seeing things from, from different ways. And so I think there's a lot of good things to have at Veritas.

Marlin Detweiler:

Very good. What would you say the memories are that you're taking from here? What will what do you what would you say the good is? What do you what do you think you'll remember most 25 years from now?

Daniel Ekstrom:

The last few years have really stuck in my mind. For a time there in middle school, I had a few less classes. I wasn't so engaged in things, but come sophomore year or junior year and senior year, that's really when I made a lot of friends at Veritas and I had a lot of great experiences. As I said, that's when Greek happened.

Economics was also a class I really loved. I have a lot of friends from economics now, and lots of inside jokes, haw to become wealthy and things like we used in how we learned in economics. And so I'll remember all the little stories. I hope I'll remember the knowledge, of course, but the little fun that we had with friends and all the good times we had and the laughter we had, I think that's what I'll remember best in 25 years.

Marlin Detweiler:

That's wonderful. Okay, this is your opportunity. I'm only going to give you this once. You can take advantage of it other times. But you got my full attention right now. What did you not like? What would you hope we would consider doing differently?

Daniel Ekstrom:

Hmm. There comes to mind a few specific classes that I thought things were a little awkward, but those are specifics. What would I say different in general? In general, I think Veritas is really good, and it's only the specific classes. Maybe you have a teacher that that's a little harsh or someone that, isn't so great with the material.

Maybe a class that's not so advanced, that's a little basic, but overall, Veritas has been doing this for decades, over a decade.

Marlin Detweiler:

We are finishing our 19th year of doing classes online, and Veritas Press as a curriculum provider has been around since 1996, it is 2024. So we're at 28 years.

Daniel Ekstrom:

So you've been doing classes for almost two decades. As far as classes go and Adobe goes, and that's the software used. They've, they've had all this time to work on it. And we've got it down to a science. That's what I've noticed. And that’s why I've said, at the moment I'm not coming up with any general things that could be improved at Veritas.

Marlin Detweiler:

Well, you're very kind, Daniel. I look forward, obviously, we're recording this before you get a chance to speak to the student body with your valedictorian address. I look forward to seeing you there in person. And, of course, hearing what you have to tell us there. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thanks for your kind words.

And thanks for your great spirit and the kind of student that you've been at Veritas. You're, like I said, the kind of person that gets me up in the morning. Thanks.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Thank you for having me on.

Marlin Detweiler:

Great. Folks, thank you for joining us for another episode of Veritas Vox, the voice of classical Christian education. Daniel, we'll see you soon.

Daniel Ekstrom:

I'll see you soon.

Marlin Detweiler:

Bye bye.

Daniel Ekstrom:

Thanks!