Derek Gulrud

Servant-Leader

“Derek is the kind of student who will make a terrific called worker one day,” says his football coach, Professor Mark Stein. “He’s a well-rounded young man who plays left tackle on a Conference Championship team and the next day can play guitar to help lead worship in chapel. He has the servant-minded leadership a future minister of the gospel needs.”

Both football and guitar are ingredients in Derek’s busy life at MLC. He says football is a great sport. “You get to work hard but also have fun with your coaches and friends. I think the offensive line has the most fun, but maybe that’s just me. Some people think football is only a fall sport, but we’re in football mode year-round. With our awesome Olympic lifting program, we’ve come a long way.”

As a D3 athlete, Derek isn’t planning to go pro. “Coach Stein always says that the goal here is player development. I really like that. We’re going to be teachers and pastors one day, so we’re here to develop ourselves physically and mentally. We’re taught to be servant-leaders and to lead by example.”

Derek practiced some serious servant-leadership in summer 2018, using both his athletic and musical skills across the continent. It started in June. He got back from the MLC Spanish immersion trip to Argentina at 2 am one night, and by 4 am, he was heading west with his guitar and fellow Knight and Lakeside alum, Dayne Kopfer. They led VBS in Missoula, Montana; then headed back east to Mississauga, Ontario, for soccer camp; then southeast a bit to the East Coast (church? State?) for an old-fashioned summer camp. “Tents in the woods, no phones, just fun, kids, and God’s Word,” he says. “It did rain a lot but it was awesome.” Then back to Black River Falls, Wisconsin, for another soccer VBS. “The summer was an experience unlike any other,” he says, “and we made connections all along the way.”

Teacher IN THE MAKING: Large animal veterinarian was Derek’s original goal—until he realized you need to be good at math and science, which were not his strong suits. Music on the other hand, was. He remembers the feeling of accomplishment at Choral Fest at Kettle Moraine LHS his junior year. “I looked out and saw all the directors standing up and applauding as loudly as they could. That’s when I decided, this is what I want to do someday. I want to be in their shoes and have pride in my choir because of the hard work they put in to praise God with their voices.” He’d love to teach Spanish too. “And,” he says, “if I could be an offensive line coach too, that would be icing on the cake.”

Derek’s Advice for You: “Many kids don’t like school. I can’t say that I loved it either, but what I did love was the relationships you make in school. As a teacher, you’re building relationships every single day—with your students and your faculty members. You can be an inspiration to a kid just like you. Why not give it a chance?”