Kristen Dexter was born and raised in Hallock,
Minnesota, in the far northwestern corner of the state, on the
farm where her dad was born and where her parents still live.
She thrived on the work and play that farm life offered, and
especially liked haying, fishing, riding horse, and playing in
the woods and river. Her favorite chore was driving the 3 miles
on back roads to a neighboring dairy farm to buy the weekly milk.
One of the most important people in Kristen’s
life during these years was her grandma, Eleanor. Eleanor suffered
from crippling rheumatoid arthritis and Kristen’s family
was committed to helping her live an independent, dignified life.
Eleanor had to retire early from teaching because of her disability
but loved teaching so much that she continued tutoring special
needs students at her house in town until she became too disabled
for even that. Kristen and her grandma spent hours looking through
National Geographic magazine, and this helped inspire Kristen’s
love of travel.
When Kristen turned 14 she got her first off-the-farm job at
the local "Dairy Whirl", and continued to work throughout
high school and college. Her savings, plus help from her parents
and student loans, enabled her to become a first generation college
student. Two years at Moorhead State (MN) were followed by a
year as an exchange student at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
After returning from Eugene, Kristen worked and saved money for
a semester abroad and spent the next 6 months in Lund, Sweden,
and backpacked throughout Scandinavia and behind the "Iron
Curtain" into East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary
before returning to Minnesota. |