When sophomore Evan Seder graduates in 2018, he has a tough choice to make — which two minors he wants to have on his diploma. 

Seder is an international studies and Spanish double major with five minors: history, Italian, leadership studies, peace and conflict studies and political science — more than any other Elon University student. 

“The registrar called me in and said that when I graduate, unless they fix something, there will only be space for two majors and two minors,” Seder said. “That probably hasn’t been a problem in the past. They said, ‘If people are confused by your resume, that the minors are not on your diploma they can call us and we’ll tell them it’s true.’” 

Though it may seem like a tight squeeze to fit in all of his minors, Seder said once he looked into what he was interested in, it all worked out into his four year plan. In fact, for his history and political science minors, Seder did not have to take any additional classes outside of his international studies major and leadership minor — he just needed to declare them on OnTrack.

For the others he only needed to take one or two additional classes.

“Coming in, I didn’t know I’d be doing all of this,” Seder said. “The only thing I knew I wanted to do was something with political studies and international relations then do something with both Spanish and Italian.”

Seder came in with 16 credits, but they only counted as elective credits and did not satisfy any core curriculum or required classes.

To get the planning right, Seder consulted with Maggie Sheridan, former academic advising fellow for Elon. Together they prioritized what Seder was most interested in, checked the availability and prerequisites of the courses and looked at how it would fit into his schedule.

For the most part, they fit in perfectly.

“Evan took most of the initiative regarding his four-year plan, so my role was more about assessing the accuracy and feasibility of his endeavor,” Sheridan said. “Ultimately, his final choices were the result of self-awareness, strategic planning, meticulous review and some very advantageous double-counting.”

His four-year plan fits in so well that Seder is planning on only taking eight credits each semester during his senior year.

In addition to completing five minors, Seder will be going abroad for two semesters — in spring 2016 he will head to the Elon Center in Florence and in spring 2017 he will spend the semester in Seville, Spain.

Seder chose to go abroad twice because both of his majors require a semester abroad. His European concentration needs a European country and his Spanish major needs a Spanish-speaking one.

Because of the diversity of majors and minors, going abroad gives him a plethora of classes to satisfy.

“To be honest, it took no planning,” Seder said. “It’s because the International Studies major is so interdisciplinary that it’s not a certain department. So, when I’m in Spain, all of my classes will count towards International Studies because they’re all European focused.”

According to Seder, all of his classes in Spain will satisfy anything for his Spanish major since they are taught in Spanish, allowing him to double up on International Studies or Political Science courses.

Seder chose Elon because of its study abroad opportunities, particularly the center in Florence. He hopes to use his experiences to fulfill his dream of working with law, using his Spanish-speaking skills to assist an international corporation in a large city in the United States.

“My goal is to become an international attorney,” Seder said. “I want to go to law school, which is why I came in with the idea of political studies and international studies, it just gives it an international focus.”

In addition to tackling multiple majors, minors and study abroad programs, Seder has also become involved on Elon’s campus.

He is a residence assistant for Danieley J, an office assistant for the Office of Student Conduct, a teacher assistant for Spanish 122, vice president of Autism Speaks, Class of 2018 representative for Elon Hillel and a buddy for Elon Buddies. He also volunteers at Alamance County’s Special Olympics, is a tier team captain for the LEAD program and is in the National Residence Hall Honorary, which inducts the top 1 percent of leaders on campus.

“Elon prides itself on student involvement and the connections you can make because of it,” Seder said. “They don’t set the students up for failure.”

With a set schedule for each day, Seder uses his time well and squeezes everything in without much stress. 

“His time at Elon will not be a resume-boosting checklist, but rather a strategic, exploratory, multicultural and interdisciplinary adventure,” Sheridan said. “Evan is one of the most determined, indefatigable and passionate students I encountered at Elon, and those three characteristics will see him through the multitude of experiences he has ahead of him.”