IU Southeast freshman, Bachelor of Science in Business

Before starting college, freshman Alexander Nikolai Kleppe Montenegro (the last name is his mother's name) was a world traveler. Kleppe's hometown is Tulsa, Oklahoma, but he grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, and he is half American and half Colombian. Kleppe speaks Spanish and English fluently, and he has some knowledge of Portuguese and French. “I've traveled the world and have a very open mind,” Kleppe says. His family now lives in Prospect, Kentucky, and each day Kleppe drives across the border to the IU Southeast campus. “The drive to IU Southeast is somewhat of a bother, but it's fine because I really love it there,” Kleppe says.

Kleppe's father is a chemical engineer and his mother is a nurse who teaches English as a second language at two schools in Louisville, Kentucky.

Now, he wants to build on that education by earning a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in management at Indiana University Southeast. While at IU Southeast, Kleppe, 19, wants to join a multicultural club and the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. He plays tennis for IU Southeast. The team finished its fall season in mid-October.

Kleppe would like to become a tennis tournament coordinator for the United States Tennis Association. He would like to one day coordinate the Wimbledon tennis championship. Kleppe's other goal includes supporting his future family.