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This is Jonas...

January 14, 2025

Jonas Kelp '25

Name: Jonas Kelp
Age: 26
Location: Yankton, South Dakota (USA)
Hometown: Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany)
Occupation: Student Athlete, Football Player, Intramural Coordinator

 

Home: Growing up, I never imagined leaving Germany for more than a two week vacation, let alone have family in a different country. Now I have family spread across the whole globe in three different continents. I live 4,455 miles away from my parents in Germany, 6,730 miles away from my Chinese stepfamily and roughly 130 miles from my host family in Iowa. To me “Home” is where I have family rather than a location.

 

Changes: I attended Iowa Central Community College to pursue my dreams of playing college football; the degree was irrelevant at the time. This quickly changed with my first season ending in injury. Now I live my dream of playing college football while pursuing a future career in accounting.

 

 

And These are His Things

  1. Football Helmets and Jerseys: “Michael Oher and the movie Blindside are the reasons I started playing football. The two helmets on the right are from Germany and the one on the left is from my American high school in Iowa.”
  2. Suitcase, Clothes and Germany Flag: “All my belongings that I currently own can fit in a couple of suitcases.”
  3. German Passports with Plane Tickets and Neck Pillow: “In the last 5 years I have only visited my family in Germany twice, once in the summer of 2022 and one more time in the summer of 2024. The tickets remind me of the sacrifice not only I made but also that they are making for me to be here.”
  4. Family Pictures and German Cookbook: “Smelling the food that I grew up with is the best medicine.”
  5. Polo Shirts: “With my pursuit of accounting also came a change in my wardrobe which prior consisted only of team gear.”
  6. Academic and Athletic Recognitions: “I will always be grateful for getting hurt the way I did and when I did, because it made me focus on school and my life after football.”
  7. Golf Clubs: “My host family helped me assemble a whole set of golf clubs so I could join the family golf dynasty.”
  8. Headset and XBox Controller: “Gaming is the best way to stay in touch with my friends back home.”
  9. Boots: “One of my first purchases coming back to the Midwest had to be a pair of boots.”
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