Two Harbors graduate earns St. Olaf dean’s list honor

Aili Gischia, a Two Harbors High School Class of 2025 graduate, finished her first year at St. Olaf College with dean’s list honors through the academic year. St. Olaf says students earn that distinction by completing at least 3.0 graded credits and posting a GPA of 3.75 or higher, a standard that points to steady work across the semester rather than a single strong week. The college’s spring 2026 dean’s list included 295 students.

Gischia’s path after high school has not stayed in one lane. She has been studying environmental studies and musical theater while staying active in performance groups that connect her classroom work to stage training. At St. Olaf, she took part in Norseman Band, the musical theater lab and Veselica International Dance Company, and she also taught ballet at Northfield Dance Academy in Northfield.

That mix of academics, dance and teaching is carrying her beyond campus. This spring, Gischia completed a two-week musical theater intensive at Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and was accepted into its pre-professional track. Joffrey says that track is by invitation only and is intended for advanced students ages 14 and older who are pursuing a professional Broadway career. The 2026 musical theater intensive was offered in two sessions, June 15-26 and June 29-July 10, within a broader New York City summer schedule that ran June 1 through Aug. 14.

Gischia is back on the North Shore for the summer, where she is nannying and working at Betty’s Pies. That matters for Lake County because it shows how a recent Two Harbors graduate is building experience in several directions at once: college academics in Northfield, professional training in New York City and summer work close to home. For young people from the North Shore, the route can run through local schools, regional dance and music programs, and summer jobs that keep a connection to the community while they build credentials for what comes next.