Paul Lundgren

A Passionate Traveler

Self-described "passionate traveler" Paul Lundgren says he wants "to see the whole world before I die," and he’s off to a wonderful start. After a junior-year abroad experience in Germany in his college student days, the Pennsylvania native admits to being “completely hooked," and he’s traveled extensively in Europe, South America and Africa since.

His Breck career has been a bit of a journey as well. Paul began teaching German at Breck in 1980, but he’s now a Spanish teacher. So how has the transition been? "Even before it became clear that German would be phased out at Breck, I had started studying Spanish on my own," he explains. "It really worked out well, because I wanted to keep my full-time position at Breck and I wanted to become fluent in another language, too."

Another thing that has worked well is Breck’s commitment to professional development opportunities for faculty members. "I've taken full advantage," Paul says. "It-s been wonderful." He took Spanish language courses nights and summers at the University of Minnesota, attended programs in Spanish-speaking countries in Europe and the Americas in the summers and spent most of a memorable 1999-2000 school year sabbatical in South America. "I’ve received such support from Breck," Paul remarks. “The school affords such terrific opportunities, and I’m very grateful."

Paul didn’t set off to become a language teacher. He was a college chemistry major who was encouraged to study German because, at the time, scientists were being encouraged to take either German or Russian. "As time went on, I realized how much I loved it. And it’s funny that I came to Breck, teaching alongside Lois Fruen, who started out as a German major and switched to chemistry!"

Paul’s wife Arlene, a law librarian, has accompanied him on many of his journeys. ("She doesn’t have as much vacation time as I do," he explains.) And that’s the way it’s been for their entire courtship and marriage. Two weeks after they met, Paul asked her if she’d like to go to Germany, where he had a teaching assignment, for a year. "She didn’t say yes right away," Paul laughs. "But thanks to a teacher shortage there she got an assignment, too."

Their two children, sons Eric and Mark, are also travelers.

Carol Raths, Paul’s co-chaperone on several May Program trips to Mexico, says she truly appreciates him both on the road and off. "He is the perfect balance to me. When I’m hyperventilating and overreacting to a bump in the road, there’s Paul, Mr. Calm and Collected. Our first year there we took an excursion to an extinct volcano on horseback. Because of a miscommunication, we ended up riding horses for five hours – a group of students and two middle-aged teachers who hadn’t been on horses in at least three decades. Paul kept me laughing the entire way up and back. Even though we couldn’t walk for an hour, I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun. He always sees the good in a tough experience. Who could ask for a better friend at school?"

When he’s not teaching or traveling, Paul enjoys theater, concerts and outdoor activities including biking, in-line skating and hiking. He and Arlene take an annual summer excursion out west in their well-used pop-up camper. "We start each day with a hike in the mountains," he says, and with the glint in his eyes, you see that he’s already looking forward to his next trip.