Two Cokes with Ben Børilden
Two Cokes with Ben Børilden
You hear him before you see him—a powerful West Norwegian dialect carrying through the room with a hint of an American accent. This is a guy with an unforgettable smile who loves to talk about anything interesting, yet he insists he’s no extrovert. We take a trip to the photo committee’s office at Samfunnet to get to know none other than Ben Børild.
Journalist: Li Li Than Winn
Translator: Bora Gulersen Sezgin
Photographer: Håvard R. Magelssen
Trying to Keep a Low Profile
In the fall of 2020, Ben began his bachelor’s degree in chemistry, which led him to the KBM faculty (Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Food Science). He recalls that during his first gathering with the faculty, it was mostly women, and he quickly had to find the few other guys in the group. This is how he met Isak Høiby and Kasper Lauritzen, who have been his best friends ever since.
At the same time, his start at university was marked by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic—social distancing, home exams becoming the new normal, and a lack of social events.
He describes it as “a really awkward freshman week.” That year, new student apartments at Skogveien were supposed to be ready, but delays meant that Ben had to find a temporary place to stay for all of August, which ended up being an Airbnb in Vestby. Surprisingly, since moving into Skogveien in September 2020, he has lived in the same room ever since. (In other words, when he eventually moves out, he can’t blame any mess on previous tenants.) His original plan for the first year was to keep a low profile, but he quickly realized that was difficult when you’re nearly two meters tall and have a booming voice. That plan fell apart fast, and before long, he was eager to get involved in student life. It started with becoming a student representative for NiTO, which eventually snowballed into three board positions and a part-time job between 2021 and 2022. For Ben, it was easy to say yes to new roles, as he saw them as opportunities with plenty of benefits—so why not? However, when we asked him how he managed to juggle everything, his response was simple: “Damn good question—I have no idea.”
From Eikangervåg to Life in Ås
Before settling in Ås, Ben lived in Eikangervåg, a small village at the end of a fjord about an hour from Bergen, where everyone knows everyone. As a child, he would sit by the window with binoculars, watching people walk on the other side of the fjord and shouting out to those he knew.
He grew up as the youngest of five siblings, with an American mother and a Norwegian father. When he was five, he lost his father, and from then on, his mother played a significant role in his upbringing. His father had been a chemist, which Ben believes sparked his own interest in exploring the world of chemistry.
From a young age, Ben was determined to become a researcher. When it came time to choose a university, his options were UiO, NTNU, or NMBU. However, fearing city life, he quickly ruled out UiO. His chemistry teacher recommended NMBU, claiming it had more lab work and research-oriented studies than NTNU. While Ben admits this might not be entirely accurate, it was enough to convince him to choose Ås.
A Day in the Life of Ben
Since September 2024, Ben has been working on his master’s thesis. In short, his research focuses on extracting as much protein as possible from beer production waste—essentially making a more concentrated protein powder from malt.
Like most master’s students, he hopes to be finished by May. His typical day starts around 9:15 AM in the lab, where he works for about eight hours. What he enjoys about being a researcher is “being the master of his own schedule.”
He says that what he likes about life as a researcher is being able to “be the master of your own schedule,” and not least being allowed to use the cool analysis instruments.
Ben is writing his thesis for NOFIMA, the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Research. Because of this, it has been a long time since he’s cooked at home—NOFIMA provides free breakfast and a very affordable lunch buffet, so he gets by eating dinner for lunch and lunch for dinner.
After an eight-hour day at NOFIMA, he often heads to Samfunnet to handle his duties as the head of the photo committee. His position is mostly administrative, involving planning social events and making shift schedules. If he’s not at Samfunnet, he spends his evenings relaxing—watching anime, reading manga, or gaming.
Ben has been playing League of Legends since he was 11, describing his relationship with the game as love-hate. “Some days it sucks,” he admits, “but somehow, I always end up coming back to it.” He enjoys single-player games as well, especially those that bring out his competitive side. At one point, he was even ranked among the top 20,000 players in LoL.
Innovative, Creative, and Ambitious
After experiencing a disappointing freshman week himself, Ben felt responsible for making improvements. He first became a mentor, then a mentor leader, and finally, the head of the mentor program in 2023. He felt the need to step up and fix what wasn’t working, saying: “Fuck it, let’s sort this out.”
Ben wanted to show that he’s someone who takes initiative and influences the world around him. One of his improvements was introducing color-coded groups for different faculties during freshman week, making it easier for new students to find their group.
During his time at NMBU, Ben has somehow managed to balance excelling in school, holding multiple leadership roles, and working part-time—all at once. However, he admits that he’s actually bad at studying. He relies heavily on last-minute cramming, so he’s probably not the guy to ask for study tips.
Something Ben is very good at is keeping his friends close, and esspesialy the people living in his Kollektiv. He is planning on going on an exchange trip spring 2024. He had been granted a place and was looking for housing in Wageningen, but eventually became unsure whether he should leave.
He wanted a reason to stay, and the position at KS Foto was definitely the reason. Ben says that he is quite comfortable here, and that it was difficult to leave since both he and those around him were soon finishing their education at NMBU.
In any case, Ben is a person who has a lot of tips and tricks when it comes to being a student at Ås. He emphasizes, among other things, that “you have more time than you think.” In addition, he says that it is not necessary to be part of an association to have a good time, because Ben has certainly managed just fine without it.
Greetings
Dear Ben. It has been a joy, a gift and an honor to live with you for almost 5 years. It has been 5 eventful and festive years. In Ben’s presence, there is always a party and music around the next corner. I would probably never have learned so much about chemistry without your long “rants” either. Whether it is at Tusenfryd, Thanksgiving, Christmas party or in the square, Ben is there to create the atmosphere with the soundbox on his back and the bottle in his hand. The collective is never boring when Ben is home. Countless stories and memories are a given with Ben present. It is difficult to imagine everyday life without Ben, tacos, cola, cakes, camera, lab coats and Erlenmeyer flasks. With Ben you can both drink, play, bake and philosophize. You can even join in an extreme sport like 3000m beer.
Ås has been lucky to have a man like Ben here for so long. I will miss living with you. Good luck with your Master’s!
Best regards from Nikolai Dyrseth
Hi Ben!
Hope this message finds you in a good mood! We want to send you a little greeting and say thank you for everything you do for us and the student community. You are truly an inspiration with all the energy and dedication you put into your positions, hobbies, work and everything else you do. It is incredibly impressive how you manage to balance all this with your chemistry studies!
We really appreciate your positive attitude and always good mood. You make our everyday life a little brighter, both at lectures, cabin trips and otherwise in social contexts. We look forward to many more good memories together, both in and outside the lab!
Thank you so much for being who you are, Ben. Keep up the fantastic work you do!
Kind regards,
Isak and Kasper
To our fantastic friend Ben!
Five years with friendship, countless memories and an infinite amount of fun - it is hard to sum up everything you mean to us in a couple of lines!
From our legendary trip from Ås to Bergen, where you ment the real Bergen-experience was to turn us sick at a tivoli rather than sightseeing. We also had to visit the arcade, where our competitive instincts came to the fore :)
Hope the trip can be repeated, because we had a lot of fun!
You are one of the most social people we know, you make everyone feel welcome and included. You always have a funny comment or good advice.
Apart from what has been said, the pictures speak for themselves! We really appreciate you and look forward to following you into adulthood with more good conversations and long evenings with lots of laughter.
Big hugs from My and Thilde
