Andrew Steinke: senior at Orono High School, former Orono swimmer, lives in Minnetonka Beach. This is what most people at Orono know about Drew – the most obvious things just about anyone could find out about him. “I’m almost positive people still think I’m a freshman stuck in a senior’s body, but what they don’t know is that I’ve matured – just like everybody else – and people don’t get the time to know me.”

After Drew quit swimming, he “had a lot of time on my hands and needed something to do, like a new hobby.” His mom’s good friend, Allie Ludke suggested that he tried glass blowing. “I’ve always been interested in trying it, but never had the time or resources, so it was the perfect opportunity [to] learn what it was all about.”

Drew has been blowing glass for about two years now and has taken it up as a serious hobby, more like a lifestyle. “Art has a lot to do with my maturity. I used to try to impress people in the wrong ways, like not being myself and conforming to the society norms of high school life, but I found something that I really love to do,” Steinke said.

Drew said he picked up the art of glass blowing right away because he was forced to. “I walked into FK Art Glass in North Minneapolis, told them what I wanted to do, and they gave me a bench and told me to give it a whirl – which apparently they don’t do for people very often.” During first semester of this year, he was spending four to five hours a week down at FK learning the techniques of glass blowing. “It was really hard to try to figure out what to do on my own, but I’m glad that I did because I got to learn and get my mistakes out of the way and do my own thing.”

Once he learned all the nicks and knacks and techniques of glass blowing, he began to experiment outside of the traditional round bowls people normally see and challenged himself to bigger, better and more intricate projects.

“My proudest piece is probably my Hershey’s Kiss. I didn’t intend for it to look like one, but once I realized it, I just kept goin’ with it,” Steinke said. “That’s what I love about it, you can have a vision of what you want something to look like, but it could turn out totally different and be better than what I pictured.”

Not only does Drew make the traditional round bowls, but he has learned to make plates, goblets, cups and ornaments.

“This past Christmas I wanted to make something for my family members out of glass, but couldn’t think of anything until I saw a glass ornament that inspired me. I love when I make something really cool, something that I’m really proud of, and seeing the reaction on someone’s face when I give it to them as a gift. Sometimes they even question me like, ‘did you really make this?’”

Not only has glass blowing taken up a lot of his time, Drew has involved himself in modeling. Last November, Drew was asked by photographer Shari Flemming if he would be interested in being a professional model. “I looked at her and was like, ‘uh what? no…’ I didn’t think I was the modeling type and was really skeptical, but I told Shari that I guessed it would be worth a try. She is a professional, so she must know a thing or two about it.”

Shari helped Drew submit his photos to a couple agencies in the Twin Cities and almost immediately got feedback. “My first project was with the U of M Gopher Sports and did a shoot for their fitness catalog.”
After Gopher Sports, Drew’s modeling career boomed. He then was contacted by Caryn Modeling Agency, who was immediately interested in booking him for more photo shoots.

“My most recent project was for Target Corporation; I did a commercial for contact lenses with no acting experience at all. They just threw me in there and I really enjoyed it.” Drew has also done a photo shoot for Jostens Magazine featuring him wearing class rings that will be published in the next year’s catalog.

“I was really judgmental of all the models I first met, even the ones I haven’t met, I really didn’t think I would fit in. But after the awesome experience I’ve had with the modeling agencies, I gained a lot of respect for the people I was surrounded by, plus it pays really well, which is an awesome perk.”

On top of glass blowing and modeling, Drew works at a roofing company during the week and at Fish Guy in Excelsior on the weekends. “I am definitely really busy, but keeping busy is good, plus I get to do the things I love to do and get paid, every day.”

With all the activities Drew is involved in and the high expectations brought upon him, he remains humble and modest about the success he has had with self-determination. Drew is one of the many talented people at OHS and plans to broaden his experiences at University of Wisconsin – Stout in the Fall.

Allie Hirschberg is the Business Manager for The Spartan Speaks.