Enigma: a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.

The Magnus Man. Who is he?

Saint Paul Academy is a tight-knit community of friendly individuals that are exceptional at their jobs. For most, the Magnus Man is just another friendly face in the crowd of people that are all just doing their daily tasks. For some, he is a shadow, a face that lives in the darkness, only to be seen around 8:15-8:56 a.m. on in-person learning days.

Who is this man?

How did he become affiliated with SPA?

Does anyone know his name?

The answers to these questions lay behind the profound enigmatic characteristics of his personality. There is no way to find the individual that has been affectionately named “The Magnus Man” so it was imperative that a trap was set, something to lure him in.

An incomplete Magnus survey may work.

It has now been approximately 20 minutes and the leaves are starting to rustle, the wind is picking up. Are those footsteps? He walks over to a group of students while looking directly at one individual and with smiling eyes peeking over his mask and asks, “Did you fill out your Magnus health survey today?”

The Magnus Man has been found. And so has the student who didn’t fill out the Magnus app health screening.

Johnny Tvedt, once working for a Minnesota congressperson as an intern, is now working at SPA following the impacts of COVID-19. After graduating last year into the middle of a global pandemic Johnny was able to find work in the SPA middle school seventh grade English department. His family has many ties to the school and his sister, Taylor Tvedt, is the Middle School Athletic Director.

Being affiliated with SPA prior to needing a job helped Tvedt find a way into the school but he continued to find new opportunities as he worked. He has actually had many jobs at the school, “The Magnus list has really been the only consistent thing for me at the school, I was basically bred for this job by Dean Thornberry in between my other jobs here,” Tvedt said.

Although Tvedt has found his place at SPA, he has big aspirations for his future: “About a year ago I was working for the Minnesota House of Representatives as an intern and that is where my interest is, so I am just waiting for an opportunity to hopefully continue that work and ultimately get to DC,” Tvedt said.

For now, Tvedt plans to continue working here. “My work in the upper school is really different every day, I am basically helping out wherever it is needed, it stays interesting,” Tvedt said.

Although his job of telling students to do their health check leads him to meet plenty of new students, he was very positive about the experience: “There are a few students I have had to remind a few times, and you know who you are, but I know if I were in high school I would forget every day. It really is not too bad and I have really noticed how much better everyone has gotten over the course of the year,” Tvedt said.

Tvedt has slowly found his place among the crowd of individuals that are exceptional at their job. “I really like the school a lot, the students, faculty, everyone makes it really easy to want to work here,” Tvedt said. While Johnny Tvedt may be primed to work in Washington DC, he has proven to be a valuable asset to the school in countless areas of work around SPA.

Well, it turns out that Johnny Tvedt, The Magnus Man, is not as ominous as previously thought. He is helping out SPA when it is needed the most, and he has been working hard wherever a job arises around the school. He is not a shadow dweller; he is a dark knight, always there to save the day (and remind students to fill out the daily health screening).