The Northern Student, Bemidji State University’s student-run monthly news magazine, received five awards in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Minnesota College Better Newspaper Contest, announced Jan. 25 during the Better Newspaper Contest Banquet at the association’s annual convention in St. Paul, Minn.

The magazine was recognized for general excellence and four individuals won awards in the contest’s Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustrations; Arts & Entertainment Story; and Feature Photo competitions.

“I am very proud of the Northern Student staff,” said Valica Boudry, associate professor of integrated media and faculty adviser to the publication. “They put a lot of work into every issue because they enjoy what they do. It is a nice bonus, though, when their hard work is recognized by professionals in our field.”

Northern Student co-editors Stacey Kaslon, a junior mass communication major from Holdrege, Neb., and Hannah Cook, a senior mass communication major from International Falls, Minn., were on hand to accept the general excellence award.

“It’s rewarding to see the staff win an overall excellence award,” Kaslon said. “After all the late nights, weekends and holidays, the work all paid off.”

The Northern Student took home third place in the General Excellence category, which judges publications on the depth, breadth and quality of news coverage; quality of classified and display advertising; quality of the editorial page, with particular attention to community relevance; quantity and quality of pictorial content; and the overall appearance of the newspaper.

Hope Wall, a 2017 graduate in art & design from Big Lake, Minn., won both first and second place in the Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustration categories. She won first place for her illustration supporting the magazine’s story, “Sex: What No One Talks About,” from the magazine’s Feb. 2017 issue, and second place for her cover illustration, “Record Store Day: Celebrating Music in Bemidji,” for the magazine’s April 2017 issue.

Adam “Tony” Grobove, a senior marketing communication major from Burnsville, won first place in the Feature Photo category for his cover photo for the Dec. 2017 issue supporting the story “Why Do We Drink?”

Shawn Campbell, a senior mass communication major from Bemidji, brought home a second-place award for his April 2017 cover story, “Record Store Day: Celebrating Music in Bemidji,” which covered Northern Community Radio’s third annual pop-up vinyl record sales event held in conjunction with the national Record Store Day initiative.

• Launch the photo gallery at the top of this story to view individual winning entries.

About the Northern Student

The Northern Student is a free, student-run newspaper distributed at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College, parts of the Bemidji community and to the Northern Student’s advertising affiliates. The monthly magazine-format publication covers student life as well as local, national and world news. The Northern Student has been the voice of the students at Bemidji State University since 1926.

Northern Student Awards, 2018 Minnesota College Better Newspaper Contest

• First Place—Feature Photo; Cover photo for “Why Do We Drink?” by Tony Grobove; Dec. 2017 issue
• First Place—Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustrations; illustration for “Sex: What No One Talks About” by Hope Wall.
• Second Place—Arts & Entertainment Story; “Record Store Day” by Shawn Campbell.
• Second Place—Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustrations; illustration for “Record Store Day” by Hope Wall.
• Third Place—General Excellence; The Northern Student

Contact

• Valica Boudry, associate professor of integrated media, Northern Student faculty adviser; (218) 755-3904, vboudry@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• Northern Student

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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BEMIDJI—The Cleveland Indians baseball team plans to remove the toothy, red-faced Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms next year, a decision that Bemidji-area American Indian leaders said is a step in the right direction that still falls short.

“It’s good, but that’s not enough.” said Darrell Seki, Sr., Red Lake Nation’s chairman and a Minnesota Twins fan, who noted that the team still plans to sell merchandise with the controversial logo. (The team will lose the trademark if it stops selling Chief Wahoo gear).

Anton Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe at BSU and prominent American Indian author and academic, characterized the removal as a half measure.

“Full measure would be not calling the team the ‘Indians,’ and then nobody would be playing Halloween and dressing up however,” Treuer said. Sports teams should get rid of human mascots in general, he said, and those that use American Indian imagery can make a mockery of sacred symbols and pave the way for tomahawk chops from home fans or “scalp the Indians” slogans from opposing ones.

Cleveland is set to host Major League Baseball’s All-Star game in 2019, the first year they’ll play without the logo on their uniforms. The Indians made a rare World Series appearance in 2016, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said it shone a spotlight on the team and logo. In recent years, Cleveland players have worn uniforms with a blocky letter “C” on their caps in place of Chief Wahoo, but the grinning mascot remained on their sleeves.

The baseball team’s decision isn’t the first of its kind. In 2012, the University of North Dakota dropped its “Fighting Sioux” nickname, and numerous other college teams have changed monikers and mascots the past two decades. The NCAA has imposed sanctions on teams that continue to use American Indian iconography, but teams like the Florida State Seminoles kept the name and imagery after local tribal leaders approved of the use.

The Indians announced the change on Monday. On Tuesday, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said not to expect the Washington Redskins football team to change their name, pointing to a 2016 Washington Post poll that indicates a majority of American Indians aren’t bothered by it. (Critics say the poll’s methodology is flawed.) The team’s owner said he’ll never change the name.

Bill Blackwell, Jr., a colleague of Treuer’s at BSU who heads the school’s American Indian Resource Center, said he and his son travel to see a different Major League Baseball park every summer, and that he was dreading a potential trip to Cleveland. There, a longtime fan bangs a drum called “Big Chief Boom-Boom” at nearly every home game and others paint their faces to look like Wahoo or wear large feathered headdresses.

“That’s hard to explain to a young child, why these things that are being taught as sacred items of ours or different things are being almost mocked at times,” Blackwell said.

Faron Jackson, Sr., the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s chairman, said he tried to be open-minded about the teams’ intentions not to offend American Indians, but was nonetheless excited to hear the logo would be removed from the Cleveland uniforms.

“We’re very honored and pleased they’re going down that road,” Jackson said. “That’s a good starting point.”

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College are hosting three blood drives, Feb. 6-8, to help Memorial Blood Centers and United Blood Services address a nation-wide shortage of donated blood attributed to severe winter weather and seasonal flu outbreaks.

Bemidji State will host Memorial Blood Centers for a Feb. 6 blood drive and United Blood Services on Feb. 8. Northwest Technical College will host Memorial Blood Centers on Feb. 7.

Memorial Blood Centers estimates that 16,000 scheduled blood and platelet donations have gone uncollected in the last month alone, and it characterizes the national shortage as “severe.” According to the American Red Cross, nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S

“It’s a really tough time for blood collections right now,” said Duluth’s Red Cross Executive Director Dan Williams. “We’re really asking for people to step up and donate blood.”

Tuesday, Feb. 6

Memorial Blood Centers will be in the Crying Wolf Room in Bemidji State’s lower Hobson Memorial Union Feb. 6 between 10 a.m.–4 p.m. The blood drive is sponsored by BSU’s Student Nurses Association.

Wednesday, Feb. 7

Memorial Blood Services will be in NTC Room 219 Feb. 7 between 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The blood drive is sponsored by the NTC Student Nurses Association.

Thursday, Feb. 8

United Blood Services will be in the Crying Wolf Room in Bemidji State’s lower Hobson Memorial Union Feb. 7 between 9 a.m.–3 p.m. The blood drive is sponsored by Delta Theta Kappa.

Blood donation typically takes less than 10-12 minutes, and the entire donation process — including check-in and check-out — typically takes about an hour and 15 minutes. Memorial Blood Services allows donors to register in advance online to save time on the day of the donation at http://www.mbc.org/Donate-Blood/Schedule-Blood-Donation. United Blood Services also offers advance online registration at http://www.bloodhero.com.

Contact

• Karlee Beehler, BSU’s Student Nurses Association; Karlee.Beehler@live.bemidjistate.edu
• Amanda Bortz, Delta Theta Kappa; (952)-200-8463, Amanda.Bortz@live.bemidjistate.edu
• Julie Beevor, instructor, Northwest Technical College; (218) 333-6630, julie.beevor@ntcmn.edu

Links

• Memorial Blood Centers
• Memorial Blood Centers online pre-registration
• United Blood Services

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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Bemidji State University’s annual TAD Talks event, a production of the School of Technology, Art & Design, was featured on Lakeland Public Television’s Common Ground series.

The 25-minute feature, hosted by Lakeland PTV’s Scott Knudson, gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the production for the third annual TAD Talks, held in April 2017. TAD Talks are a multi-disciplinary event featuring live presenters modeled after the famous TED Talks series. The TAD School hosts industry-leading speakers who share their professional insights with BSU’s students. Student organizers get hands-on, real world experience producing the event and designing and building sets.

“The TAD Talk event is a very unique event in that it’s not run by faculty; it’s a student-run event,” said Sachel Josefson, assistant professor of technology, art & design. “What we try to do with TAD Talks is take students from all different disciplines, put them in a room and say ‘we’re going to make a really awesome event — and you’re going to do it.’”

The feature also included interviews with Angela Gareri, currently a senior design major from Bovey, Minn., who was one of the lead student organizers for the 2017 TAD Talks; co-project manager Ben Winkleman, a May 2017 BSU graduate in engineering technology; and Shane Fjerstad, a quality systems engineer for Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minn.

Fjerstad was a presenter at the 2017 TAD Talks event, sharing tips and best practices to help students manage their social media presences.

Bemidji State Universit’y’s School of Technology, Art and Design is planning for the fourth annual TAD Talks event, scheduled for April 26.

“All disciplines come together making sure it’s a quality event that the industry, the university and the community is coming to expect,” Josefson said.

“TAD Talks in Bemidji” aired on Lakeland Public Television as part of Common Ground’s ninth season; it is archived on the station’s website and on YouTube.

Contact

• Sachel Josefson, assistant professor of technology, art & design; (218) 755-2949, sjosefson@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• Common Ground: “TAD Talks in Bemidji”: https://lptv.org/common-ground-907-tad-talks-in-bemidji/
• “TAD Talks in Bemidji” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W5DL3xehZI
• Scott Knudson on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scknudson

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. A member of the colleges and universities of Minnesota State, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. Bemidji State has an enrollment of more than 5,100 students and a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.

Last week, Bemidji State University’s student senate unanimously recommended the school update its sexual violence policy to include “affirmative consent,” a move that would tighten the standard from the absence of a “no” to an unambiguous “yes” that can be revoked at any time. A current dating relationship or past sexual relationship wouldn’t prove consent, either, nor would it be the basis for future consent.

The move dovetails with a broader push to implement the same policy at Minnesota State’s 37 colleges and universities, and the system’s board of trustees could vote to implement it as early as March.

“This is something that would definitely benefit students because, if there are sexual assault cases, if there are sexual violence cases, this would help the university investigators and help the victim as well,” said Eshfaq Ullah, BSU’s student senate president.

Ullah serves on the board of Students United, a statewide student advocacy group that endorsed the change last fall and got the ball rolling on the updated policy.

“It all came from students,” Ullah said.

Lexy Byler, a Minnesota State University Moorhead student and vice chair of Students United, said the policy aims to remove all doubt that people engaging in sex are willing participants.

“You shouldn’t be feeling like there’s any question about it,” she said. “It’s trying to eliminate that gray area.”

BSU administrators still need to sign off on the student senate’s measure. Scott Faust, a university spokesperson, said BSU President Faith Hensrud and other leaders are interested in and supportive of the student initiative’s intent.

Minnesota State’s existing sexual violence policy was adopted in 2004 and later updated to further define consent and add language about stalking. BSU’s is virtually identical to it, and was last reviewed in September 2016.

BSU staff reported more than 0 but fewer than 10 sexual assaults there in 2016, the most recent year for which data was available on the school’s website. (The school doesn’t specify numbers between 0 and 10 to protect identities.)

Byler said Students United has been working on affirmative consent for at least three years but it’s been their No. 1 priority this year. She expects it’ll pass in March, in part because of momentum from the nationwide #MeToo movement to end sexual violence.

“You can’t ignore the climate right now in the United States,” she said. “This is something that has really wide support among our students.”

Affirmative consent more widespread

Antioch College in Ohio was the first to implement affirmative consent language, in 1991, to much ridicule. But it’s becoming the norm now.

California made it mandatory for their colleges in 2014, and New York did the same a year later. Today, well over a thousand U.S. colleges have implemented similar policies, including the University of Minnesota, in 2015.

Katie Eichele, director of the Aurora Center, which serves the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, said asking permission for sex may not come naturally to older generations, but college students seem to get it.

“From our educational data, we know that many of our students coming into our campus believe in asking for and getting consent,” she said.

Samantha Harris, vice president of policy research for the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), said affirmative consent is “a model for ideal communication between sexual partners” but it makes for bad college policy.

“There is consensual sex that happens without that due diligence,” she said.

Harris said such policies are especially fraught because compared with the criminal justice system, it’s relatively easy to be punished for a student conduct violation. Most colleges use the “preponderance of the evidence” standard and don’t guarantee access to a lawyer or the right to question the accuser.

“Students can be expelled from school often with very little process,” Harris said. “I wonder whether they’ve truly thought through the implications.”

Josh Verges at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a Forum News Service partner, contributed to this story.

Bemidji State University business and accounting students are volunteering their time and services as a part of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Students who have completed BSU’s Tax I course and passed IRS certification tests are offering free tax assistance each week on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 3-6 p.m. in Memorial Hall Room 250. Sessions will be held up to and including April 12, with the exception of March 14 and 15, which fall during the university’s spring break.

These students use their tax knowledge to provide assistance to other students, including international students with special requirements, and to low-income and elderly individuals in the area who may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with tax law and filing requirements.

VITA not only offers free preparation but also free e-filing for those who qualify. With e-filing and direct deposit, those who qualify typically receive their refund in 8 to 10 days. The IRS has a web page explaining what people should bring with them to a VITA session (http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Checklist-for-Free-Tax-Return-Preparation).

About VITA

The Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $53,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

Contact

• Sandra Kranz, professor of accounting; (218) 755-3716, skranz@bemidjistate.edu

LINKS

• IRS Checklist for Free Tax Return Preparation: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/checklist-for-free-tax-return-preparation

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. A member of the colleges and universities of Minnesota State, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. Bemidji State has an enrollment of more than 5,100 students and a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.

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Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College will learn, honor and celebrate the contributions of African-Americans to the country’s history with a series of Black History Month activities beginning Feb. 2.

The month of activities kicks off with a celebration of the music of Langston Hughes, will feature presentations at both BSU and NTC, and includes appearances by Dr. Jason Sole, author of “From Prison to PhD: A Memoir of Hope, Resilience and Second Chances,” and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Feb. 2-3 – Film Screening, “Marshall”

BSU will host free screenings of the 2017 feature film “Marshall,” which follows Thurgood Marshall (played by Chadwick Boseman), the first African-American member of the U.S. Supreme Court, through a challenging case he faced early in his career as an attorney for the NAACP. Marshall travels to Connecticut, where partners with Sam Friedman (played by Josh Gad), a local Jewish attorney who has never tried a case, to defend black chauffeur Joseph Spell against charges of sexual assault and attempted murder by wealthy socialite Eleanor Strubing (played by Kate Hudson). Marshall and Friedman contend with racism and anti-Semitic views from a community which believes Spell to be guilty while mounting their defense.

The song “Stand Up for Something” from the film’s soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) in 2018.

The film will screen Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. in the Crying Wolf Room of BSU’s lower Hobson Memorial Union, and Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. in the Upper Deck of Walnut Hall.

Feb. 6 – “The Langston Hughes Project”

The music of Langston Hughes is featured in a live, multimedia concert performance, “Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz” by The Langston Hughes Project. The performance will feature live music from a jazz quartet and poetry readings set to images of the Harlem Renaissance.

Ask Your Mama is Hughes’s homage in verse and music to the struggle for artistic and social freedom at home and abroad at the beginning of the 1960s. It is a twelve-part epic poem, which Hughes scored, with musical cues drawn from blues and Dixieland, gospel songs, boogie woogie, bebop and progressive jazz, Latin “cha cha” and Afro-Cuban mambo music, German lieder, Jewish liturgy, West Indian calypso and African drumming. At the time of his death in 1967, Hughes had not yet performed the work.

“Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz” begins at 4 p.m. in Bemidji State’s Beaux Arts Ballroom. Admission is free for all.

Feb. 13 – “Understand the Past, Respect the Future”

Dr. Brian Xiong, coordinator of the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will present “Black History Month: Understand the Past, Respect the Future.” The presentation will focus on groundbreaking achievers in history, such as the first African-American judge and the first African-American pilot in the U.S. Army.

Xiong’s presentation begins at noon in Northwest Technical College’s Room 315. It is open free to everyone.

Feb. 14 – “Black Leaders Who Paved the Way for Racial Equity”

Xiong and Dr. Jesse Grant, BSU’s interim dean of students, will present “Black Leaders Who Paved the Way for Racial Equity” beginning at 1 p.m. Feb. 14 in BSU’s Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, located in the upper Hobson Memorial Union.

The presentation will focus on individual leaders who spent their lives crusading for racial equity, and briefly explain their impact on the country’s history. It is open free to everyone.

Feb. 20 – “From Prison to Ph.D.”

Dr. Jason Sole, a former drug dealer, leader of a notorious street gang and three-time convicted felon turned author, university professor and community leader, will give an author talk on his book, “From Prison to Ph.D.: A Memoir of Hope, Resilience, and Second Chance” at 6 p.m. Feb. 20 in BSU’s Beaux Arts Ballroom. Today, Sole is the present of the Minneapolis chapter of the NCAACP and a professor of criminal justice at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

Feb. 22 – “Common Bonds for a Greater Minnesota”

BSU will host a presentation by Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations, to kick off the leadership studies program’s fourth annual Leadership Series lectures on Feb. 22.

The 6 p.m. presentation will be held in Room 103 of BSU’s American Indian Resource Center. It is open free to anyone who wishes to attend.

Hussein’s presentation will explore Minnesotan values of race, religion and creed, and will include a question-and-answer session on Islam and Muslims.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations addresses organized Islamophobia in the form of smear campaigns and targeted acts of violence. It also addresses less-organized forms of Islamophobia, such as workplace and street harassment.

Bemidji State University’s Black History Month activities are sponsored by the American Indian Resource Center, the Hobson Memorial Union and Campus Activities Board, the BSU leadership studies program, and the departments of criminal justice, social work and psychology.

Contact

• Dr. Brian Xiong, coordinator, Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; (218) 755-3776, bxiong@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• “Marshall” on IMDB
• An Introduction to the Langston Hughes Project
• Dr. Jason Sole
• CAIR-MN

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

For more, visit bemidjistate.edu or find us at BemidjiState on most of your favorite social media networks.

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The Bemidji State University choirs will tour the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia for a series of performances as part of tours arranged by Music Celebrations International.

Many of the choir’s 38 members, along with Dr. Dwight Jilek (right), assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, will depart May 10 for an eight-day tour that will include performances in Riga, Latvia, and Tallinn, Estonia, as part of the American Celebration of Music concert series.

“The Baltic states have an incredible choral tradition,” Jilek said. “There is community and educational singing of all shapes and sizes there, and we’ll be singing with some of the better choirs in Europe. Our performances promise to have full houses and wonderful support.”

The choirs selected the Baltics for their international tour after the Department of Music finalized an arrangement with internationally renowned composer Ēriks Ešenvalds, who is from Riga, for a residency beginning in March.

Around the concerts, the Bemidji Choir will explore the region’s sights and culture, including the shores of the Baltic Sea, Latvia’s Freedom Monument and Estonia’s Rocca al Mare open-air museum.

Leading up to Estonia’s freedom from Soviet occupation in 1991, hundreds of thousands of people joined a bloodless resistance by singing together publicly in what is known as the “Singing Revolution.” During the weeklong tour, students will hear stories of trials and oppression citizens of the area faced during Soviet occupation — including the loss of loved ones and the use of forced-labor camps in Russia.

“Our students will have a unique opportunity to gain a global, first-person perspective on the importance of freedom, the dignity of all people and the immense power of music,” Jilek said.

The choir has partnered with BSU Alumni & Foundation to allow opportunities for alumni and friends to support the tour. More information is available on the Alumni & Foundation website.

“Performing internationally significantly increases BSU’s visibility all over the world,” Jilek said. “Opportunities to participate in these kinds of tours can help encourage students who want to study music to choose BSU, and can encourage our current and future students to perform in our ensembles — which are open to all students and not limited to only music majors.”

About Music Celebrations International

Music Celebrations International embraces Ludwig Van Beethoven’s famous statement that music can change the world. The organization provides performance and educational opportunities by offering the ability to participate in prestigious events, access to superior venues and associations with some of the world’s oldest music festivals.

Contact

• Dr. Dwight Jilek, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, Bemidji State University; (218) 755-2855, djilek@bemidjistate.edu
• Jana Wolff, director of annual giving, BSU Alumni & Foundation; (218) 755-2872, jwolff@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• Music Celebrations International
• Bemidji Choir 2018 International Tour
• Bemidji State University Department of Music

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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The Bemidji State University Wind Ensemble, under the direction Scott Guidry, will hold a performance in honor of Presidents Day and Black History Month on Feb. 11.

The concert, “A Celebration of Presidents Day & Black History Month,” begins at 3 p.m. in the Main Theatre of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and free for students.

The concert will feature BSU President Dr. Faith Hensrud as the guest narrator of Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” along with performances honoring Duke Ellington, John Williams, John Philip Sousa, Mark Camphouse and more.

The concert will include:

• “A Movement for Rosa,” music honoring civil rights heroine Rosa Parks,
• “Duke Ellington in Concert,” a medley of Duke Ellington’s music including Take the “A” Train, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Caravan, Mood Indigo, and It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing,
• “Foshay Tower Washington Memorial March,” a Sousa march named for the Minneapolis landmark,
• “Lincoln: Music from the Motion Picture,” director Stephen Spielberg’s biopic featured a score by the legendary John Williams,
• “Ever Braver, Ever Stronger: An American Elegy,” written in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

About Bemidji State’s Wind Ensemble

The Wind Ensemble is open to all BSU students and rehearses three days per week. In addition to regularly programmed campus concerts, the Wind Ensemble hosts the Northern Minnesota Honor Band, an annual band festival for many of the top high school musicians Minnesota.

The ensemble takes an annual band tour with its concerts performed at many of the major high school music programs in the area. Recent tours include performances in Winnipeg and Minneapolis.

Calendar

Feb. 11 – 3 p.m. – Bemidji State Music Department presents A Celebration of Presidents Day & Black History Month in the main theatre of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex, Bemidji State University. Tickets: $8 adults, $5 seniors, free for students with ID. Information: (218) 755-2915.

Contact

• BSU Department of Music; (218) 755-2915

Links

• BSU Department of Music

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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In recognition of Sexual Responsibility Week, Bemidji State University is sponsoring a series of student-centered events supported by empowerment training for faculty and staff featuring noted self-defense lecturer Diane Long.

Long provides strategies for overcoming damaging internalized messages of blame, shame and self-doubt, combined with skills for physical protection that can help a person increase their environmental awareness, assertiveness and self-confidence

“I was first exposed to self-defense through victim advocacy more than 25 years ago,” she said. “Self-defense led me to martial arts, which then led me to healing arts including therapeutic massage, healing touch, yoga and somatic therapies. I combine a variety of modalities in my work, tailored to the needs and interests of individuals and groups.”

BSU’s Sexual Responsibility Week activities are sponsored by the Student Center for Health & Counseling; Lifestyle Educators; Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; the Hobson Memorial Union; BSU’s Center for Professional Development, the BSU women’s studies gender studies program and BSU’s Office of Affirmative Action.

The week also includes a CARE bystander intervention training session for Northwest Technical College students on the NTC campus to help bystanders learn how to respond to witnessed incidents of sexual assault or violence.

Monday, Feb. 12
Sexual Responsibility Week kicks off Feb. 12 with the opening of a romantic bedroom display in the Hobson Memorial Union and Condom Bingo in the Beaux Arts Ballroom.

The romantic bedroom display will be open in the Scandinavian Room of the lower Hobson Memorial Union’s Lakeside dining area between 10-1 Monday through Wednesday, featuring information and door prizes for students.

Condom Bingo, sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, will be held from 8–11 p.m. in the Beaux Arts Ballroom of the upper Hobson Memorial Union.

Tuesday, Feb. 13
Long will give her first of three presentations during Sexual Responsibility Week, “Relationships, Communication and Boundaries” at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 in Hagg-Sauer Hall 100. Participants in this interactive presentation will learn skills to more effectively communicate needs and preferences, increase physical safety for themselves and others, how to interrupt harassment and abuse — whether witnessed or experienced directly — and create a campus culture of consent and mutual respect. This event is open to the public.

Wednesday, Feb. 14
Long will give two Empowerment Self-Defense and Self-Care presentations on Feb. 14 — at 10 a.m. in the Crying Wolf Room of the lower Hobson Memorial Union, intended for faculty advisors and support staff. An RSVP is required to attend; visit http://calendar.bemidjistate.edu/#!view/event/event_id/14815.

Her second session begins at 12:30 p.m. in the same location and is intended for student leaders. An RSVP is required to attend; visit http://calendar.bemidjistate.edu/#!view/event/event_id/14816.

Long’s Empowerment Self-Defense and Self Care presentations give participants tools for calming critical inner voices that are often conditioned by past traumas or ongoing experiences of oppression. The training includes skills for physical protection and emotional regulation that increase environmental awareness, assertiveness and self-confidence.

Participants work in pairs and go through role-playing exercises that teach verbal, physical and energetic boundary-setting along with strategies for managing conflict and improving communication.

“A conscious exploration of fight-flight-freeze response in the body allows us to move out of survival mode to mobilize internal resources and proactively respond to threat,” Long said. “As we are better able act on our own behalf and on behalf of our communities, we can impact collective health and safety in positive ways. We can transform cycles of abuse, neglect and denial from the inside out.”

Monday, Feb. 26
NTC students can participate in free CARE Bystander Intervention training on Feb. 26 lead by lifestyle educators and sponsored by the student center for health and counseling. At the interactive workshop, students will talk with peers about consent and sexually disrespectful behavior, and understand ways to intervene in sexually disrespectful situations. This training will also provide certification upon completion.

The training begins at 11:30 a.m. in NTC Conference Room B.

Contacts

• Jay Passa, health education coordinator for the student center for health and counseling services, (218) 755-2080; jpassa@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• Student Center for Health & Counseling
• Diane Long
• RSVP for Feb. 14, 10 a.m. Faculty and Staff
• RSVP for Feb. 14, 12:30 p.m. Students

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.
 

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These individuals have been appointed to permanent administrative positions over the past six months:

Darrin Strosahl
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Northwest Technical College 

Darrin Strosahl in July became vice president for academic affairs at Northwest Technical College, Bemidji State’s partner institution.

Since 2015, Strosahl had been academic dean of skilled trades at St. Cloud Technical and Community College in St. Cloud. He previously spent 18 years as a high school administrator throughout Minnesota, most recently as superintendent at Foley Public Schools and Kingsland Public Schools.

Dr. Jim Barta
Dean, College of Health Sciences & Human Ecology

Dr. Jim Barta was named dean of BSU’s College of Health Sciences and Human Ecology in May, returning to Bemidji after a two-year term at Mercer University as dean and professor of the Tift College of Education. Barta was interim dean of health sciences and human ecology at BSU for nearly two years before joining Mercer.

Dr. Randy Ludeman
Director, Housing & Residential Life

Dr. Randy Ludeman was promoted to director of housing and residential life in January. He has been at BSU for more than 25 years in multiple roles, most recently as university conduct officer and associate director of residential life. The 1985 BSU graduate also has served as assistant director of residential life and hall director.

Nina Johnson
Director, Hobson Memorial Union

Nina Johnson was promoted to director of the Hobson Memorial Union in May. She spent the previous three years as the union’s associate director. Johnson came to BSU from Minnesota State University Moorhead, where she was assistant director of admissions and a residence hall area director. As union director, she is responsible for facilities rental, as well as advising Student Senate and other organizations.

Travis Barnes
Director of Facilities, BSU & NTC

Travis Barnes was promoted to director of facilities in August. He previously was facility supervisor at Northwest Technical College. Barnes graduated from BSU in 2004 with a degree in industrial technology.

Bemidji State University’s Leadership Studies program kicks off its fourth annual Leadership Series Lectures Feb. 22 with a presentation by Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The 6 p.m. presentation will be held in Room 103 of BSU’s American Indian Resource Center. It is open free to anyone who wishes to attend.

Hussein’s presentation will explore shared Minnesotan values—a focus on family, creating a welcoming place for all, and the pursuit of success through hard work.

“The immigrants of the late 19th century faced many of the same challenges of those coming to Minnesota over the last thirty years or so,” Hussein said. “They had to start with little to nothing and worked hard to ensure their children could achieve their dreams.”

Hussein believes faith and family should come first.

“We want people to see the similarities their new neighbors share with their grandparents’ generation so we can build bonds and become stronger as a Community,” Husssein explains.

The presentation will also include a question and answer session on Islams and Muslims.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations addresses organized Islamophobia in the form of smear campaigns and targeted acts of violence. It also addresses less-organized forms of Islamophobia, such as workplace and street harassment.

“We’re excited to come to Bemidji because this community really embodies the spirit of celebrating Minnesota’s natural beauty through recreation and family fun while honoring the indigenous peoples who have worked to care for and protect these lands over centuries,” said Jessica Wayman, the coordinator for Greater Minnesota Outreach CAIR-MN.

Hussein’s presentation is sponsored by BSU’s Leadership Studies program and the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

About Jaylani Hussein

Jaylani Hussein moved to Minnesota from Somalia in 1993 and is trilingual (English, Somali, Arabic). Hussein has a bachelors degree in political science from North Dakota State University and a bachelors degree In
Community Development and City Planning from St. Cloud State University. Before working as the executive director of CAIR-MN, Hussein worked as the Community Liaison Officer at Metro State University and as a Planner for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. He received conflict resolution training from Volunteers of America and worked with juvenile treatment centers. In 2013, he created Zeila Consultants to develop and offer cross-cultural training workshops on East African cultures. Hussein has been active with various community organizations, including the Islamic Cultural Center of Minnesota Board of Directors, Wilder Foundation Advisory Board, Muslim Youth of Minnesota Advisory Board, Islamic Resource Group Speakers Bureau, and ARAHA Board of Directors. He has traveled to the Horn of Africa twice on behalf of ARAHA, to open a regional field office and oversee large-scale humanitarian projects during the Somali Famine of 2011.

Calendar

Feb. 22 – 6 p. m. – Bemidji State University’s Leadership Lecture Series with Jaylani Hussein presenting Location: Room 103 of BSU’s American Indian Resource Center.

Contact

• Dennis Lunt, assistant professor of philosophy, Bemidji State University: (218)755-2737, dlunt@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• BSU Leadership Studies program
• Minnesota Council on American-Islamic Relations

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding.

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For Jim Stone and Bemidji State University soccer, the 2017 season was 16 years in the making.

Bemidji State has made steady progress and enjoyed quiet success under Stone, who joined BSU as head coach in 2002.

Then came this year’s great leap forward. The Beavers were undefeated in regular season play, attained a No. 14 national ranking in NCAA Division II and earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA tournament.

“What happened this season was more than a goal,” said Stone, the program’s winningest coach. “I’d say it was a dream. It is something we have envisioned for a long time, so when it came full circle and we saw the fruit of our labor, it was something special.”

BSU started strong, with three straight shutout victories that stretched to an eight-game winning streak, matching a program record. In October, the Beavers entered the United Soccer Coaches NCAA rankings for the first time ever. By season’s end, the 14-0-3 Beavers were one of just four teams in all of Division II with an unbeaten record.

Though its streak ended with a semifinal loss to Augustana University in the NSIC Tournament, Bemidji State’s stellar season was good enough to earn an at-large NCAA berth, nixed in the first round by the Auggies, whom BSU had tied at home on Oct. 15.

The Beavers’ balance and depth, so evident throughout the season, were validated Nov. 2 with an unprecedented sweep of the NSIC individual awards: Rachael Norton (junior, Mounds View), Offensive Player of the Year; Catherine Arneson (senior, Fort Collins, Colo.), NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year; Miranda Famestad (senior, Sioux Falls, S.D.), Defensive Player of the Year; Allyson Smith (Brainerd), freshman of the year; and Stone, NSIC Coach of the Year.

The accolades kept coming. Norton, Arneson, Famestad and Dani Nelson, a senior from Woodbury, each won all-region honors. Famestad became just the third player in BSU soccer history to earn national postseason recognition when she was named First Team All-American by the NCAA Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association. Arneson earned a place on the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and joined Nelson and Famestad as United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Americans.

Statistically speaking, Norton matched Katie Meinhardt (2003-06) for the greatest individual season in BSU history. She netted 14 goals (second all-time) to go with her 10 assists (second all-time) and 38 points. Arneson’s six shutouts placed her in a tie for third on BSU’s single-season shutouts list, while she combined with Anna Fobbe, a junior goalkeeper from St. Paul, to post a team record, finishing the 2017 season with 11 shutouts.

As successful as BSU was on the pitch, the team equaled that in the classroom, placing 13 on the NSIC All-Academic Team. Among them was Fobbe, who earned the 2017 NSIC Elite 18 Award for individuals with the highest academic standing in their respective sports.

While the Beavers will lose five strong players to graduation in May, the bar has clearly been raised.

Stone believes a talented and experienced 2018 team can reach even higher.

“Once you experience something like the NCAA Tournament, you want to experience it again,” he said. “What we do with that motivation is up to us. We want to make sure this wasn’t just a one-time thing.”

Men’s Golf

Freshman propels squad through fall

BSU Men’s Golf completed the fall portion of its 2017-18 season with top-two team finishes at three of its six events, including a team title at the BSU Invitational on Sept. 14 at Bemidji Town and Country Club. Led by Wayzata freshman Ian Mackenzie-Olson, BSU was third in the NSIC, averaging 300.7 strokes per round. Olson not only paced the BSU roster recording four rounds under par but also led the NSIC in scoring average during the fall season, with 73.1 over 14 rounds.

Beaver Athletics

30 Beavers make Fall Academic All-NSIC Team

Bemidji State landed 30 student-athletes on the 2017 Fall Academic All-NSIC Team. Honorees have a grade point average of 3.20 or better and are members of a varsity traveling team who have reached sophomore standing with at least one full year completed at their school. BSU Soccer led the fall contingent, at 13, followed by football with 11 and three each from cross country and volleyball.

TRACK & FIELD

Freshmen break BSU records in first meet of 17-18 season

TENNIS

Winona standout gives Fodness first early commitment in his tenure

Following the team’s success last year, Bemidji State Tennis has gained its first early signee since Mark Fodness took over as head coach
six seasons ago, and perhaps the first in program history.

Winona High School senior Layna Rutkowski made a commitment to attend Bemidji State during the NCAA’s early signing period, which began Nov. 8. A six-time tennis letter winner, Rutkowski has compiled a high school record of 120-34. She is a four-time All-Big Nine Conference selection, earning first-team honors three times. The three-year team captain earned a Section 1 AA runner-up finish and is a Minnesota State High School League State Tournament participant as a doubles player.

Under Fodness’ direction, the Beavers achieved a program-record 12-6 season in 2017 and earned six All-NSIC postseason awards.

FOOTBALL

Krause receives Glen Galligan Award 

NSIC football coaches selected Jake Krause, a Wadena senior, for the 2017 NSIC Glen Galligan Award recipient at season’s end. The award goes to a four-year student-athlete who is both academically superior and makes a positive contribution to his school. Krause, a perennial All-NSIC selection, carries a 3.66 GPA and is majoring in sports management and business administration. He has volunteered with a Bemidji food shelter, the Boys & Girls Club of Bemidji, Special Olympics and BSU’s elementary school reading partnership. Krause is the 10th Beaver to win the award since its inception in 1948 and the first since Nathan Sannes in 2005.

18 All-NSIC selections equal record

Bemidji State Football matched a program record with 18 selections for 2017 All-NSIC honors. Jordan Hein, Jake Krause, Andrew Lackowski, Brandon Schindler, Niko Daniello, Gunner Olszewski and John Vogeler headlined the group as members of the All-NSIC First Team, while the Beavers totaled an additional six on the All-NSIC Second Team and five on the All-NSIC Honorable Mention team.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

Deters named HERO of the Week

Bemidji State senior goaltender Erin Deters earned the NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey HERO of the Week from HERO Sports after she backstopped the Beavers to a series sweep over St. Cloud State University, Nov. 10-11. The Sartell senior made 38 saves as she held the Huskies scoreless through both games of the WCHA series. Her second and third shutouts of the season place her fourth on BSU’s all-time shutouts list, with five.

Homecoming is all about tradition, but Bemidji State University’s 2017 observance on Sept. 22-24 included new events with the promise of establishing new traditions. Chief among these was the 80th Anniversary Choir Concert, which drew more than 75 alumni members of the Bemidji Choir to perform with current students, reminisce and honor iconic former choral director Dr. Paul Brandvik. A first-time Greek Alumni & Friends Reunion also had a promising debut with an evening gathering in the American Indian Resource Center. A rainy forecast led the downtown parade to be canceled, but a full schedule of activities made for a busy and fun weekend.

More than 250 people gathered Sept. 22 for BSU’s 2017 Homecoming Honors Gala in the Sanford Center Ballroom. The event honored four Outstanding Alumni honorees and one Young Alumni honoree, in addition to recognition of new members of giving societies based on individuals’ total lifetime giving or planned gifts.

Created in 1972, the Outstanding Alumni Award is BSU Alumni & Foundation’s highest honor and takes professional accomplishments and community service into consideration. Including the 2017 honorees, there are 189 Bemidji State alumni who have received this award.

Initiated in 2011, BSU Alumni & Foundation’s Young Alumni Award honors a Bemidji State graduate 40 years of age or younger who has had outstanding achievement in career, public service and/or volunteer activities.

Jason Edens

Jason Edens ’07 graduated summa cum laude from Bemidji State University with a master’s degree in environmental policy and planning. A former recipient of utility bill assistance, Edens has long had a passion for finding long-term, sustainable solutions to challenges facing low-income families. In graduate school, he began to better understand the programs available, and with support from BSU’s Department of Environmental Studies he laid the groundwork for what would become the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to making solar energy available to all income levels. Edens founded RREAL in 2000 and has served as its visionary executive director ever since, overseeing more than 500 low-income solar installations; facilitating hundreds of solar trainings for community colleges, high schools, the design-build community and community groups; and engaging policymakers and stakeholders regarding low-income solar initiatives, frequently affecting policy decisions. RREAL has become a partner in a presidential initiative — the National Community Solar Partnership — and worked with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to build the first fully low-income community solar garden in Minnesota, providing solar electricity to energy-assistance recipients on its reservation. He lives in Backus with his wife, BJ Allen, who is the special projects manager for RREAL.

Bruce Maciej

Brian Maciej ’86 earned his bachelor’s degree in design technology from Bemidji State University and cultivated a successful 30-year career in marketing communications and design technology. He is president of Lime Valley Advertising in Mankato, where he has worked since the company’s founding in 1988. Maciej purchased and incorporated the full-service advertising agency in 1996. Employing a staff of 12, Lime Valley Advertising offers business-to-business advertising and marketing communications to manufacturers, businesses, educational institutions and civic organizations. He is a two-time recipient of the International Award of Merit from the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen. Maciej serves as chairman of the commercial arts advisory board at South Central College, on the Rasmussen College multi-media advisory board and on the art and design board at Bemidji State, where he volunteers to evaluate individual senior portfolio presentations. He also serves on the executive board of the Twin Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America as volunteer vice president of marketing, is a consultant to the Riverbend Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation board, and provides volunteer marketing assistance for the Greater Mankato Area United Way and other local organizations. He lives in Mankato.

Gene Ness

Dr. Gene Ness ’66 taught a generation of medical and graduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology. After earning his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bemidji State University, Ness won a scholarship to attend graduate school at the University of North Dakota in the Biochemistry Department, School of Medicine. He obtained his doctorate in 1971 and did post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin, College of Medicine, in the Department of Physiological Chemistry. In 1974, Ness joined the University of South Florida, College of Medicine, as a faculty member. He later was named a full professor, and after 38 years of service he retired in 2012 as professor emeritus of molecular medicine. Many of Ness’s students went on to become highly successful themselves, filling research positions in major biotech companies and faculty positions at institutions such as Penn State, Baylor, Vanderbilt, University of South Florida and the University of Pittsburgh. Others became caring, dedicated physicians. His research on molecular mechanisms for cholesterol synthesis and degradation in the cell contributed to the understanding of cholesterol metabolism, which was important to the development of statin drugs. His work resulted in the publication of 108 full-length papers in major biochemical and molecular biology journals. Ness and his wife, Colleen, have been married 28 years and have four grown children and three grandchildren. They live in Tampa, Fla.

Dale Greenwalt

Dr. Dale Greenwalt ’77 is a biochemist who has spent much of his retirement volunteering with the Smithsonian National Museum of History to unearth and discover 46-million-year-old insects fossilized in the Kishenehn oil shale formation in Glacier National Park. A Brainerd native, he began his career teaching math and science in Western Samoa through the Peace Corps. Greenwalt graduated from Bemidji State with his teaching certificate and a master’s degree. He taught middle and high school science for one year before enrolling at Iowa State University to begin working toward his doctorate in comparative biochemistry. He earned his doctorate and then completed a post-doctorate program at the University of Maryland before serving as a professor of biochemistry at San Jose State University, where he focused his research on a membrane protein present in cells that secrete milk. When his wife, Kim Warren, took a job with a pharmaceutical company, the couple moved to Maryland, and Greenwalt joined the research institute of the American Red Cross, continuing his work on the membrane protein. Kim eventually founded a biotechnology company named Poietic Technologies, and Greenwalt served as its director of research. Upon retirement in 2007, he sought out volunteer opportunities to stay active.

Guylaine Haché

Dr. Guylaine Haché ’04 is a patent litigation attorney in Chicago. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Bemidji State University with a double major in biology and chemistry. In 2009, she completed her doctoral dissertation at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics. Upon completion of her thesis, Haché was awarded the Beatrice Z. Milne and Theodore Brandenburg Award, which recognizes exceptional research by graduate students in the basic biomedical sciences. She then moved on to Northwestern University’s Fienberg School of Medicine in Chicago, where she was a postdoctoral fellow. She was recognized as a finalist for a postdoctoral fellowship by the Life Science Research Foundation. In 2010, she was hired as a technical adviser for Ropes & Gray LLP, a law firm with offices throughout the world. In 2016, she earned her Juris Doctor from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Now employed by Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP, Haché represents pharmaceutical companies in patent litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act and the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act. While at Bemidji State, she was a member of the Women’s Hockey team and was named the 2001-01 WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year. She is a five-time marathon finisher and is fluent in French. She lives in Chicago with her wife, Brittany.