MSU President's Newspaper Column
March 9, 2024
Campus and community pride abounds
Our hearts are brimming over with campus and community pride! Many wonderful things are happening on a regular basis, but during the last couple of weeks, in particular, there has been great cause for celebration. The Mayville State Collegiate DECA chapter, the Comets women’s basketball team, and the May-Port CG girls basketball team have experienced outstanding achievements and given all of us many reasons to be proud and happy for the individuals involved.
Mayville State’s Collegiate DECA sent 25 students to compete in the North Dakota Collegiate DECA Career Development Conference in Fargo on Feb. 21 and 22. The group competed against 147 of their peers representing nine other North Dakota colleges and universities.
The Mayville State chapter has excelled for years in this arena, and this year was no exception. In fact, some chapter records were set with nine first place, seven second place, and three third place finishes. Twenty-three of the 25 members who competed qualified for the international competition that will be held in Austin, Texas in April. That’s outstanding, and I could not be more excited for this group! I wish them the very best as they move on to represent Mayville State on the international stage.
Advisor Rob Johnston said that this was the largest group Mayville State has taken to the state conference, and many of the seniors who competed decided to step outside the box and challenged themselves to compete in events that were new to them. Part of the educational process is learning to adapt to change, and this is a good example of our seniors doing just that.
One can always find the members of the Mayville State Collegiate DECA chapter doing good things on our campus and in the community. Many of the members are involved in other organizations, including competing as varsity athletes, and they put in the hard work to be successful in all that they do, continually working above and beyond.
At the state conference, two Mayville State members, Miriam Carignan and Lauryn Wolfgram, received the ND Collegiate DECA Outstanding Service Award. This Chapter Leadership Award is designed to recognize Collegiate DECA student members for their leadership in their community, on their campus, and with their chapter.
The Mayville State chapter was recognized with the ND Collegiate DECA Community Service Award. The award recognizes chapters for their civic activities. The group will be recognized on stage for this honor during the International Career Development Conference in April, as will Mayville State Professor of Business and Collegiate DECA advisor Dustin Olson. Dustin was named ND Collegiate DECA Advisor of the year for 2023-24, and we couldn’t be more Comet Proud of Professor Olson.
Mayville State students Samantha Passa and Sam Preston were elected and will serve as vice presidents at the state level for the 2024-25 year.
The #12 Mayville State Comets women’s basketball team won the North Star conference championship Sunday, March 3 with a win over #9 Dakota State at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse! The Comets captured their second consecutive NSAA tournament championship and will advance to the NAIA National Tournament for the second season in a row and for the third time in five years. In addition, several members of the team have received individual recognition for their achievements throughout the season. I am over-the-top happy for everyone involved with Comets Women’s Basketball and look forward to watching and cheering as the journey continues.
The May-Port CG girls basketball team captured the North Dakota High School Activities Association Division B State Championship on Saturday, March 2. Some of the best high school basketball I’ve seen involved this team. They are outstanding athletes and people, and I congratulate them, their coaches, their families, and their school administration and staff on this wonderful culmination to a fantastic season. I must give a shout-out to MPCG’s head coach Keenan Konschak and his assistant coach Riley Heil. Both are Mayville State graduates who make us Comet Proud!
Being on the sidelines as hopes and dreams come true for others is extremely rewarding. It fills my cup, and my cup is overflowing right now.