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Winona Campus Newsletter
U.S. Ambassador Karen Hideko Sasahara receives Father Burns
On Sunday, April 14, 2024, Her Excellency, U.S. Ambassador Karen Hideko Sasahara received the Very Reverend Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., president of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, at her residence in Kuwait. Father Burns was accompanied by Andy Dirksen, Ed.D., chief of staff, and Michael Hahn, Ph.D., assistant dean of the school of education, as well as Mr. Sevag Kendirjian and Dr. Claire Shea of the American Creativity Academy in Kuwait.
During their one-hour visit, Father Burns and the Ambassador discussed several topics including Saint Mary’s growing partnership with the American Creativity Academy, the need to align education offerings to market needs, and the value of character education. “Our focus on character and virtues at Saint Mary’s allows us to provide education that is transnational, transcultural, and transhistorical and underscores our shared values,” said Father Burns.
Saint Mary’s partnership with the American Creativity Academy offers graduate education for teachers in Kuwait. There are now over 120 teachers who are enrolled in the M.A. in Education and Ed.S. in Educational Administration programs through Saint Mary’s. This partnership is expanding to include a cohort of teachers in Saint Mary’s Executive Ed.D. program. In February, Dr. Sue Hines, director of the Ed.D. program, was invited by the American Creativity Academy to give the keynote address at their education conference for more than 700 teachers.
During his visit to Kuwait, Father Burns recognized three cohorts of teachers at the American Creativity Academy who are completing their M.A. in Education this spring. “Expanding access to education is a priority of our school of education,” said Dr. Hahn, “which is why we are excited to partner with the American Creativity Academy to offer our curriculum to teachers from all over the world.” Represented in Saint Mary’s programs are teachers from the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Kuwait.
The American Creativity Academy is the largest private school in Kuwait educating over 6,000 girls and boys in PreK-12 on multiple campuses. For more than 20 years, the American Creativity Academy has offered values-based education with an American curriculum. “Our mission is to be the premier American school in the region,” said Dr. Claire Shea, “and our partnership with Saint Mary’s ensures that our teachers are prepared to offer excellent classroom instruction as well as to become educational leaders.”
Award winning film editor connects with Saint Mary’s students thanks to local film festival
Winona, Minn., can call itself home to many things — gorgeous views, amazing donuts, and a robust arts scene — no matter the time of year. And for one week in February, documentary films take center stage in Winona for the Frozen River Film Festival. Since its inception in 2006, the Frozen River Film Festival has aimed to connect viewers with people “at the heart of current events, organizations at the forefront of social change, and distinct cultures in an increasingly global community.”
This year’s festival presented a unique opportunity for Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Through its Arts Co-Curricular program, the university’s undergraduate Winona Campus hosted a screening of one of the festival’s documentaries, “Space, Hope and Charity,” in Page Theatre.
“This film signified how essential building a community is for student success, and it was even more powerful to see it on the big screen in Page Theatre on a college campus,” Lynette Johnson, senior director of arts and event services, shared. The documentary tells the story of Charity Woodrum, a young woman from rural Oregon whose dream of becoming an astrophysicist is nearly upended after the tragic loss of her husband and young son.
Diana Jenkins, the film’s editor, spent the week in Winona attending Q&A Panels as part of the film’s screenings during the Frozen River Film Festival. She has participated in several festivals holding screenings of “Space, Hope and Charity” along with the film’s director, Sandra Cummings, and Charity Woodrum, whom the film is about. Jenkins began her career doing daily news in San Francisco, Calif., and now resides in Los Angeles. She worked for Dateline and various news magazines before finally moving into documentaries, and has won a Peabody award for her work on “Surviving R. Kelly” on Lifetime.
If you ask Diana how she would describe her work on this particular film, she would say it was a “labor of love.” She was struck by who Charity was as a person and the challenges she’s overcome in her life. Seeing Charity’s story resonate with people who have seen the film has been an honor for Diana to witness. The most burning question audience members have after seeing the film centers around grief. “Whether it’s a parent or a child,” Jenkins says, “invariably, people in the audience have had a loss that they are quite taken by. That’s the most common question: how do you get through it?”
“I think the film is important in so many ways. It’s important for students to see how they can persevere. It shows young people who have had no help in their background, no family that will push them through or give them money or guidance that they can still do it. They can do it on their own with some help. Charity found tremendous support from friends, her instructor, Dr. Fisher, and even some strangers who came out and wanted to help.”
While in Winona, Jenkins took drives along the Mississippi River between screenings, enjoying the unseasonably warm winter weather and exploring the lookout on Garvin Heights. She also spoke about her work as a film editor with Saint Mary’s students and how they can use their knowledge, education, and life experiences to impact the world around them.
“Getting a professional of Diana’s caliber to speak to our students about filmmaking and editing was truly a blessing,” said Dean Beckman, associate professor and chair of the Business and Communication Department. Diana spoke about the different parts of filmmaking — how films get made, finding funding for projects, marketing, and public relations — but also about the impact of storytelling.
“Storytelling is a critical skill for our students to learn,” Beckman added, “and Diana’s words of advice resonated with them. Several students told me after the presentation that her talk changed their perspective of the film industry for the better, specifically documentaries.”
“I’m really passionate about the storytelling component,” Jenkins shared. “And for each student, I looked at them all and tried to get them to believe each had a story to tell. I don’t even think they know their potential. But that’s why I just kept saying, ‘if you have a story, tell it however you need to get it out. Just get it out there.’ Whether it’s their story or someone else’s, they have something to offer to others that they could tell in any way they want.”
Jenkins deeply believes in young people, who she feels will leave the world better than they found it. “They look at things differently than my generation did. I just have every faith in these students — that they can be the change.”
“Hosting one of the feature film showings for the Frozen River Film Festival at Page Theatre was an incredible partnership opportunity for Saint Mary’s and the Arts Co-Curricular program,” Johnson said. “We have been able to provide housing to the festival’s visiting directors for the past three years at the Alverna Center and have hosted their fundraiser events for the past two years. We hope to continue growing our partnership with Frozen River Film Festival and other arts organizations in the future.”
Through the Arts Co-Curricular, Saint Mary’s University partners with organizations like Frozen River Film Festival, Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, Sandbar Storytelling Festival, and more to bring arts and culture experiences to students on Winona’s undergraduate campus.
Saint Mary’s partnership spotlight
Two new Minnesota school districts have joined Saint Mary’s Trusted Partner Program.
These districts are Saint Cloud Public Schools and Central Public Schools.
Saint Cloud Public Schools is the state’s 16th largest district, with nearly 10,000 students and over 1,700 faculty and staff members. The district serves the communities of St. Cloud, Clear Lake, Clearwater, Collegeville, Luxemburg, Pleasant Lake, St. Augusta, St. Joseph, and Waite Park.
Central Public Schools serves over 800 students with nearly 120 staff and faculty. The district covers the communities of Hamburg, Norwood Young America, and Cologne.
Through the Trusted Partner Program, faculty and staff of partnering districts are able to receive discounted credit hours from Saint Mary’s.
The Saint Mary’s Partnership Collaborative is a new initiative populated with key partners from the Schools of Business and Technology, Health and Human Services, and Education that provide students, faculty, and alumni with opportunities for professional development, research, internships, externships, employee pipelines, targeted accelerator certificates and degree completion. This partnership spotlight is meant to highlight the exciting partnerships Saint Mary’s has entered.
Saint Mary’s Event Services launches internal event request form for Winona Campus events
As the number of internal and external events on Winona Campus continues to increase, it is important to ensure we are providing the best possible experience for students, faculty, staff, and guests attending these events.
Going forward, all internal events being scheduled on campus must be requested using Event Services new Internal Event Request Form. This form will capture initial information that the department needs to know to help you run your event successfully, and provide the opportunity for Event Staff to go through any questions you may have. This change will help improve coordination with other departments that may also be involved in supporting your event, such as Catering, Marketing and Communication, IT, and Maintenance. It will also help Event Services track everything occurring on campus at a given time to manage things like parking needs, or the scheduling of other internal and external events.
You can find the form on the Event Services webpage by navigating to the “Request an Internal Event” link (at the very top of the page), or you can download the form directly here.
Please email the completed form to Lynette Johnson, senior director of arts and event services, at ljohnson@smumn.edu to begin the reservation process. Once received, a staff member from Event Services will follow up with any questions. After your event has been approved, Event Services will reserve your event in Astra for you, and you will receive an event confirmation.
* If you are in need of a classroom for a meeting space that has no set up or catering needs, you can continue to submit your meeting requests directly to Astra here.
Saint Mary’s in the news
Saint Mary’s student’s research on social media addiction featured in MinnPost
The MinnPost recently featured Saint Mary’s psychology student Kyle Palmberg’s capstone research on social media addiction.
“I think from my perspective as someone who’s been really interested in psychology as an academic discipline, social media addiction is also something I’ve been aware of personally,” Palmberg told MinnPost. “I can tell within myself when things can become harmful or easy to misuse. I often see the hints of addictive behaviors in peers and coworkers.”
During his research, Palmberg surveyed 86 students about their social media habits. Palmberg found that most students’ use of social media was for entertainment, and his findings showed “connections between a reliance on social media for entertainment and addictive behaviors, like an inability to shut down apps or put a phone away for an extended period of time.”
Hall of Fame honorees recognized in Winona Post
Three Saint Mary’s alumni who were inducted into the Saint Mary’s Hall of Fame at the university’s annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner were recognized in the Winona Post.
The inductees included Marc Weisenburger B’75 (baseball), Jamie (Rattunde) Nelson B’05 (basketball), and Jenny (Folgers) Baertsch B’05 (cross country, track and field).
“It was truly a special night — celebrating Jamie, Mark, and Jenny and their accomplishments, as well as those of our student-athletes,” Brian Sisson, Saint Mary’s athletic director, told the Winona Post. “Hearing our inductees speak of their time at Saint Mary’s — and the impact athletics and their Saint Mary’s experience had on their lives — was so inspirational.”
Interest in hospitality grows for Stafford thanks to Saint Mary’s internship
When Jonah Stafford ’25 began exploring colleges to further his education, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota presented a unique mix of opportunity and the right fit.
A public relations and digital media major with a business minor, Jonah heard about Saint Mary’s through his mother, an alumna who received her master’s degree in special education through Saint Mary’s. While she pursued her Saint Mary’s degree, she continued her role as an English teacher at Faribault High School. “Her experience is what nudged me to look at Saint Mary’s,” Jonah shared, “but the biggest factor in my choice was the comparison of communication programs.”
He applied to three schools – Bethany Lutheran College and Gustavus Adolphus alongside Saint Mary’s, but after speaking with Dean Beckman, associate professor and chair of Saint Mary’s Business and Communication Department, Jonah was impressed with Beckman and the quality of Saint Mary’s public relations major, which would offer him a high-quality education and a variety of career opportunities. The major included a portfolio course designed to help with career readiness in the field, and that gave Jonah’s parents peace of mind in sending him to Saint Marys.
Upon touring the campus in Winona, Jonah liked that Saint Mary’s felt so intrinsically “Minnesotan,” nestled into the bluffs of Winona and alongside the Mississippi River. Only being a couple hours away from home would also allow him to be close to family while still enjoying the college experience and being on his own.
Last summer, Jonah decided to step out of his comfort zone with an internship in Florida through the Disney College Program, which offers paid internship opportunities, as well as company-sponsored training programs and housing for students to work at places like Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Disney Springs, or at one of their many hotels.
“I was just like, I’m ready for a change, so I’m just gonna throw myself into something new,” Jonah said.
When he arrived, Jonah joined the showkeeping team at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, whose responsibilities involved elements of customer service while maintaining the cleanliness of the park.
“If guests had questions, we were the main people walking around,” he shared. “Most of the other workers would be stuck in one spot, like a store or restaurant. So if someone needs to find something, we were probably the first people to be able to tell you where to go.”
Many of Jonah’s experiences at Saint Mary’s helped him make the most of his internship. Anything can happen in a place where thousands of people gather together, so the detailed training he received at Disney gave him a strong foundation of what steps to take in planning for and managing potential crises. Thanks to the networking events that Jonah attended at Saint Mary’s last year through Career Services, he felt confident interacting professionally with Jackie Swisher, the vice president of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, who connected him to a colleague in communications at Disney. Because of his PR classes in news writing, his journalism experience writing for the student section of a local newspaper in high school, and writing for three newspapers in Waseca County, he had the necessary skills to communicate with others sensitively and with purpose, which helped him provide effective support to Disney guests in need of help.
Jonah enjoyed his time in the Disney College Program so much that it motivated him to gain more hospitality experience as a student worker for Saint Mary’s Event Services Department. He is interested in exploring career opportunities in events and hospitality after graduation, but for now, he’s focused on gaining new experiences and living in the moment.
“I want to be a little more self-directed right now,” Jonah said. “Instead of just writing other people’s stories, I’m living my own story.”
Small town to small school leads to big internship
Saint Mary’s senior Ella Boomgaarden grew up in the small Minnesota town of Saint Peter, Minn. A member of a smaller graduating high school class, she knew when it was time to pick a college that she wanted to keep the small-town experience with her, which is what led her to Saint Mary’s.
The advantage of a smaller school and personal attention from staff and faculty at Saint Mary’s opened the door for a big opportunity: an internship with the Minnesota-based Cargill corporation.
When Boomgaarden arrived at Saint Mary’s, she knew she wanted to study in one of the STEM fields but was unsure of exactly which one. After landing in the math department, Boomgaarden explored the various educational tracks she could take with the major, and eventually picked up statistics and analytics minors.
“I declared as a math major and decided to dip my foot into the education path with it,” Boomgaarden said. “I liked the math major but realized I didn’t care for education. After talking with my advisor, we looked up what sort of jobs someone could take with a math major, and I kind of got stuck on the idea of doing data analytics.”
During her junior year, Boomgaarden saw a posting for a business analyst internship at Cargill that required IT experience. Having taken some computer science courses for her major, she felt the need to apply.
During the application and interview process, Boomgaarden immediately turned to Saint Mary’s Career Services for assistance.
“The staff in Career Services helped me so much in this process, from writing my resume, setting up mock interviews, and even setting up a room for my virtual interview with a nice background,” she said. “Every step of the way, they would say, ‘Here is what you need, and here is how we can help you.’”
With the help she received, Boomgaarden secured the internship and set up shop at Cargill’s headquarters in the Twin Cities for the summer. During her internship, Boomgaarden worked with different corn processing plants acquired by Cargill, helping them move over to the company’s software.
“My day-to-day through those three months was testing data, and then creating test data for other people to test to make sure all the programs ran correctly,” she said.
While she was only there for three months, Boomgaarden said Cargill did a wonderful job bringing the interns up to speed and making sure they understood the work in front of them. She also appreciated the professional development opportunities provided by the company.
“One thing my boss stressed was networking,” she said. “I’m really glad I had that opportunity and glad Cargill values that. I was able to network with other data analysts, business intelligence analysts, and people in human resources. And at the end of the day, that really set me up to succeed.”
And while Cargill set her up for success, Boomgaarden said her experiences at Saint Mary’s set her up to go above and beyond.
“Whenever I was in a room with bosses and superiors, I knew how to talk to them because I speak with my professors, my advisors, and the staff at Career Services regularly,” she said. “I went into the summer with competence because I was able to talk to my bosses like they were regular people, where other interns were saying, ‘Oh, they’re a boss or an executive and we can’t speak with them. To me, talking to these people was no different than going to a professor during office hours.”
With the internship experience behind her, Boomgaarden hopes to return to Cargill but says she is open to other opportunities that cross her path.
“This internship has made my resume a million times better,” she said. “Moving forward, I’m going to look at business analyst positions because, after the summer, I know I’m capable of doing the work.”
Higher education in the headlines
Higher education is a field that is constantly changing. With this roundup, we hope to keep you informed about what is going on at universities and colleges around the country:
- Minnesota State names next Winona State University president – Star Tribune
- Marquette University announces impending cuts after budget shortfall – Wisconsin Public Radio
- High schools say they’re falling short on college prep – Inside Higher Ed
Visitor from Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation to present lectures at Saint Mary’s
Members of the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota community are invited to lectures from Dr. Pierluca Azzaro that will occur on both the Minneapolis and Winona campuses on April 10 and 11.
Azzaro teaches history of political thought and Eastern European history at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy. He also serves as the executive secretary of the Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. Since 2010, he has edited and translated the Italian edition of the Collected Works of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI for the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Vatican Publishing House). Azzaro is a member of a group of scholars dedicated to advancing the intellectual legacy of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI.
The April 10 lecture will be at 4 p.m. at the University Center in Minneapolis, and will include appetizers and beverages. His April 11 lecture in Winona will be at 7 p.m. in Dr. Philip Cochran Hall (Aquinas 200), and will include light refreshments.
The events will also include a question-and-answer session facilitated by Max Bonilla, SSL, STD, provost and dean of faculties for Saint Mary’s.
Cardinal Update Live reminder
The Saint Mary’s community will gather from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 11 for Cardinal Update Live. Staff and faculty are encouraged to gather in the University Center Ballroom East on the Minneapolis Campus and Aquinas 200 in Aquinas Hall on the Winona Campus.
SMU welcomes 3 into Sports Hall of Fame
The Saint Mary’s University athletic department welcomed three new members into its Sports Hall of Fame on March 23 as part of the third annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, held at Visions Event Center in Winona.
More than 150 people were in attendance to celebrate this year’s Hall of Fame inductees Marc Weisenburger B’75 (baseball), Jamie (Rattunde) Nelson B’05 (basketball), and Jenny (Folgers) Baertsch B’05 (cross country/track & field).
“It was truly a special night — celebrating Jamie, Marc, and Jenny and their accomplishments, as well as those of our student-athletes,” said athletic director Brian Sisson. “Hearing our inductees speak of their time at Saint Mary’s — and the impact athletics and their Saint Mary’s experience had on their lives — was so inspirational.
“We are grateful for the support of so many who helped make this signature event an unforgettable evening for all.”
Weisenburger was a standout catcher for the Saint Mary’s baseball team, while Nelson was a dominant force on the hardwood for the SMU women’s basketball team, and Baertsch excelled in both cross country and track and field during her four years as a Cardinal.
“Saint Mary’s baseball has a storied past, full of great players,” Weisenburger said. “To add my name to that list is beyond imagination for me.”
Those remarks were echoed by both Nelson and Baertsch.
“Being inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame is a testament to years of dedication, hard work, and passion for athletics,” Nelson said. “I am humbled and proud to be part of such a distinguished group.”
“I feel incredibly proud and honored to be selected,” said Baertsch. “To be among so many legends is an incredible feeling.”
While Weisenburger, Nelson, and Baertsch spoke fondly of their time at Saint Mary’s — both on and off the fields of competition – SMU senior Owen Ziegler, a member of the Cardinal men’s basketball team, spoke for all the current Saint Mary’s student-athletes, who aspire to someday perhaps join the trio in this illustrious group.
“Saint Mary’s isn’t just a place where we play sports and go to school, it’s a home where a unique bond unites us all as a family,” said Ziegler, who was flanked by representatives from all 17 varsity athletic programs. “We may have worn different jerseys and represented different eras, but our shared experiences at Saint Mary’s bring us together in a meaningful way.”
Nelson discusses special education teacher shortage on Currents
The rise of special education students along with a shortage of special education teachers is a concern for schools in Minnesota and across the nation. This month Ben Rodgers speaks with Kate Nelson, program director for the M.A. in Special Education program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, to understand what has led to this current situation and what can be done to combat it.
Hall of Fame Profile: Marc Weisenburger B’75
WINONA, Minn. — Marc Weisenburger B’75 does not like to be the center of attention — he is much more comfortable going about his business behind the scenes.
This time around, however, the former Saint Mary’s standout catcher can’t dodge the limelight. That’s what happens when your play on the field warrants induction into the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Weisenburger, along with Jenny (Folgers) Baertsch B’05 and Jamie (Rattunde) Nelson B’05, will be recognized and honored as part of the third annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, which will be held at Visions Event Center in Winona on Saturday.
“I was not expecting anything like this and really didn’t know how to react,” Weisenburger said. “I am not one who likes to be in the limelight or who likes to be front and center.
“I am honored and blessed,” Weisenburger added. “Baseball has been a huge part of my life, and to be considered worthy to be one of the best players in SMU history is quite humbling.”
Under the tutelage of Hall of Fame baseball coach Max Molock, Weisenburger was awarded First-Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors three years in a row. Weisenburger closed out an illustrious four-year career hitting .275 overall — including .342 as a junior and .329 as a senior. Voted as the MIAC’s top catcher each of his last three seasons, Weisenburger was tabbed the conference’s Most Valuable Player in 1975, while also being named as a member of the Outstanding College Athletes of America the same year. Weisenburger was also the starting catcher for Saint Mary’s 1972 MIAC championship team.
“I am so grateful for the recognition and want to recognize my classmates and teammates for being part of my success,” said Weisenburger. “Saint Mary’s baseball has a storied past, full of great players. To add my name to that list is beyond imagination for me.”
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