Saint Mary's Newsroom

Saint Mary’s tutors and peer learning assistants are available on Knack. This tutoring is completely free, and sessions can take place in-person or online.

To learn more, visit smumn.joinknack.com and sign in with your Saint Mary’s student account.

If you have any questions about working with tutors, email Joe Dulak at jdulak@smumn.edu. If you experience any technical difficulties with Knack, email support@joinknack.com. If you need help writing papers, contact the Saint Mary’s Writing Center.

The Saint Mary’s Student Senate, College Democrats, and College Republicans are partnering together to hold a voter registration drive before the upcoming election. Voting is a crucial part of the American democratic system, and we invite you to participate in this important process.

Voting is a fundamental way for us to enact meaningful change in our communities. We encourage all of you to research the candidates and vote for those whom you feel will best represent your ideals. We intend to send out an email and distribute flyers on National Voter Registration Day Tuesday, Sept. 22, which will include a link, information on how to register to vote, and how to request an absentee ballot.

New this week

Thursday, Sept. 24
Day of Prayer and Fasting
All people of good will are invited to take part in a day of prayer and fasting for the intentions of God’s mercy on the country and the healing and conversion of our hearts, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic and civil unrest.

Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m.
LIFENIGHT
Student testimony, praise and worship, adoration, and confession in the Saint Thomas More Chapel.

Every week

Apologetics
Want to learn how to explain your faith? Join the conversation Wednesdays in St. Mary’s Hall.

Quo Vadis
Life’s big questions, Catholic answers. All faith traditions are welcome. Option for virtual or in-person participation. Email campusministry@smumn.edu to sign up.

Bible study
FOCUS missionaries, peer ministers, staff, and seminarians all host Bible studies for different groups with varying interests. Option for virtual or in-person participation. Email campusministry@smumn.edu to sign up.

The Saint Mary’s Sports Information Department is looking for work-study students interested in being part of the Cardinal stats crew. Students must have work-study, be a freshman or sophomore, and be able to work nights and weekends.

Experience in doing statistics for soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, baseball, or softball is beneficial, but not required.

Interested? Contact Donny Nadeau, Sports Information director, at dnadeau@smumn.edu. Positions are limited.

The Minnesota Department of Health reminds university students to #MaskUpMN.

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is expanding its career services support within the Saint Mary’s University community. In addition to providing best-in-class services and support to undergraduate students on the Winona Campus as it always has, beginning this fall semester, services and support will expand to include students in bachelor’s completion, graduate, and professional programs (on-ground and online), as well as all alumni.

The expansion of these services will be rolled out in several phases. Features now available to students in our Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) include:

• Access to Handshake to assist in finding and landing job opportunities. To access your account:
  • Visit smumn.joinhandshake.com.
  • Log in using your Saint Mary’s username and password (if you have trouble logging in, email mhagarty@smumn.edu for assistance).
• Student one-on-one career coaching, covering a variety of topics including major and career discernment, assessments, résumé review, interview prep, job search strategies, and more. To schedule an appointment, visit https://goo.gl/wg0vDe and look for an appointment that matches your schedule. If no appointments are available in the next 2-3 weeks, email mhagarty@smumn.edu to request an appointment — be sure to include dates and times you are available.
• Résumé review services. To have your résumé reviewed, email it to write@smumn.edu.
• Access to the Career Services website, a robust (and growing) hub of resources, information, job boards, and more.
• Periodic communications (via email, Marketing and Communications, and other media outlets) providing career resources, updates, and information.

As time, staffing, and resources allow, future phases will include services such as:

• Faculty support and resources to enhance the faculty’s confidence and effectiveness in their role as a primary point of contact for career services support for students. Such resources would include, but not be limited to:
  • Faculty tip sheets and resource pages.
  • Embeddable videos for use in classrooms or student resources pages.
  • Class visits to facilitate learning and discussion around career related topics.
  • Consultation with academic departments and individual faculty to discuss practical ways to infuse career readiness content and strategies into their curriculum.
• Employer relations staff and services for all campuses.
• Physical presence on Rochester and Twin Cities campuses, including resource room, office space, and a dedicated video interview room.
• Further promoting opportunities for students on all campuses to take advantage of career fairs and other programming.
• Fostering relationships between students, alumni, and employers through industry-specific networking opportunities.
• Facilitating the coordination of mentoring opportunities between students and alumni.
• Career counselors and other staff experienced in meeting the unique needs of our diverse, non-traditional students served by the SGPP in the Twin Cities, Rochester, and online.

Celebrate Constitution Day today, Sept. 17, by learning about our nation’s Constitution. Paul Kotz, Ph.D., core associate professor in Ed.D. in Leadership, will present “The Constitution in the Year 2020” via Zoom today from noon to 12:45 p.m. (CST). All are welcome to attend this free event.

Join the Zoom event

Whether training lab workers testing for COVID-19; directly working with patients sick with the virus; or supporting the mass production of masks in a third-world country, Saint Mary’s alumni were there and continue to be there during this pandemic — serving valuable roles and often putting their own safety at risk.

Colleen Joyce ’10 and Joe Haynes ’09, are battling COVID-19 in Chicago as a couple; she’s a nurse and he’s a firefighter. Read more.

In April, Army Reserve medic Sgt. Chuck Thibault ’21 was called to work at a convention center converted into a make-shift hospital at the epicenter of the pandemic. Read more.

Jeremy Zacher M’19 doesn’t ever see or interact with patients at Mayo Clinic, yet his work is vital to the frontline heroes testing and treating COVID-19 patients. Read more.

Ellen Schreder taught a group of Haitian friends to sew to help them earn a living and provide menstrual products to women. They switched to sewing masks during the pandemic, constructing up to 6,000 by April. Read more.

Each year, the Brother Julius Winkler, FSC Adjunct Faculty Recognition Award is presented to a Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) course contracted faculty member who has sustained excellence in teaching and contributing to Saint Mary’s University by serving as a model of the Lasallian spirit in the classroom. Among other criteria, this award recognizes faculty for demonstrating excellence, effectiveness, and integrity.

This year’s award goes to Sondra Schroeder-Davis, Ph.D., who is completing her 20th academic year as an associate professor in the Master of Arts in Education program.

Watch the virtual recognition ceremony:

In total, Dr. Schroeder-Davis has taught more than 77 sections of coursework over the past 20 years. These courses cover a wide variety of educational topics within the Master of Arts in Education program and the Master of Arts in Teaching program.

Dr. Schroeder-Davis’ commitment to her students extends beyond the classroom as she helps her learners conceptualize their research studies, assists them in obtaining IRB approval, provides proofreading and editing support, and mentors all students to “Stay with it! You’ve got this!”

Students consistently give Dr. Schroeder-Davis high ratings and praise, such as:

• “I thought the layout of this class through our instructor was amazing. I am not sure how another instructor would teach this class but I cannot imagine learning from anyone other than Sondra.”
• “Sondra is the best professor I have ever had!”
• “Sondra is the QUEEN of the Action Research Project!”
• “We could not have asked for a better instructor during [a tough course like this]. Sondra is AMAZING!”

Dr. Schroeder-Davis is an example of responsiveness, trust, flexibility, and patience. Most importantly, in the words of Lisa Delpit, “Dr. Schroeder-Davis exemplifies what it means to be a “warm demander.” She has the ability to “expect a great deal of [her] students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment.”

Join us in congratulating Dr. Schroeder-Davis!