Saint Mary's Newsroom
Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Saint Mary’s Spotlight: Robertolino Vargas Guerrero
Name: Robertolino Vargas Guerrero
Title: Program director for the Latin Sisters Initiative
How long have you worked at Saint Mary’s?
About four years
How would you describe your role at Saint Mary’s?
My job at the university is to be a leader and guarantee the success in the studies of our 58 Latin Sisters who are working towards their bachelor’s completion and master’s degrees. Furthermore, I support professors in the use of Canvas and give advice in the way of teaching the Sisters. As director, I coordinate the Sisters’ visits to Winona, New York, and Rome in collaboration with Catholic Extension and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
Robertolino Vargas Guerrero, program director for the Latin Sisters Initiative
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part is teaching in the program and coordinating the Sisters’ residences. I love listening to their stories of the apostolic work in the United States and knowing how much good they are doing for people in need. That really touches my heart.
What are your hopes for the future of Saint Mary’s?
My hope is that the university continues to grow and show how beautiful we are as an institution that lives the Lasallian values. In addition to showing how we are committed to educating students that they can be successful and good human beings in life.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment?
I feel very proud when the Sisters tell me that they feel at home at Saint Mary’s, and that they are proud to be Saint Mary’s students. I am glad that by educating the Sisters, they can have more skills to continue helping migrants and the unhoused in their different ministries.
Looking at the “Declaration on the Lasallian Educational Mission,” which of the 12 declarations resonates with you the most? Why?
Declaration 2: We believe that Lasallian education is an expression of Christian humanism.
I am proud that all of my education, from kindergarten to my master’s degree, has come from a Lasallian institution. Much of who I am is thanks to human and Christian formation I received from this education. From my point of view, a human education helps us create a community where students can feel like a family. Where they feel accompanied and live the values of service and commitment to those most in need.
Fostering diversity at Saint Mary’s
In creating a welcoming and inclusive community, within Saint Mary’s programming is being offered to bring together members of our community in important discussions. These opportunities lead to valuable dialogue and the chance to learn from those whose experiences and perspectives are different from our own and to — in turn — better serve our richly diverse student body.
African Diversity Inclusive Initiative connects students from African diaspora
To help students of the African diaspora connect and share experiences, students from the Doctor of Business Administration program recently formed the African Diversity Inclusive Initiative.
Since the DBA program has a relatively large group of continental African students, the organization allows students to meet learners from cohorts in the program and help each other navigate the U.S. educational system.
The African Diversity Inclusive Initiative held its first in-person event on Feb. 11, which included a social hour, a potluck, and breakout sessions. The breakout sessions covered topics about financial literacy and home buying, how Europe underdeveloped the African continent, and the importance of Pan-Africanism.
“The conference has enlightened me on many issues that we encounter on a daily basis. The interventions and breakout sessions were very dynamic and emotional moments — dynamic because of the insights. Emotional because of our history. It is salient to know where we come from,” said one student who attended the event. “Through this event, we have once again discovered that our community abounds with great minds.”
While the organization consists of DBA students at this time, program directors who know students who may want to participate are encouraged to connect them with Antar Salim, an adviser for the group, at asalim@smumn.edu.
Speaker to give talk on United States Bishops’ pastoral letter against racism
Next week, the Saint Mary’s community will have two chances to hear from nationally renowned speaker Danielle Brown, who will be giving talks on the United States Bishops’ pastoral letter against racism: Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love. Brown will be visiting both campuses on Monday, March 20.
She will present at noon during a luncheon event at the University Center on the Minneapolis Campus. Brown will also speak at the Winona Campus at 7 p.m. in the Toner Lounge. Find links for information for both the Twin Cities and Winona events.
Update on Jenzabar rollout
March 15 will mark 100 days until Saint Mary’s enters the “Go Dark” time of switching from our current Student Information System (SIS) to Jenzabar J1. During this time, transactions in the software will be limited to minimize dual entry of data into both systems. More information about this will be shared as the time gets closer.
In celebration of this major milestone and to bring awareness, the IT staff will be handing out dark chocolate. Watch Saint Mary’s Today for more information!
As part of a project in Dean Beckman’s Campaign course, one of his students, Anna Kelly, is assisting with a campaign to “name” our student and faculty portal. Students and employees will have a chance to enter their suggestions and the top three will be chosen by Marketing and Communication. The Saint Mary’s community will then vote on the final name.
What is Jenzebar?
In February of 2022, the university selected Jenzabar J1 as our new Student Information System after going through an extensive review with multiple vendors. Exclusively serving higher education, Jenzabar will help us manage our current and potential students throughout their time at Saint Mary’s. It will be replacing our current student and faculty portals and our CAMS administrative system. Please click here for a short summary video.
Why did we switch?
Concerned with the long-term financial stability of our current software company and our evolving needs as a growing university, it was time for us to explore other software options. Strategic Initiative 6B – Optimizing Academic Operations was based on consolidating to a single university calendar and creating pathways for students from the College to the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs, and a new system would help support our university efforts to support our students through their educational lifetime.
What’s the timeline and process for implementation?
Starting June 23, 2023, we will implement some temporary workarounds as we will enter our “go dark” period for approximately three weeks. During this time, we will limit processes to minimize the amount of data entered into our current system and focus on bringing Jenzabar up. Jenzabar will be live on July 17, 2023.
The next four months will be full of continued system configuration and training for our administrative offices.
What improvements are expected?
- More modern, easy-to-use portals for students and employees
- Improved degree audits
- Easier course registration
- More automated workflows
- A more stable and secure system
Who is involved with the project?
Our module managers have spent countless hours over the past 12 months learning how Jenzabar functions and mapping our current data into the Jenzabar system. In the next few months, we are excited to share more as we learn how the system will look and feel for students and employees. If you see any of our module managers, please thank them for their continued hard work.
Alison Block – Director of Academic Records and Systems
Amanda Schock – Director of Enterprise Applications
Chris Verch – Registrar
Colin Malay – Director of User Services
Kara Wener – Director of Institutional Research
Kelly Boice – Controller
Michelle Dougherty – Associate Director of University Enrollment Operations
Niki Peterson – Dean of Students
Paul Terrio – Director of Financial Aid
Tianna Johnson – AVP of IT
Tricia Dobrient – Senior Director of Student Success
How can I get involved?
Continue to watch Saint Mary’s Today for more information about go-live information and training.
Hall of Fame Profile: Mark Staub B’88
WINONA, Minn. — If you ask Mark Staub B’88 what his most treasured memory of his time at Saint Mary’s was, he would undoubtedly say back-stopping Saint Mary’s run to the MIAC regular-season championship during his senior season.
That memory could quite possibly be dropped to No. 2 on Saturday, as Staub takes his place among the all-time greats in Saint Mary’s history when he is inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Staub, along with Bruna Bucciarelli B’76, George Drouches B’78, Jenni (Gutterman) Becker B’06, and Jen (Schipp) Stewart B’06, will be recognized and honored as part of the second annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, which will be held at Visions Event Center in Winona.
“This is such a great honor to be a part of,” said Staub of his HOF induction. “When I got the (HOF) call, I laughed, I cried, I got the chills … I knew it was going to mean something, but it means way more than I ever imagined.
“A lot of guys who I played with have already been inducted, and in the back of my mind I always thought, what a great honor it would be to be inducted,” Staub added. “But I just figured I was good, but not good enough.”
He was good enough.
A four-year letterwinner, Staub, a goalie, was named First-Team All-MIAC following both his junior and senior seasons, and helped lead Saint Mary’s to a regular-season conference title in his final campaign in 1987-88.
Staub, who made 74 career appearances between the pipes, saved his best season for last, appearing in all 29 games, while compiling a 3.84 goals-against-average and an .886 save percentage. Staub remains No. 1 all-time in career wins as a goalie with 50 — including a single-season school-record 22 wins in 1987-88 — and is No. 2 all time in saves in a season (872) and a career (2,266).
“I was never a stats guy – I never really cared about my own stats, I cared about wins and losses,” Staub said. “And my senior year, everything came together, it was the greatest season of my life. To win that regular-season title, I will never forget that — winning that title is the greatest accomplishment.”
Until Saturday’s induction, that is.
Hall of Fame Profile: Jen (Schipp) Stewart B’06
WINONA, Minn. — When Jenny (Schipp) Stewart B’06 graduated from North St. Paul High School, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to play collegiate softball.
And now, the hard-throwing right-hander — who was as much a threat at the plate as she was in the pitcher’s circle — is days away from being inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Stewart, along with Bruna Bucciarelli B’76, George Drouches B’78, Mark Staub B’88, and Jenni (Gutterman) Becker B’06, will be recognized and honored as part of the second annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, which will be held at Visions Event Center in Winona on Saturday.
“It’s an honor to have your name up there with all the great softball players who have been inducted before me,” said Stewart, who was a four-year teammate with fellow inductee Becker. “To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is an amazing honor, and to get to go in with (Becker) makes it even more special.”
Special is the perfect adjective great way to describe Stewart, who was a dual threat for the Cardinals fastpitch softball team, causing opponents fits both at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle.
A four-year standout, Stewart joined Becker as a member of the NCAA Regional-qualifying 2005 team and earned First-Team All-MIAC and Second-Team All-Region accolades following each of her final three seasons. In the circle, Stewart is among the program leaders in virtually every pitching category, including ranking No. 1 in career strikeouts (545) and shutouts (22), while sitting No. 2 all-time in complete games (52), innings pitched (516 2/3), and appearances (99). Stewart put together her best season in 2005, when she set single-season program records for wins (25) and shutouts (9), closing out the year with a 27-7 record and a 1.80 ERA. At the plate, Stewart boasted a career .289 batting average — including hitting .358 in 2006 — with 24 doubles, five home runs, and 71 RBIs.
“I didn’t really think about the numbers and where you sit in the record books when I was playing”, said Stewart. “I just wanted to do well and help the team succeed.”
And succeed they did.
A calling to help youth spurs career change
Aleksa Khamda has worked in healthcare since 2014, serving as a medical technician while she was in the Air Force and most recently at Mayo Clinic as a medical administrator. She also has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management.
But an important part of her history has led her to a different career calling — and to attend classes at Saint Mary’s University’s Rochester Campus.
At the age of 9, Khamda was adopted from Russia and brought to the United States. Armed with this first-hand experience and the knowledge she is obtaining from her courses, she hopes to counsel children, particularly foster children or adopted children and their families.
“That’s one of the reasons I really want to do counseling and get my M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services,” she said. “I want to work with children who have experienced adversity and their families. My goal is to work with kids and to help them obtain tools to get them through hard times.”
As a veteran, she looked for schools that were veteran friendly; as an adult learner, she looked for flexibility and a school whose mission aligned with her own.
“One of the main reasons I chose Saint Mary’s is because it was an in-person program which is what I was looking for,” she said. “As I am using my GI Bill, it was important to me that I find a school that has experience working with veterans using the GI program. The VA (Veterans Affairs) has had a lot of changes, and the school has been so good at keeping up with all that information,” she said. “When COVID hit, and everything switched to online, the VA was good about letting us take online courses. Once everything was back to normal, the VA said no more online courses, but Saint Mary’s was still doing online courses, so they offered for me to sit in person with a teacher. No other school was providing that.
“Also, (the university’s) values align with mine,” she added. “What really stood out to me is Saint Mary’s vision in supporting students’ needs and success in their careers. I’ve found this to be true, because our program director is so wonderful in keeping in touch with us all. She ensures we are where we need to be in the program and asks if we’re having any difficulties. Even my husband decided to go to Saint Mary’s (in the MBA program) because they have flexible programs that meet our needs.”
Khamda said the idea of going into counseling has been in the back of her mind ever since she was a teenager.
“I just had a huge fear of failing, so I never considered going to school for it,” she admitted. But after the birth of her second child, she took some time off work and examined the direction she wanted her career to take.
“It gave me time to think about things and what I truly want to do,” she said. “I was happy in my job (at Mayo Clinic) and with my coworkers, but I just didn’t feel like the passion was there. I loved dealing with patients, but it was more so on the back end of things. I really wanted to be able to help the patients.”
Her husband cheered her on to apply. “He said, ‘You just have to go for it.’ We did a lot of praying about it, and I decided that counseling is what I wanted to do. My passion lies in making a difference. Even if I make the smallest impact in an individual’s life to improve their well-being, then I’d be happy.”
Now halfway through the program, Khamda said she’s happy with the decisions she’s made.
“I know they are offering this program online, but I enjoy going in person,” she said. “In person, there is more discussion. The teachers have been wonderful and make the classes very interactive. If you ever have a question, they’re always ready to address it and are willing to help with any issues you may have. I have two children, ages 2 and 4, so it’s sometimes difficult to attend in person, but they’re always willing to accommodate by sending a Zoom link.
“There’s a lot of reading, which is expected in a masters level program,” she added. “But the teachers make the information easy to understand and it’s very engaging. They make you think about how you can apply these techniques when you are out in the career field.”
Khamda advises students that graduate school is doable, particularly because of evening courses, but advises students to look for support. “The faculty and program directors are always there to assist you if you are in need of anything,” she said. “I definitely love the program. I am enjoying it and learning a lot from the program, and I can’t wait to apply it all in the field.”
Hall of Fame Profile: Jenni (Gutterman) Becker B’06
WINONA, Minn. — Jennifer (Gutterman) Becker B’06 never paid any attention to her statistics during her playing days as a member of the Saint Mary’s University fastpitch softball team.
Maybe she didn’t, but others certainly did, and those numbers were jaw-dropping — so much so that Becker has solidified a spot among greatest of the Cardinal greats, and earned her rightful place in the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Becker, along with Bruna Bucciarelli B’76, George Drouches B’78, Mark Staub B’88, and Jen (Schipp) Stewart B’06, will be recognized and honored as part of the second annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, which will be held at Visions Event Center in Winona on Saturday.
“When I first found out I was being inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame, I had to pause — I was speechless,” said Becker, who played four years alongside fellow inductee Stewart. “It’s such a great honor to be inducted, and it’s really hard to put into words how much it means.”
A four-year regular on the Cardinal fastpitch softball team, Becker helped lead the Cardinals to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2005, while closing out her collegiate career as one of the most prolific hitters in program history.
Earning conference post-season honors in all four seasons — an honorable-mention selection as a freshman and a First-Team pick as a sophomore, junior, and senior — Becker was also named Second Team All-Region following each of her final three seasons. Becker, who started every game during her four-year collegiate career, boasted a career batting average of .379 (209-for-552) with 30 doubles, 16 triples, six home runs, and 62 RBIs. She holds single-season records in games played (49), at-bats (168), and triples (8), and is the program leader in games played (162), at-bats (552), and triples (16), while sitting No. 2 all-time in hits (209).
“When I was playing, I never really worried about what my stats were — I was just out there having fun playing the game of softball with an amazing group of teammates,” Becker said. “Now, looking back, it’s pretty crazy to see all that I’ve accomplished.”
Hall of Fame Profile: George Drouches B’78
WINONA, Minn. — Juggling the demands of being a student and an athlete is a daunting task for any college student-athlete. Throw in a second sport, and those demands more than double.
To play two sports at the collegiate level is one thing — to excel at two sports at the collegiate level is another.
And George Drouches B’78 did just that as a member of the Saint Mary’s men’s basketball and baseball teams.
Drouches was so prolific on both the hardwood and the diamond, that on Saturday, he will be among five who will be inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Drouches, along with Bruna Bucciarelli B’76, Mark Staub B’88, Jennifer (Gutterman) Becker B’06, and Jennifer (Schipp) Stewart B’06, will be recognized and honored as part of the second annual Cardinal Excellence Fund Dinner, which will be held at Visions Event Center in Winona.
“It’s truly very humbling to be going into the Hall of Fame — I was very tearful when I got the news,” Drouches said. “I cried when I came to Saint Mary’s, and I cried when I left. Saint Mary’s has always been very near and dear to me, and I am very grateful for this wonderful honor.”
A First-Team All-MIAC selection during his junior and senior seasons as a member of the men’s basketball team, Drouches averaged 15.5 points-per-game and ranks 16th all-time in career scoring with 1,176 points. He enjoyed his best season as a senior, averaging 13.5 points-per-game, while dishing out 67 assists and adding 88 steals.
On the baseball field, Drouches enjoyed his best season as a junior, hitting .314 (33-for-105) with three doubles, three triples, and a home run in 28 games. For his career, Drouches hit .267 (70-for-262) with eight doubles and four triples, while going 22-for-26 in stolen bases.
“I wish they had a 3-point line during my playing days,” joked Drouches, who not only played basketball and baseball at Saint Mary’s, but also served as the head coach of both programs in the mid-1980s. “I have been very blessed to have Saint Mary’s and the Christian Brothers in my life — and being selected to the Hall of Fame is another one of those Saint Mary’s blessings.”
Noyce Scholar wants students to know math is not a barrier
Kelsey Philipsek remembers ending her first day of teaching middle school in tears — not because she was frustrated or overwhelmed but because of immense joy. For the first time in her professional life, she found where she felt she belonged.
“It was truly the best day,” she said. “And I’ve continued to have even better days since.”
Philipsek is now in her second year of teaching eighth-grade algebra and technology education at Valley Middle School of STEM in Apple Valley. She is also working toward her Master of Art in Teaching at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, where she was recently named a Noyce Scholar.
This past year, the university was awarded a $1.18 million NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program grant in support of the university’s Inclusive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Teacher Education Pipeline (iSTEP) Project. iSTEP is designed to increase the number of secondary STEM teachers from diverse backgrounds who are committed to teaching in high-need areas to help alleviate teacher shortages in the area of science and mathematics.
For Philipsek, it was a long road to becoming a teacher.
“When I graduated from high school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, and all of my school counselors said, ‘Well, you’re really good at math and science, you should become an engineer because that’s what successful people do,’” she said.
Taking their advice, she enrolled in a civil engineering program at her undergraduate college. Philipsek took to the math courses that were required for her degree, but she didn’t find herself enjoying the core engineering.
“I loved the math courses so much, I decided to get a minor,” she said. “And then I finished all my math courses, and I wanted to take more as a way to cope with my engineering degree because I didn’t like it. But I was so far along in the degree, I didn’t change.”
With the desire to take more math courses, Philipsek left college with two degrees: civil engineering and math. After graduating, she found herself working at several engineering firms, but she still wasn’t enjoying the profession.
“I tried everything,” she said. “I worked all over the U.S. and I worked on all kinds of projects scaling from multibillion-dollar projects to smaller projects and nothing really kept me intrigued.”
After serious contemplation of what she wanted to do with her career, Philipsek decided her skills could be best used in the classroom. She says her decision to become a teacher wasn’t solely based on her love of math. Philipsek wants her students to be able to pursue their interests.
“The reason I wanted to get into education wasn’t necessarily to teach math. Obviously, I love math. But that’s not my goal,” she said. “My goal isn’t to get kids to like math. My goal is for students to realize that math isn’t a barrier to pursuing something that they want.”
As a student at Saint Mary’s and Noyce Scholar, Philipsek knows she’ll be well equipped to continue that goal.
“Since I was named a Noyce Scholar, I’ve had so many people reaching out to me and connecting with me, and it’s been amazing,” she said. “Being able to know that going into my career, I know I’ll have this network of people and community (from Saint Mary’s) that I can rely on.”
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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