Saint Mary's Newsroom

More than 35 Saint Mary’s University undergraduate student leaders learned how to engage and innovate from international best-selling author and global consultant Dr. Jackie Freiberg at the 2018 Hendrickson Forum on April 24.

The students met Dr. Freiberg, recognized as one of the Top 30 Minds on Leadership by Leadership Excellence Magazine, on the Saint Mary’s Twin Cities Campus in Minneapolis. Dr. Freiberg delivered a lunchtime keynote address to approximately 280 people, including area business leaders and community members. Focusing on three critical roles for organizational success (notice, lead, and engage), Dr. Freiberg’s keynote empowered attendees to take on these roles and begin taking advantage of opportunities to transform new ideas into real solutions.

Isabel Bettag ’21, accounting and sports management double major who is also on the basketball team, came to the Hendrickson Forum because she was interested in learning about what being a leader truly means. Bettag has an older sister and a cousin who are also attending Saint Mary’s. “One message that stood out to me was that leadership is what people say about you when you leave the room,” said Bettag. “I have a big family, and I don’t want anything I do to reflect badly on my family name. When I walk out of a room, I want people to think well of me and hold me to high esteem.”

After the keynote, the Winona Campus students spent an hour with Dr. Freiberg. Majoring in various subjects including business, the students shared a common interest in innovation and leadership. During their time together, Dr. Freiberg imparted the college students with 10 leadership“isms” for life:  

1. Keep great company (and be good company) … People want to be and work with someone who dreams big, gets stuff done, and knows how to have fun.
2. Build bridges … What you know and who you know is important.
3. Learn like crazy … Life is a journey. Don’t fake it. Be a lifelong learner.
4. Show up … Get to know people and their backstories.
5. Dream big … Dreams choose people; people don’t choose dreams. Capture your dreams, write them down, visualize them every day.
6. Dare to try … Don’t make excuses. Rise above your fear.
7. Choose carefully … Be a gentleman (or a lady), not a jerk. Be classy, not catty. Temporary pleasures lead to permanent reminders.
8. Find a cause … Work to have an impact on society in a positive way.
9. Play hard … You’ll work harder if you’re happier.
10. Work hard … Don’t count on someone else to do it for you.

Abram Whitebird ’18, history/social studies major who is also involved in Campus Ministry, said the ninth leadership“ism” stood out to him. “I tend to push myself to my limits, and it’s important to take a break, take a walk, do something you love, and then get back at it,” he explained.

Kate Dulak ’19, public relations major, secretary of the Public Relations/Business Club, and vice president of Big and Little Pals, said one of her favorite messages from Dr. Freiberg was that leadership is a choice. “You can sit in the back and not do anything, or you can choose to participate, be there, and be present,” explained Dulak. “It can be hard to be a strong leader when you’re busy, but I plan to take that idea back to the activities I’m involved in on campus. I want to be more of an active presence and and be more vocal.”

Attending her fourth Hendrickson Forum was international business and marketing major Maria Antonieta Morales-Lozano ’18. She’s the president of the Saint Teresa Leadership Club, an organization she was introduced to at her first Hendrickson Forum. As she’ll be graduating this year, Morales-Lozano asked Dr. Freiberg for advice about how young professionals can make their mark when starting a new job after college.

Dr. Freiberg’s advice was to learn the lay of land first. Build a network, be interested, find the leaders and influencers, learn the culture, find the pockets of toxic energy — she emphasized the importance of learning these before trying to leave your mark or make a difference. And when you lift up a problem, Dr. Freiberg added, always offer a solution, even though it may not be the right solution.

“This event means a lot to me. It brings to light ideas that are bigger than ourselves,” said Jacob Petraitis ’19, a business intelligence and data analytics major who was attending his second Hendrickson Forum. “It’s a great networking event and really gives you something valuable to walk away with.”

Learn more about the Hendrickson Forum at smumn.edu/HendricksonForum, or the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership at smumn.edu/HendricksonInstitute.

View more photos from the 2018 Hendrickson Forum.

Serving as Miss Winona, Casey McCarraher ’20 proudly wears a sparkling crown and sash, as she waves in parades and makes countless guest appearances.

Behind her outgoing personality and beautiful smile, McCarraher is also spreading a very serious and personal message that she hopes ultimately saves lives. She calls it, “It’s your choice.”

“It’s about bringing awareness to and preventing drunk driving,” the Pastoral Youth Ministry major from New Vienna, Iowa, said.

It’s a platform that’s deeply personal to her.

As an eighth-grader, McCarraher received a phone call from her older sister that she can still recall vividly. She was told that her brother, a junior at the time, had been involved in a serious car accident.

McCarraher soon learned that her brother had made the choice to drive drunk. While leaning over to throw up, her brother’s vehicle struck an elderly couple’s vehicle, causing his car to flip and start on fire. Although he recovered, her brother was in a coma for four days.

Earlier on the day of the accident, McCarraher said that her brother had offered to give take her skiing with his friends, but she “shoved him off.” McCarraher said that for a long time she felt guilty for not being there to stop him.

Now, McCarraher wants to use her Miss Winona platform to make a difference. “I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through, what my family and my community went through,” she said.

During her time as Miss Winona, she hopes to get the message out about how to handle situations where someone may be on the verge of driving drunk. She believes that everyone, no matter who they are, can take steps to prevent drunk driving throughout the community.

She tells others, “It’s up to you to make the decision to not drive drunk, and it’s up to you to step up and step in when someone else is about to get in a car under the influence.”

Saint Mary’s alumna Serica Rowley ’13, a theatre and musical director at McCarraher’s high school, encouraged and motivated McCarraher to take her platform for preventing drunk driving to the Miss Winona Pageant held last November. Rowley, who is a former Miss Winona herself, helped McCarraher prepare for the pageant.

The Miss Winona Pageant, which is a scholarship program, was McCarraher’s first pageant. Although she was hopeful that she would win, she but didn’t really expect to do so, which made the announcement of her win a surprise.

“I was full of shock and so much joy,” McCarraher said. “I don’t even remember them putting the crown on my head.”

McCarraher has since adapted to her role as Miss Winona and is continuing to balance her college life with the responsibilities of her title. Along with strenuously preparing for the Miss Minnesota pageant on June 15, McCarraher is continuously working to promote her platform in a variety of ways.

Along with giving talks at the Winona Senior High School related to preventing intoxicated driving, McCarraher also held “drunk goggles” demos at Winona State University to show people what it’s like to be drunk while they’re actually still sober.

McCarraher has also gone on a ride-along with Winona deputies around “bar time” —  10 p.m. to midnight — so that she could experience what it would be like to pull over someone who is driving while intoxicated.

Additionally, last November, the same month that McCarraher was named Miss Winona, she submitted a proclamation that was accepted and signed by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton declaring the month of December to be “Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month”.

McCarraher credits her success at interacting with people out in the community to the overall atmosphere of Saint Mary’s. Through her involvement with Campus Ministry and choir, she feels part of a “close-knit family who will always be there.”

“It’s my home,” she said.

By Courteney Jacob ’19

The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies and Summer Session at Boston College, has been named the 14th president of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Mary Ann Remick, chair of the university’s board of trustees, announced the board’s selection on Tuesday, May 1, adding that Father Burns will officially begin his presidency Monday, July 9.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead this wonderful Lasallian and Catholic university, to help it fulfill its considerable potential, and to bring it to higher prominence by focusing on academic excellence, innovation, and community,” Father Burns said. “It is especially fitting that the announcement of my presidency is occurring in May, which we celebrate as the Month of Mary.”

Read the full story.

Saint Mary’s broke ground May 1 on a new $704,000 baseball clubhouse, and excitement was in full swing.

Assistant athletic director and Cardinal head baseball coach Nick Winecke ’07 told the audience, “Having a facility that sets us apart from the competition will help us with recruitment, and it will also help us ultimately on the playing field. Our athletes will be able to use this facility year-round to study in, to learn from each other in, and to further bond as a team off the field.”

The project was made possible through the generosity of a lead gift from Marc Weisenburger ’75, and more than 50 other young alumni have stepped up to bat to join Weisenburger in this dream by sponsoring lockers at $2,000 or more.

Read the full story and see more photos from the groundbreaking.

Cotter High School students from Katie Halvorson’s Environmental Science class joined Saint Mary’s students from Dr. Lallaman’s Limnology class on May 2 to survey fish in Gilmore Creek. Students from both schools formed teams to capture fish, count their numbers, and measure their size. More than 50 brown trout were collected, along with three other fish species. This survey is part of an annual spring survey of Gilmore Creek that has been conducted for more than 20 years, but this was the first time students from the local high school teamed up with Saint Mary’s students.