Saint Mary's Newsroom
Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Concert Band to present spring performance April 23
The Saint Mary’s Concert Band spring semester performance will be held on Saturday, April 23, at 3 p.m. in Page Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public. No reservations are needed.
Directed by Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, the concert will include a variety of works for full concert band, as well as smaller groupings of instruments, including a double reed quartet (oboes and bassoons), brass ensemble, and large woodwind ensemble.
Senior music education major Nathan Herr will be the featured student director for this performance. He will lead the full ensemble in Samuel Hazo’s beautiful composition In Heaven’s Air. Other works on the program include Malcolm Arnold’s Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo, Jay Bocook’s Irish-inspired Kirkpatrick’s Muse, Adolphus Hailstork’s New Wade ‘n Water, and an unknown Sousa March, Homeward Bound. The smaller ensembles will be performing chamber music by Richard Wetzel, Leroy Ostransky, Philip Sparke, and Haydn.
The Saint Mary’s Concert Band is welcoming community members back into the band. If you’re interested in joining the band for the 2022-23 academic year, contact Dr. Heukeshoven at jheukesh@smumn.edu for information. Motivated high school players, as well as adult musicians, have long been part of the Saint Mary’s University Concert Band.
Latin American Sisters visit Texas to serve migrant communities at the border
Written by Sister Maryud Cortes Restrepo in Spanish and translated by student worker Ana Paula Saldaña
This past February, the Latin American Sisters that form part of our Saint Mary´s community, in conjunction with Catholic Extension, had the opportunity to travel to the Mexican border to bring their service to migrants.
Catholics affirm the inherent dignity of each human being, as well as the migrant’s capacity to find safety and protection for themselves. Pope Francis has spoken on repeated occasions about the importance of the topic of migration since it is a subject that concerns the dignity of life. Many Catholic communities have paired with Catholic Extension to “welcome the foreigners” and become a source of hope and comfort for the migrants. The border between Mexico and the United States is one of the most Catholic-dense communities in the country, with more than 4.3 million Catholics residing there, who have received the migrants by establishing shelters, churches, and opening their hearts to these vulnerable communities.
Sister Maryud Cortes says her experience at the border was one of personal growth.
“It was a tough experience, an experience that challenges me to value things that are so common to have, such as a bag, shoes, shampoo, and other things that, thank God, I have access to every day,” she said.
The sisters arrived in McAllen, Texas, where they met with Obispo Flores and Sister Norma Pimentel. Sister Maryud said she admires Sister Norma for not using the fame she has gained as a personal lift, prestige, or glamour, but instead uses it to help those who do not have a voice to be heard, as well as for “being a strong woman who does not break easily, but who is compassionate, merciful, and loving.”
After settling into McAllen, the sisters visited La Lomita, a small chapel that has been used by Catholic Extension. Sister Maryud said she was drawn to the chapel because it reminded her of chapels and churches found throughout Latin America.
“It was a small chapel by the river, and when you enter, you see the altar and it is full of flowers, Rosaries, and images of all of the saints,” she said. “ It made me think of all of the churches and chapels in Latin towns where people take the liberty to go and put flowers or saints on the alter because it is their own expression of faith.”
After visiting the chapel, the sisters traveled to a migrant shelter, where they were able to meet with migrants who were waiting to cross the border. Sister Maryud spoke of one interaction with a woman that was deeply impactful.
“I met a 23-year old woman who had just had a C-section because, after her two-month trip that included crossing the river, she had presented complications in her pregnancy and needed a C-section for her baby to be born. Her baby was so small, and she had another 6-year-old sleeping by them. She told me that she was not Catholic but that she believed in a God. She said that if it was not for God, she would not have been able to make it here. I was able to hold her little baby, and when I had the child in my arms, I felt the fear in the baby himself. I cannot even explain it in words. It was as if the baby was jumping every time he moved, as if he was scared. Everything must have been a traumatic experience for the young woman, and it was as if this fear had been transmitted to her baby. It is all very impactful to me.”
According to Sister Maryud, many of the people the sisters interacted with at the shelter were concerned about their children who had fallen ill. Many in the shelter also had no bags for their belongings or did not possess any belongings at all.
Sister Maryud also had the opportunity to visit the Reynosa Plaza, where nearly 3,000 people were living in tents.
“It touched my heart,” Sister Maryud said. “We had to carefully walk, watching our steps not to hit a person, or step on someone else’s belongings and food. It is hard to imagine that people live in these conditions.”
The last place the sisters visited during their trip was the Casa del Migrante, which Sister Maryud said had a different environment compared to the other shelters they visited.
“There were a hundred migrants that day and I felt like this place was more welcoming. The people were happy, and it was like this because they felt like they were at home. There were tortillas, and you could smell homemade food. It was a space that not only welcomed the migrants but also stood up for them. The Bishop mentioned that he was very grateful to Catholic Extension for coming, for their donations, and for accompanying the people,” she said.
Even when the trip had ended, the sisters were able to continue sharing their faith.
“In the airport, we saw people who were just arriving, who had no idea about what was to come. They arrived without a suitcase, and the Sisters started pulling their own bags out to give them to the people. We wanted to help them, and we told them where their gate was. It was priceless to see how grateful they were when they hugged us and said goodbye, thanking us for being their family. It was beautiful, and I am so grateful to God for allowing this opportunity. It would be nice if all of the sisters could go to the border and have that trip to experience, because I believe that it gives you even more motivation to work for the people and be with them. I appreciated this experience a lot, and I wish for other people to experience this and serve with more love, strength, and commitment,” Sister Maryud said.
Reading the Data
Data analytics might be made up of numbers, but ask Ellyn Vranicar M’20 and she’ll tell you it is really all about storytelling.
“Collecting and consuming data doesn’t mean anything if you can’t clearly visualize it to derive insights and tell a story that will ultimately make an impact,” says Vranicar, the manager of data analytics and reporting at W.W. Grainger in Lake Forest, Ill., North America’s leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products.
At Grainger, Vranicar works with finance departments across the company to collect their data and present the information in a clear, concise way that enables the departments to use data-driven decision making. She oversees a team of data visualization developers who create visual representations of data and trends, thereby empowering other members of the company in their decision making.
When it seems like there is an overwhelming amount of information to share with her partner departments, Vranicar falls back on a philosophy she learned as a student in Saint Mary’s M.S. in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics program: Keep it simple.
“Saint Mary’s has taught me a lot about communication strategies. For example, less is more. Simple really goes a long way — it is easy for end users to understand and interpret with minimal to no learning curves, which ultimately leads to high adoption rates,” says Vranicar, who heard about the Saint Mary’s program from her cousin, who had come across it in his own work in higher education.
“I always knew that I wanted to get my master’s, but I was never really sure what I wanted to get it in. I knew I didn’t want to pursue one just to get it. My cousin told me about this program, the master’s in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics at Saint Mary’s, because he knew that’s where my passion was,” she says. “My cousin raved about the program and the program director, Michael Ratajczyk B’03, M’05, and his passion in creating this program and continuously improving it. I signed up for the program literally the next day, in spring 2019.”
Vranicar graduated from the University of Iowa in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in finance and a minor in Spanish. She chose a career in data analytics because she saw potential in the growing field, and the Saint Mary’s program was the ideal complement to her day job. At the time, she was working as a senior client consultant at Donlen, a vehicle fleet leasing and management company based in Bannockburn, Ill., where she analyzed data and metrics to improve efficiency and cost-saving measures. She started working at Grainger in October 2019, before graduating from Saint Mary’s in December 2020.
Vranicar is based in the Chicagoland area and did not have to leave home to earn her master’s degree, because the Saint Mary’s program is entirely virtual. “I really felt a sense of flexibility, because many of us in the program had full-time jobs and families and many other responsibilities while taking these classes,” she says. “So that was definitely part of my decision making [in choosing Saint Mary’s].”
Vranicar also appreciated the emphasis on real-world business scenarios in each of her courses, and the opportunity to interact with her remote classmates and provide each other with feedback. “It wasn’t just about the technology and the analytics. It always had a communication component to it, which is critical in today’s world,” she says. “A good portion of the work that you did in each of these courses was participating with your classmates, giving your perspective and gaining their perspective. It was a virtual environment — we were all across the country — but it didn’t feel that way.”
Gathering different perspectives is essential to how Vranicar leads her team at Grainger, and she says she loves the opportunities for creativity and problem solving that each day on the job brings.
“Within our team, we all approach problems differently, which has proven really helpful and successful in the work that we do. It allows us to brainstorm solutions with various approaches and ultimately move forward with a product that is going to be the best solution,” she says. “In leading our team, for me, it’s encouraging creativity, out-of-the-box ideas and solutions. It’s OK to fail, which allows us to learn from those opportunities and improve upon new ones. My favorite thing about being a people leader, which I’ve only been for just over two years now, is the coaching, mentoring, and helping my team members grow, develop and learn new skills, and advance their career.”
With all the supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, there is more demand than ever for the expertise from Vranicar and other data analytics experts. And amid the uncertainty, she’s sticking to the keep it simple philosophy she learned at Saint Mary’s.
“Across industries, things that previously arrived the next day or in a couple days could now take one, two weeks, or longer. The demand is greater than the supply,” she says. “Companies are leveraging their analytics to drive business decisions and to flex, given the supply chain disruptions. What I’ve learned is that, many times you might be sharing an end product with individuals who are not as analytical as you are and sticking to the basic visualizations will be more well-received, because it’s easy to interpret. There’s no learning curve and users really can focus on the findings.”
By Maura Sullivan Hill
Liberal arts in action
When Armando Salgado B’14 graduated from Saint Mary’s, he planned on utilizing his psychology major to either become a clinical counselor or to attend medical school and become a psychologist.
Then, he says, life happened.
Instead, Salgado married his college sweetheart, Danielle Pues B’15, had three beautiful children, earned an M.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and built a successful career in the sales industry over the past eight years, the last five in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. About a year ago he became an immunology specialist with Janssen Biotech, the pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson.
Salgado specializes on a biologics portfolio within Janssen’s Immunology Division. He educates medical professionals on the latest infusion therapies for patients who suffer from these debilitating diseases.
“I specialize in the therapeutic area for irritable bowel disease, where there is no cure, but every therapy treats a patient differently to get them into remission,” he said.
“I’m passionate about this. My grandmother had Crohn’s disease, and I saw how debilitating it was. When I was younger, these therapies didn’t exist. It’s part of my passion to be in this role to help these patients. Science and therapy have advanced a long way.”
Armando said his career may not have gone the way he originally planned, but in addition to fulfilling his dream of helping others, he’s finding that the skills he learned obtaining a liberal arts degree at Saint Mary’s — and as one of Saint Mary’s inaugural First Generation Scholars — come into play every day.
“The liberal arts education and content prepared me for what happened in the real world,” he said. “Life throws real situations at you. Getting married and having kids at such an early age made me have to pivot and utilize all those assets in other ways. All those soft skills are definitely coming into play.”
The idea of pairing business, science, and psychology with interdisciplinary study — as Saint Mary’s has done within Aquinas Hall on the Winona Campus — makes sense to him as it’s the three disciplines he utilizes in his current position.
“Psychology is applicable to any field where you interact with humans and behaviors,” he said, adding that earlier in his career, he worked directly with psychiatrists, and being able to speak knowledgeably about disease states to his customers was beneficial.
As a business administration and management minor, Salgado said he learned how to read a room and obtain the information needed for his clients. Additionally, he obtained a background in analytics, specifically looking at business and marketing trends and strategizing messages accordingly.
And, although, he admits science may not have been his strength at Saint Mary’s, the study skills he learned as an FGI Scholar with memory tips have been very helpful when he needs to launch a new therapy or device and has four weeks of training to learn the science behind what he’s promoting.
For Salgado, his position also gives him a great deal of autonomy. “You get a territory, and it’s your job to grow it, so that’s the best part,” he said. “I’m the only rep in this territory, in charge of 80 customers, and I am the face of Janssen Pharmaceuticals for them. I’m the CEO of my own territory. I don’t have a corporate business office. I’m in the field, driving from customer to customer (both larger medical institutions but also private practices), so every day is different and new.”
And he has more time to spend with his wife and family, including Armando III (age 4), Viviana (age 2), and Camila (7 months).
When Salgado looks back at his years at Saint Mary’s, it’s natural many of his memories revolve around his wife, whom he met as a sophomore. “Next would be the faith component,” he said. “I don’t think my faith would be where it is today if it wasn’t for Saint Mary’s. It was important to me to go somewhere with similar values my families had and the values I wanted my family to have in the future. I also think about the relationships that were built.”
Salgado said he had also been accepted into Michigan State, but once he learned he had obtained the First Generation Initiative Scholarship to attend Saint Mary’s tuition-free, there was no question he would attend Saint Mary’s.
“At the time, I was oblivious to its actual significance. I understood it was a free college education, and obviously that is important, but I took for granted all of the resources they provided,” he said. “Looking back, what FGI was was a support system, not just about providing free college tuition and study hall assistance. It’s a community there to make sure you’re not only getting into the program but also succeeding throughout the program. It’s a program that is breaking the statistics of failing rates of minorities in college, and I hope it continues to grow.”
French family legacy
A member of the French family will have been enrolled at Saint Mary’s nearly consecutively from 1986 to 2026.
They’ve completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees; they’ve been involved in music, theatre, athletics, musical variety shows and more; they’ve witnessed buildings constructed and demolished; they remember four different university presidents; and they’ve majored in different subjects. Yet, as different as their experiences have been, they say they’re all proud to share a common Cardinal connection.
The family legacy began with biology major Amy (Keen) French B’90 who, after graduating from Cotter High School in Winona, wanted to continue her Catholic education close to home. Her sister, Ann Keen B’94, followed and majored in theatre. Amy’s husband Bob French completed a master’s degree in telecommunications in 1997.
The next generation included Amy and Bob’s children: Sam B’19, who majored in psychology; Jacob B’21, who majored in social studies education (and is currently getting his master’s in curriculum and instruction), and David B’21 who studied business management and history. Youngest sibling Alison is committed to starting in 2022 and hopes to get into the physician assistant program. On top of all that, Sam married Erin (Budin) B’20, who is also part of her own legacy family. And the legacy also extends to cousins.
Career preparation
“Dick Kowles shaped my career,” Amy said. “I did research with him for three years, which was instrumental in me getting a job. I owe my career to him. He gave those tests where you had to understand the material and couldn’t just memorize the material. You had to take what you knew and apply it.”
After graduation Amy got a job at Mayo Clinic in genetics. “I have done cancer research for almost 30 years, have authored or co-authored over 60 papers, including in the journals of Nature and New England journal of medicine,” she said. “I have presented my work at national conferences. The education I received led to my post graduate education and achieving a master’s degree in biomedical science. I am currently employed at Mayo Clinic as a senior research technologist by the department of laboratory medicine and pathology and do cancer research.”
Ann has had a variety of jobs and careers since Saint Mary’s and credits the theatre department for providing the skills and confidence she’s needed for them all, from founding a nonprofit theatre company to owning 360 Flavor and Spice, a custom blend store, and from serving as the venue director at Chicago Union Station to working for JP Morgan Chase. “The Lasallian mission of being of service and getting to know people can apply anywhere,” she said. “The biggest guiding principle Saint Mary’s taught me was to carry my ideas and principles to every job and that will always yield success.”
David is currently working at Fastenal Company as the associate supplier development manager in lighting and electrical. “Saint Mary’s helped me tremendously in my career preparation,” he said. “I attribute the ease of working in a corporate setting to the discussions and presentations that gave me the tools of communicating and critically thinking to solve business problems.” He particularly credits his business “strategies” course because it culminated in a high stakes final presentation that utilized everything he had learned in the business program. “It really taught me intellectual grit and challenged me on how to think on my feet,” he said.
Erin, currently teaching band for the La Crescent-Hokah School District, said getting out into the field as early as her sophomore year as an education major and having three years of being immersed in the schools helped her prepare for her career. She had the added challenge of student teaching during the pandemic.
Involvement and opportunities
Erin and Sam first met while playing music together. They, David, and Jacob all participated in various music ensembles on campus.
Jacob and David were both on the baseball team. One of David’s favorite memories is when the baseball team won the MIAC tournament in 2021. “Working through all the adversities of COVID-19, from 2020 our season being canceled in the spring to the challenges of being on campus in 2020-2021, made our playoff run even more memorable,” he said. “Teachers were really flexible and worked with our schedules and emphasized the importance of making sure education was a priority,” Jacob added.
“Saint Mary’s encourages students to be involved in activities, clubs performances, and sports while being a student. I was involved in a lot and they were all very different in their nature which allowed me to meet new people and grow more relationships with the community,” Erin said. “Saint Mary’s is where I met my closest friends, my husband and my family. Saint Mary’s prepares you for the future and gives you life changing experiences.”
Sam recalls having a lot of fun at various campus events including the musical variety shows. His jazz combo played for the ceremony at the dedication of the first section of Aquinas Hall (formerly the Science and Learning Center).
One more French, youngest sister Alison, has grown up hearing all the Saint Mary’s stories and will soon be making some of her own. One big draw for her was the opportunity to play softball with award winning Coach John Tschida B’90 who returned to Saint Mary’s last year.
“Coach Tschida is an amazing person and coach,” Amy said. “His softball knowledge is exceptional. But most importantly he is a great mentor to his players. Alison has grown up around the ball field. She started playing baseball at 3 until she was old enough to join the softball league in town. If not playing, she was attending her brothers’ games. She spends hours each week in the weight room and honing skills. She is driven to work to improve and be the best teammate she can be. And the culture that Coach Tschida creates matches what Alison wants in a program. She is super excited to play for him.”
Cardinal pride
The Frenches are Saint Mary’s advocates.
“I would recommend Saint Mary’s because it is a community that cares about you and your future. Saint Mary’s is a Lasallian Catholic School that focuses on your growth as a person and human and provides countless opportunities that challenge you to look at the world in a new perspective of empathy, dignity, resilience, and respect,” David said.
“Saint Mary’s is where you go to not just be a number, you are a name,” Erin added. “There is so much opportunity for involvement, community, and achievement. A big part of Saint Mary’s is the people who are there who made that experience so enjoyable.”
“It’s had a big impact on my life through significant events,” Jacob said. “It’s the overall sense of community. You’re immersed in a good community.”
Amy added, “It’s a very tight, faith-filled community offering an excellent Lasallian education.”
A shared experience
The French family uses words like “amazing” and “incredible” to describe the unique bond of attending the same alma mater.
“I think it is really cool that we are all Cardinals and a part of the Saint Mary’s alumni family, but it is also a cool thing to think that even though we all went there, that each of our experiences was so different and unique to all of us,” Erin said. “The connections we formed, the classes we took, the things we were involved in — nothing was the same for any of us. And it’s fun to be a part of something so connected, yet knowing our experience was unique.”
“It is an awesome feeling knowing that we shared a college experience with my family members,” David added. “It’s a testament to the quality of the school and how beneficial Saint Mary’s is from an educational and communal standpoint.”
Ratajczyk, Tadie discuss the metaverse on Saint Mary’s Currents podcast
This past October, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg announced his company Facebook was changing its name to Meta to quote “reflect its focus on building a metaverse.” But what exactly is a metaverse? What are the concerns that come with it? What are the possibilities? In this episode, Saint Mary’s Currents host Ben Rodgers is joined by business and data analytics professor Michael Ratajczyk and philosophy professor Joe Tadie to discuss the metaverse, its potential uses, and the ethics surrounding the technology.
If you enjoy the show and the topics discussed, subscribe to Saint Mary’s Currents wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to previous episodes by visiting the Saint Mary’s Newsroom.
Greek dinner fundraiser April 26 to raise funds for Sandbar Storytelling Festival
WINONA, Minn. — Storytelling is best done around a table as guests share stories and form deeper connections and an understanding of one another.
On this theme, the public is invited to register for “My Big Fat Greek Dinner” on Tuesday, April 26, a fundraiser for the inaugural Sandbar Storytelling Festival, planned for Oct. 14-15 in Winona.
The Greek dinner, a delectable five-course meal that will leave participants yelling “Opa!” will feature celebrity chef Gary Diomandes, who serves on the festival board. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be available.
The event, which begins at 6 p.m. at the Blue Heron in Winona, 162 W. 2nd St., will also feature a live auction. Jon Kohner will auction off a variety of specialty dinners, Italian handbags, an autographed Vikings jersey, and more. Anyone interested in donating higher-end auction items to help launch this event can contact Diomandes at gdiomand@smumn.edu.
The cost is $75 (+fee) and the event is limited to the first 60 to register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/my-big-fat-greek-dinner-tickets-302917212537. Find the registration link at sandbarstorytellingfestival.org.
Removing the option to fail
As principal of Sunrise Park Middle School in White Bear Lake, Minn., Christina Pierre C’05, C’10, D’16 deals with a lot of paperwork, personnel, policy revisions, and budgets.
Never losing sight that learning is the No. 1 priority of her work, Pierre believes it’s incredibly important to carve out time to investigate organizational development changes that better meet the needs of her sixth- through eighth-grade students.
“I wish my entire job was about this,” she said. “Working together to move education forward is absolutely critical.”
One outcome of these discussions has been making headlines. This past fall Pierre and her school changed their grading system, replacing the “F” with an “I.”
In short, she explains that an “I,” which stands for incomplete, still means students aren’t passing, but it also means they still have more work to do.
“A grade is a form of communication,” she said. “It should communicate what a student knows and nothing else. We wanted to make that communication as clear as possible. We don’t ever want students to wonder, ‘How did I get that grade?’ and ‘How to make changes to it if I’m not satisfied?’ ”
Students are encouraged to retake tests and quizzes to better their grades and learn the content instead of giving up.
It was also part of their goal, according to Pierre, to take behavior out of grades. Grading no longer reflects classroom misbehavior or tardiness. “Grades should be about learning. We can address behavior in other ways,” she said.
Another change at Sunrise Park Middle School, the new grading scale now bottoms out at 50%. Pierre explains, “When you look at a scale, we’re used to the 10 percentage range for grades: ‘A’s are 90 and above, ‘B’s are 80 and above, etc. An ‘F’ (or an ‘I’) is so much bigger than all the other ranges, from 0 to 59, so when averaging, it’s weighted a lot more than with those other grades. To rebalance the ‘I’ with the same weight, we needed to have a 50 percent floor.”
Not everyone was a fan of the change. Some opponents argued that the school is being too easy on their students and isn’t holding students accountable enough. Pierre counteracts with, “There’s more accountability this way because the message is ‘You still have work to do.’ ”
“What I see from students is the recognition that they still have a responsibility,” she said. “When their grade isn’t what they want it to be, they still have the ability to change it. It isn’t just, ‘I got a bad grade, and I’m not understanding, but let’s move on.’ Students know that if they don’t like it, they can do the revision process and can relearn the material and do a retake before the end of the quarter. The learning is in their hands. We’re not going to stop them from learning because they already took the test. But they need to do their part. There’s an increase in accountability for students. It’s actually the opposite of giving everyone a participation award. We’re giving everyone more responsibility. In the end, what I expect to see is test scores going up because they’re engaging in learning more.”
And, she said, no student who truly wants to learn will be left behind when subsequent tests build off of the previous chapters or units. While this change doesn’t affect A and B students as much, it can especially help those on the margins, particularly those who become discouraged and drop out of school.
Pierre knows first-hand how beneficial this change in mindset can be. She began her education career as a math teacher for 11 years in middle school and high school before becoming an associate principal and then principal at Sunrise Park seven years ago.
“I love the process of learning, and I love making it happen for other people, whether children or adults,” she said. “It’s very humbling, and it’s an honor to be part of something as life-changing as learning is.”
It was Saint Mary’s Lasallian Catholic mission of making education accessible to everyone that drew her to Saint Mary’s for her principal’s license. After a great experience, she returned to obtain her Ed.D.
I felt like Saint Mary’s was very welcoming and provided the knowledge I was looking for. I absolutely loved the experience,” she said. “I found the classes challenging, and the Ed.D. program prepared me for my position as a leader. I learned about working with a wide range of voices, appreciating differences, and bringing lots of different perspectives together and finding ways to move forward. As a school leader, I need all of that.”
Saint Mary’s Spotlight: Nicholas Pritchard
The Marketing and Communication Office will be profiling Saint Mary’s University leaders regularly in the Cardinal Update. Our goal is to showcase those overseeing and guiding key areas important to our strategic initiatives. This week, we feature Nicholas Pritchard, director of club sports at Saint Mary’s University.
Nicholas Pritchard, director of club sports
Name: Nicholas (Nick) Pritchard
Title: Director of club sports
How long have you worked at Saint Mary’s
I have been working at Saint Mary’s University since Feb. 28, 2022.
How would you describe your role at Saint Mary’s?
My role here on campus is to help push the envelope when it comes to club sports programming. This includes revamping and providing structure for our current club sports, searching for opportunities to expand our current offerings, and being a source of information for those in our student body.
Why are club sports a focus for the university at this moment?
Club sports are seen as a key tool to not only retain current students but to help bring in prospective students as well.
How can expanding the club sports program at the College help Saint Mary’s University with recruiting?
If you look at the collegiate landscape, you can see that many post-secondary institutions are investing in the student experience landscape, and club sports have been at the forefront of this investment. So, I applaud Saint Mary’s for taking this step and realizing the value that this program will bring to the campus.
It’s also not all about expansion in terms of getting new recruits but by sprucing up current programming as well. It is important to note that by amplifying and revamping our current club sports offering, we are bound to recruit more students. There are little tweaks here and there that current clubs can change that will put us in another light to prospective students, be it gaining affiliation from a governing body, better marketing tactics, more robust schedules, etc. Little things add up!
In terms of expansion, right now, prospective students who research Saint Mary’s might see that we currently only offer six club sports programs, whereas institutions elsewhere that are close in size might offer 30 plus. So, right there, we are losing out on prospective students. By expanding and diversifying our club sports portfolio, we are bound to cast a father net in terms of hitting the interest areas of prospective students. By creating more club sports opportunities, which can have a direct correlation to the student life experience, we are providing prospective students with a sense of belonging.
Why are club sports valuable to undergraduate students?
Club sports are extremely valuable because students are empowered to take on leadership and decision-making roles that help sustain the success and longevity of their respected club. Club sports provide avenues for personal growth and development, along with opportunities to network and get involved.
What are the current strengths of Saint Mary’s club sports program? What do you hope to build upon?
Facilities. The facilities that are utilized by our club sports programs are quite impressive. The trail system used by our Nordic Ski Club is a regional draw and should be highlighted as such. The ice arena allows our Hockey Club to practice there without paying ice fees. The vastness of open green fields that our Soccer and Ultimate Frisbee clubs utilize can’t be understated. Lastly, the Gostomski Fieldhouse, which houses practices for the Dance and Ballroom Dance clubs, is outstanding.
I hope to host more on-campus events which highlight the university and these great facilities.
The current club sports leaders have also been fantastic to work with, and I hope to build off all of their hard work and efforts as well.
What is your favorite part of your job?
The best part of my job is that each day is different, which keeps me on my toes!
Looking at the “Declaration on the Lasallian Educational Mission,” which of the 12 declarations resonates with you the most (The Declaration can be found on page 117)? Why?
Declaration 11 (We believe that today’s realities demand taking risks and being creative) resonates with me the most. The reason I chose this declaration is that I understand and have experienced the need to remake/reinvent myself, both professionally and personally. It currently resonates with me professionally in a secondary sense seeing that Saint Mary’s is currently reinventing itself, and that reinvention has landed me in the spot I am in today, the new director of club sports.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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