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Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Ed.D. graduate says she belonged at Saint Mary’s
Dr. Tanya Rand D’20 did homework for her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the kitchen table, usually alongside her three children. By the time she was working on her Doctor of Education Degree in Leadership at Saint Mary’s, her grandchildren were around for the study nights.
“They’d say, ‘Nana, Nana, what are you doing?’ Well, I’m writing my paper,” recalls Rand, who worked as a clinical social worker for many years and now teaches in the Morrison Family College of Health School of Social Work at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul. “I hope that my children and grandchildren have learned the value of education in part through me, seeing Mom and Nana go back to school.”
Her path to higher education was a nontraditional one. Rand had her first child at 18 and did not finish high school; instead, she earned a GED in her early 20s. When she returned to school for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, it wasn’t easy.
“I often had feelings of imposter syndrome. I am a first-generation college student. I was a teen mom, and I dropped out of high school, so college was a journey of thinking I didn’t belong, from way back in the first classes that I ever took for my undergraduate degree. Those feelings were really hard to shed,” Rand said. “Regardless of my success in both my BSW and MSW program, on some level those imposter syndrome feelings lived on when I entered my doctoral program. However, at Saint Mary’s, in every class, I sat in a room with professors who made me feel valued and capable. Saint Mary’s is high accountability but also high support. The message was always that as long as I worked hard, I could do it. I came to believe during my time at Saint Mary’s that a doctoral education could be mine too … that I was smart enough and I had it in me … I had the capacity.”
During her years of clinical social work practice, Rand provided services to patients and families in a variety of settings, including adoption, foster care, and in healthcare. She spent most of her practice career in both inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings, working with patients diagnosed with neurocognitive, mental health, or substance abuse diagnoses. Rand spent much of her time providing individual, family, and group counseling services to patients with traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease, or dementia. During this time, Rand also created an internship program for Master of Social Work students at the hospital where she worked. It was through mentoring and teaching those students in the field that she realized she wanted to transition to teaching full time in academia. At Saint Mary’s, she found a doctoral program that “caters to working people with busy lives and busy families.”
“I could not have continued to work full time, which I did throughout my entire doctoral program, and raise three children without Saint Mary’s,” Rand continues. “I had a supportive family, a supportive employer, and I had Saint Mary’s.”
Rand says that the doctoral program prepared her for leadership roles she has taken on at the University of St. Thomas, where she teaches and leads the Areas of Emphasis in Aging Program for students interested in pursuing a career working with older adults and their families. While at UST, Rand has spent time leading and coordinating distance educational opportunities for nontraditional students, and more recently, Rand has also become the project coordinator for a large federal grant that the School of Social Work has received.
“My learning was very rich, being in a classroom at Saint Mary’s with people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, as well as being surrounded by incredible diversity of thought, careers, and backgrounds,” she said.
Rand attributes her success to a combination of resilience and stubbornness, plus a strong faith and a “glass half full” approach to life. While working toward her degree, she encountered some significant family health challenges, and for most of her doctoral degree she was simultaneously caring for her aging parents and stepparents, and at times her grandchildren.
“Throughout it all, never did I feel that my professors and advisers were going to give up on me. It was, ‘We’re here, we got you.’ Every time I felt down on my journey, that gave me hope and encouragement,” Rand said. “I chose to attend Saint Mary’s University for many reasons, but what I kept coming back to over and over again is the gratitude I have that I was always made to feel that I genuinely belonged.”
By Maura Sullivan Hill
Cast your vote for the Student Senate at-large representatives today
Hello Cardinals!
The fall 2021 Student Senate at-large representatives election is today, Thursday, Sept. 16!
All undergraduate students have the opportunity to elect the Student Senate at-large representatives for the 2021-22 academic year.
The official ballot will be open until 7 p.m. today. Ballots can also be accessed through QR codes posted around campus, and the link will be included in the Student Senate Instagram bio (@smumnsenate).
Take this opportunity to vote for candidates who will represent your voice in the Student Senate while working with administration and beyond. We look forward to your participation and hope you seize the opportunity to support the Student Senate, your peers, and the amazing campus we call home.
Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns about campus, please reach out to senate@smumn.edu.
Kindest regards,
Riley Hall
Student Senate Vice President for Media and Communications
rmhall19@smumn.edu
Elijah Williams
Student Senate President
eawill17@smumn.edu
Cardinal Club updates
A very special thank you to the four students who have stepped up since last Friday and applied for positions within food service, but we still need students to work. We encourage you or your friends to consider applying to work for Chartwells. Work-study is not required; flexible hours and a few additional perks are available!
For those interested, apply on Handshake or contact Curt Coshenet, food service director, at ccoshene@smumn.edu.
We have shifts available during the weekends in the Cardinal Club — this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 18, and Sunday, Sept. 19, is no exception. While we hope to open, we need staff to do so.
We know this is an inconvenience for students who would normally have access to the Cardinal Club on the weekends; to accommodate those on the All Access meal plan, we will implement the following:
- An addition of one meal exchange along with the two from the weekend for a total of eight meal exchanges to be used Monday through Friday in the Cardinal Club. No more than two meal exchanges per day.
- New, available as a meal exchange option (seven days a week), is a combo meal available at Cardinal Coffee (i.e., a cold sandwich, chips, and a bottled soda).
These changes will be in effect until we are able to hire staff and re-open the Cardinal Club.
We ask for your patience as we continue to hire our various open positions.
Intramurals starting, sign-up period extended
Starting soon
Spikeball and volleyball leagues will begin this Sunday. Players and captains, look for details soon!
Extended registration and delayed start
Intramurals is extending the deadline to sign up. To sign up, go to IMLeagues.com and create an account using your Saint Mary’s email. Registered students, faculty, and staff can create teams or join teams. Registration for individual players and for teams will be extended until Friday, Oct. 15.
Due to low registration the following leagues will have a delayed start:
- Badminton (currently 3 teams registered)
- 3-3 Basketball (currently 2 teams registered)
- Pickleball (currently 2 teams registered)
- Touch football (currently 2 teams registered)
- Bocce (currently 1 teams registered)
- Soccer (currently 0 teams registered)
Students, faculty, and staff interested in the above sports are encouraged to register soon! Leagues that do not have at least four teams will be canceled.
If you are having trouble signing up, creating a team, or finding a team, contact Jim Tschida at intramurals@smumn.edu.
Student workers wanted
Intramurals is also looking for student workers. Students with work-study looking for a laid-back work environment should apply through Handshake.
If you have any questions, contact Jim Tschida at intramurals@smumn.edu.
Fitzgerald Library reminders, masks required
Masks required
Congratulations, Cardinals! We have had a good start to the fall semester, and it is great having all of you back on campus. Fitzgerald Library is working hard to follow Saint Mary’s COVID-19 protocols and keep our building safe for all. We would like to share a friendly reminder that masks must be worn correctly (covering the mouth and nose) at all times while in the library. Visit smumn.edu/covid19 for more information on campus protocols.
Thank you for your part in keeping our campus safe.
First Five Weeks
Fitzgerald Library staff look forward to seeing you in the library. We also hope you will join us on the plaza in front of the library from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays in September as part of the First Five Weeks.
Weekly surveillance testing
Because we have both vaccinated and unvaccinated students on our Winona Campus, Saint Mary’s will conduct weekly surveillance testing of at least 10% of the student body there each week through December 2021. The testing will commence on Friday, Sept. 17, and be conducted by the Wellness Center. Participation in surveillance testing is mandatory for all students. Failure to submit to surveillance testing may result in fines, quarantine, or loss of university housing.
A student is exempt from surveillance testing if:
- The student provides documentation of a positive COVID-19 test within the past 90 days and/or
- The student is fully vaccinated.
The College student handbook provides that residential students are required to comply with health and safety laws, orders, ordinances, regulations, and health and safety guidance adopted by the university as it relates to public health crises, including COVID-19. This guidance will evolve as the public health crisis evolves and may include, but is not limited to, social distancing, limitations on mass gatherings, wearing a face covering, COVID-19 diagnostic and surveillance testing (including before or upon arrival to campus), contact tracing, disinfection protocols, limitations on guests into residence halls, and quarantine/isolation requirements (including before or upon arrival to campus).
This requirement for testing is not new. We conducted mandatory weekly surveillance testing of 10% of the student body all last semester.
MN Teacher of the Year Award recipient will visit campus
Calling all future educators! The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) chapter on campus is inviting you to a presentation given by the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year! Natalia Benjamin is a Saint Mary’s University graduate who currently teaches English learners and ethnic studies at Century High School in Rochester.
The event will take place Thursday, Sept. 16, at 7 pm in Aquinas Hall Room 200, however there are limited seats available. It will also be streamed live via Zoom.
Sign up now to reserve a seat and get the Zoom link!
Recognizing the arrival of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is Wednesday, Sept. 15. This most solemn religious fast of the Jewish year is also the last of 10 days of penitence that began on Rosh Hashanah, most commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year, last week. As our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith conclude this time of atonement, fasting, and prayer, we join them in prayer and reflection — as we work together to build a better world.
Leon Dixon
Vice President for Inclusion and Human Dignity
Faculty spotlight: Josh Pankratz
An enterprise IT architect at Mayo Clinic, a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience, and a Saint Mary’s University alumnus himself, Josh Pankratz effectively integrates real-world, relevant conversations in his classroom. A course-contracted professor for School of Business and Technology graduate programs, Pankratz teaches Public Health Analytics, Intro to GIS, and Data Visualization.
In his career, Pankratz specializes in advanced analytics, enterprise architecture, and integration strategy. His primary goal is to focus on developing new analytics capabilities for Mayo Clinic using Google Cloud Platform.
“Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on various information technology capacities — from epidemiology research to advanced analytics — all of which I strive to leverage in the classroom,” he said. “I’m grateful to be able to connect with so many students who are seeking similar career paths, and I aim to foster conversation that is insightful and relevant.”
We recently had the opportunity to connect with Pankratz to learn more about him both professionally and personally.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
I like hearing the various perspectives that students bring to each class, as well as working through assignments that combine both technology skills and creative thinking.
What is one of your favorite quotes?
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
Outside of work and teaching, what is something you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I’ve recently gotten into woodworking as a creative outlet.
How can students contact you?
Students can connect with me on LinkedIn.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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