End of the Semester Scramble

It is getting to the end of the school year and that means summer is just around the corner.  For most of my classes we are working on final projects and presentations.  The end of the school year also brings a lot of different activities.  Student Senate is having their student elections this week.  One exciting item on the ballot is a referendum to renovate Old Mattke into a track stadium.  This project could be completed by summer 2013 and would allow for an SMSU track team! S.I.G.M.A. (Southwest Investment Group and Management Association) is opening an Investment Research & Trading Center (IRTC) that will allow for students to learn and use trading software.  This weekend is going to be a very busy one: SMSU Ambassadors is hosting a Mud Volleyball Tournament; the softball and baseball teams have games; and the football and volleyball teams have scrimmages.  There is always something to do around here!

Tony Schwebach
Junior - Dell Rapids, SD

Tornado!

Sunday afternoon a tornado watch/warning hit Marshall. The sirens went off twice and everyone in my dorm was freaking out. A few friends and I stood outside for a bit then the windy instantly stopped and the clouds rolled in darker and lower. At that point we knew we had to get inside and stay away from windows. My RA was rushing around knocking on everyone's door to tell them to get to safety in the first floor hallway. My roommate and I grabbed our computers and headed down to the hallway. We stayed in the hallway for about 30 minutes waiting for the storm to pass. Soon after the clouds lifted, the sun came out and it started to lightly rain. I thought there would be a rainbow, but I didn't see one. It was an eventful Sunday!

Katie Langel
Freshman - Remsen, IA

Registration!

The time is finally here for seniors in high school and transfer students to come and register for classes at SMSU. Registration started on Friday for transfer students and this Monday the 16th for incoming freshmen. As a University Ambassador, I get to help with some of the registration events. On Monday, I helped with Fun & Games. At this time, the incoming freshmen played ice breaker games to get to know each other better. I also got to join in on the fun and meet some of the students coming next year. Today, I get to eat lunch with the students and answer some of the questions they may have. I can remember coming to registration last year and wondering if I would know anyone, once I got here I did not recognize anyone. But by the time registration was over, I definitely got to know some of my new classmates for the next 4 years.

Go Mustangs!

Shawnalisa Reed
Freshman – Bruce, SD

April Registration Days

Exciting things are happening during the final weeks of the school year at SMSU! This week and next week are registration days for incoming freshman and transfer students. This is an all-day event that allows incoming students to spend a day on campus with their families and register for classes, find out their roommates and sign-up for clubs and organizations, as well as meeting the rest of the freshman class.

The admission staff has been working very hard all year for this event, and their hard work is seen being paid off when all of the new students arrive on campus to get ready for fall semester. Ambassadors also help out with this event, and it is always a lot of fun to relive freshman year and tell students how much fun they are going to have for the next four years of their college career.

Current students are busy wrapping up their classes and studying for finals. In just a few short weeks, the 2011-2012 school year will be complete. It’s crazy how fast time flies! Spring sports are still going strong, and both the softball and baseball teams are fighting for a playoff spot. This only thing missing form making this the best time of the year is the weather. Where did the 70 degree weather go, we want the March sunshine back!

Stay strong through the next couple of week’s mustangs, and have a TERRIFIC summer!

Tyler Glynn

Sophomore-Jordan, MN

Summertime

The end of spring semester is quickly approaching and that means making plans for the summer.  For the past two years I have always gone home over the three months to enjoy the warm weather.  This year though, I decided to stay in Marshall and enjoy the benefits of this town while not having to attend classes.  This will be my first summer not living at home and I am excited! 

One activity that is always fun is to go floating down the Redwood River.  A group of us get together, buy $2 floaties from the Dollar Tree and just drift right through the middle of town.  It is always a good time, especially when the humidity is high.  Another event to enjoy in Marshall over the summer months is attending A’s games, the amateur baseball team.  They are pretty good and it’s nice just to keep in touch with everyone at a social event.

While it is nice to think about summer and plan for warm days, the reality of it is that we still have three weeks of school left.  We have our Fine Arts Festival going on throughout the month of April and into the first week of May.  At this showcase, there are different features from poetry readings, senior portfolios, plays, and concerts.  I am excited to attend a couple of these to support my friend’s hard work throughout this past year.  I would like to attend more, however, at this time of the year it is crunch time for final projects and I have plenty.  I hope the spring months are treating you well! GO MUSTANGS!!

Laura Johnson
Junior – Maple River, MN

One Month Left...

Hey All,

It’s really hard to believe there is only a month left of the semester!  I’m ready for summer but I’m not so sure I’m ready for all of the end of the semester course work! Yikes! 

Campus has been pretty busy as always.  This past weekend I traveled to Nebraska with a few members of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) on campus.  We had a blast attending the No Compromise conference and had the opportunity to listen to Paul Washer and Ron Brown.  Both had a ton of passion and a really great message to share!  Their messages will be up for all to view at the nocompromisenebraska.org soon!

All of this week and next week Elementary Education students in their methods (junior/senior year) will be preparing for clinical.  Clinical is an opportunity for the elementary education teachers of Marshall to take a few days off while the SMSU education students take over their classroom.  We are in teams of two or three per classroom.  As a team we decide on a theme, redecorate the entire classroom, and plan lessons for each subject all around the theme.  So far it’s been a lot of work, but also a ton of fun!  Personally, I really enjoy being able to apply my education course knowledge in a real classroom environment. Clinical will be held on April 23rd and 24th, I wish all of the teams the very best!

Wishing you all a great week,

Bertina Miller
Senior - New London, MN

Easter Weekend

This past weekend for Easter, I went home and spent some much needed time with my family. It was great seeing all of my brothers and cousins again. But with every weekend, it went by way too fast! Also, when I left on Friday I took a bunch of my clothes and other stuff from my dorm room home with me. So now my room is kind of bare. That’s alright though because campus is starting to look pretty with the fresh flowers and green grass.  It’s crazy to think there’s only three weeks left of my freshman year!

Kayla Stenzel
Freshman - Wells, MN

Mustang Baseball!

My favorite time of the year is finally here, spring! Along with the beautiful weather, and everyone being in awesome moods, baseball is among my favorite part of this season! This week is the Mustang’s first home game of the season in which we will host Augustana. Augustana’s record is 15-10 and the Mustang’s record is 16-9. After the Mustang’s 25 away games to start out the season, the first game, which is a doubleheader, is on Wednesday the 11th at 1:30.

Go Mustangs!

Kassi Hague
Sophomore – New Ulm, MN

The Next Step

It’s about that time to start looking forward to what lies ahead. For most seniors, it’s either a full-time job, an internship, or unemployment come May, but for some of us it’s just a little bit different. I am planning to walk/graduate in May, but technically I won’t be finished with my degree until I complete student teaching in December. I’m not exactly sure where I will be placed, but we will all find out our teaching placements April 18th!

With graduation now less than a month away, I’m starting to get extremely excited for what’s to come. As much as I love the fall, with the leaves changing and classes starting, I absolutely LOVE the spring! The campus is seriously buzzing with excitement from all of the activities and events going on. On Wednesday there was a fresh squeezed lemonade stand outside of the Residential Restaurant—it was delicious and free! Inside the Residential Restaurant it was a picnic/BBQ theme and the chef informed me that they would be having fun themed Wednesday’s for the rest of the year. On top of all of the tasty treats around campus, the weather is not to be forgotten. The campus is starting to bloom with flowers; the tree buds are starting to blossom, and the grass is turning so green it’s absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait until the lilac bushes outside of the CH Library entrance start to bloom because they’re my favorite!!


I’ve started to clean out my room and our house in preparation for moving out. I didn’t realize just how much stuff I’ve accumulated over the past four years! As I was cleaning, I found so many things that I have been missing and so many things that brought back memories. I found old notebooks from classes I took my freshman year, my favorite pair of sweatpants, a few graded papers, and a bunch of other useless junk that I’ve managed to cling on to. I decided I would take a car full of things home this weekend to lighten the load for when my parents come, but I have a feeling I’ve only begun to make a small dent. Plus, who has time to pack inside when there is so much to be done outside in this beautiful weather? Not me!

Kelly Fitzgerald
Senior – Marshalltown, IA

This weekend...

This weekend I’ll be heading to Iowa to spend some much needed time with my family for Easter. I’m very excited, the past few weeks have gone by so fast! But the end of the semester is always like that. I’ve been so busy with school, studying, working on projects and more studying that this weekend will be just what I needed! I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

GO MUSTANGS!!

Andrea Hanson
Senior-Monticello, MN