Getting on the Right Path - Tatum's Journey at SMSU!

Hello Future Mustangs! 

                My name is Tatum Larson, and I am four semester tests from being half way through my senior year at SMSU! (WHOO HOO!) I’m from Canton, SD and I’m majoring in biology. I say that confidently now but this has not always been the case. My journey here has been full of many ups and downs and crazy turns along the way. 

                You may be asking yourself, “How did you end up at SMSU, Tatum?” That’s a great question, future mustang! As a senior in high school I didn’t care about much besides sports and having fun. I was not stressing out a whole lot about choosing a college until the end of basketball season in February when my parents kind of got on my tail about it. I made a list of schools I wanted to visit. That list included Winona State University, South Dakota State University, and University of Minnesota-Morris. I visited all of these schools and none of them really seemed to fit. My parents were kind of getting impatient with me at this point. My dad had finally mentioned Southwest Minnesota State University where my cousin played football. I looked it up online and thought why not give it a shot. I scheduled a visit and talked with an admission counselor first. They asked me what my interests were as far as a major went, and I told them exercise science and animal science. They informed me that they had an exercise science program but not an animal science program. As I went on tour, my tour guide explained the exercise science program in more detail, and I actually got a chance to speak with Professor Jeffers who is an exercise science professor. He basically sold me on the program and the school; I was set on becoming a mustang. To make this choice even more perfect, I received a call in late July about a month before school was to start. It was a phone number I did not know. Turns out, it was Coach Nate Wolf who was just hired by SMSU to be the new head Cross Country coach. He asked me if I would be interested in running for him and he could barely finish his sentence before I was already saying yes. This was the cherry on top, and it was at this point that I realized this is definitely where I belong.

                As a freshmen, I was enrolled in most of my general courses to get those out of the way. It wasn’t until my sophomore year fall semester that I got into my exercise science major, taking classes like Kinesiology and Nutrition. I found these classes extremely interesting but I started to question what I truly wanted to do with my major. Second semester of my sophomore year I was enrolled in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition & Exercise, which I also found interesting considering they apply so much to running, yet I still wasn’t sold. I decided to explore some options and started to realize that I really do see myself working in the animal science field. I had grown up on a ranch raising horses and cows, and I discovered that animal health was a big passion of mine. Since SMSU does not have this particular program, I started to become very frustrated on what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to transfer because I didn’t want to leave my team and friends that I had made. I met up with my advisor who was Dr. Kris Cleveland at the time. She directed me to talk to Professor Gehle about some possible options related to a biology degree. After talking with Dr. Gehle, I knew that this was going to be the best decision for me. I decided that with my biology degree I will either go into bovine reproduction/embryology or go on to veterinary school.  

                So junior year, I was enrolled in my biology major courses. Even though I struggled through Organic Chemistry, I knew I had made the right decision. Toward the end of my junior year, I started getting the question from family and friends, “So Tatum, what are you for sure going to do with this biology degree of yours? Medical School?” Until about 3 weeks ago, my answer was always “I’m not 100% sure yet. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” (My parents did not like this response!) Now, I can tell everyone that I accepted a yearlong internship position outside of Loveland, CO. I will be working for a company called International Bovine Training Solutions under a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Kevin McSweeney. I will be learning all about bovine reproduction, ultrasound, embryo transfer and overall cattle health. I can’t wait for this new adventure, and I have SMSU to thank for getting me to this point! The overall message I want you to take from this is that you don’t have to have it all together when you come to college. SMSU provides unique opportunities and great faculty to direct you to the path that is perfect for you. 

Stay Classy Mustangs, 

Tatum Larson

Finding the Right Major - Erin's Story

Hello!

My name is Erin Nelson, I am from St. Joseph, MN, and I am halfway through my junior year. I am currently a Marketing Major and am planning on having a career in business-to-business sales. I started at SMSU as a freshmen and had the hardest time deciding what to declare as my major. People told me to find something I enjoyed doing and would want to do as a career, but I didn’t realize that finding the right career path would be as challenging as it was. As my freshmen year of college was approaching, and I had to register for my first classes, I decided to declare myself as a Special Education major. I loved working with children when I was younger, and I had a passion for helping people. Also, I felt that Special Education would be the best fit for my personality. 

                My freshmen year started, and I was enrolled in an Introduction to Education class. The class was everything I had hoped for, and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to take an education class right away in my first semester of school. During that first semester we were required to log hours in a classroom for any grade we desired to someday teach. I was placed in a third grade classroom and was assigned a student who I would then shadow throughout the day. I did about 20 hours in that classroom helping with lesson plans, getting to know the curriculum and doing projects with the kids. I learned so much in those 20 hours, and I appreciated every minute with those children, but I ultimately decided that teaching children was not the right career choice for me. 

                By taking that introduction class and putting in the classroom hours, I realized that I worked better with adults than with children. I loved being in front of groups, speaking, talking, and interacting, but I preferred my audience to be adults rather than children. After I realized that education wasn’t the right fit for me, I decided to go Undeclared for the second half of my freshmen year. I ended up taking general classes for an entire semester until I could finally find a new major that would direct me in a career I would love.  I talked to the professors on campus and it was recommended that I take a few marketing classes to see if that major would be a better fit for my personality. In those marketing classes, I grew to love the major and my professors. I had finally found my niche! I loved my sales classes, the group discussions, the presentations, and the drive that I had felt. I found a marketing advisor who would help me through my next few years and decided to officially declare Marketing as my major. I have been a marketing major for a year and a half now, and I have loved every class I’ve been in. I am now another student who can honestly say that switching majors a few times is completely normal. I wouldn’t love college as much as I do if I would’ve settled for a major I didn’t have a passion for. 

Your Success Story Begins at SMSU! 

Erin Nelson

Choosing The Right College - Aaron's Journey to SMSU!

Hi Everyone!

            My name is Aaron Bible, and I’m a freshman at SMSU! I’m from St. Cloud, MN and an Exercise Science Major for Pre-Chiropractic. Looking for the right college is hard, because you want to find the right fit for yourself. I was lucky enough to find my best fit, so I’m going to be talking about a few of the many things that brought me to SMSU.

            When looking at colleges, you want to find one that gives a great value of education for the price. SMSU was that place. Through their very generous scholarships, I was able to come in as a freshmand much more confident that I will be able to handle paying off college. I also knew that I’d be getting great value in what I would get out of SMSU.

            With SMSU also comes a great small school atmosphere. I came from a pretty decent sized town in St. Cloud, so I wanted to go to school at which I could stand out and be myself. That is SMSU. At SMSU, you are a real person, and not just a number. Everyone is very friendly and makes you feel important. It’s hard to walk down a hallway and not know someone in it. With all of the clubs and activities to choose from, it’s challenging to not want to get involved. Marshall is also a great college town with enough stuff to keep you busy and allow you to have fun!

            The biggest reason I came here was the great professors. From meeting with them briefly during Mustang Days, I was able to get a great sense from them that they really care about their students; and I was right! Within my first week of classes, all of my professors knew me by name. All of the professors I’ve had have been very willing and able to help and provide both myself, and other students with the necessary advice and teaching to succeed. This has been the biggest advantage for me in coming to SMSU.

May your Mustang Dreams live on!

Aaron Bible