MSU President's Column for Traill County Tribune

August 17, 2019 

Personal service makes a difference

The fall semester will be here soon! Classes will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26. The first full day of classes is Tuesday, Aug. 27. Students are beginning to arrive on campus as pre-season camps for the football and volleyball teams began last week. These are exciting times!

It’s fun to visit with the students to find out more about them and what brought them to Mayville State. One student said he had been playing semi-pro football in Grand Forks and learned about Mayville State when our team scrimmaged with his. He also had a friend who was familiar with MSU. He said he likes the culture, small class sizes, and one-on-one help he gets at Mayville State.

Jamin Kramer, who is originally from Watertown, S.D. and whose family now lives in Marion, N.D., is a new student this fall. He’ll be playing basketball with the Comets. He said he likes that Mayville is small and everyone is so helpful and straight-forward. He’ll be pursuing a major in business administration.

Michael Brillhart from Chino Valley, Ariz. loves that the people at Mayville State and in the community are super-nice and willing to help out. When his car broke down on the road, many people stopped to offer their help. This experience definitely gave him a good feeling about being here.

Trent Carlson from Park River, N.D. was familiar with Mayville State before becoming a student because he grew up in the area and had been on campus for activities like the small groups music contest while he was in high school. He likes that faculty members know his name, even if he hasn’t taken a class from them.

Daniel Simpson from Chesapeake, Va. feels that Mayville State is giving him advantages he wouldn’t have experienced in other places. He likes the hands-on learning experiences and the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty.

In visiting with students, it becomes clear that Mayville State University is living up to its motto, “The School of Personal Service.” The size of the institution and community, together with the personal service delivered by faculty and staff, and even people of the community, is important to our students. Thank you to all who make a difference for our students. This is a great team effort!

Fall pre-service activities for faculty and staff will kick off with training sessions related to our Department of Education Strengthening Institutions Grant on Tuesday, Aug. 20. A variety of activities are planned throughout the rest of the week.

I cordially invite all members of the community to join us for my annual state of the university address in the Classroom Building Auditorium, beginning at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. The public is welcome to join us and hear the latest from Mayville State University. Please plan to have lunch with us in the Campus Center dining center following my address. We would be honored to have you enjoy a meal with us and to take some time to get to know the faculty and staff. We all contribute to Mayville State University’s success and we have much to celebrate.

The days before a new academic year begins are always exciting. I look forward to welcoming our veteran employees, as well as all of those who are new. It will be great to have everyone back on campus as we work to make a difference in the lives of students in pursuit of their educational goals.

We’re still accepting applications for admission for this fall semester. If you know of someone interested in pursuing higher education, please encourage them to have a look at Mayville State. For more information, contact the office of admissions at 701-788-4842 or MASU.admissions@mayvillestate.edu.