May 2, 2025
When the snow melts and spring finally returns to the plains of North Dakota, the students, faculty, staff, and greater community of Mayville State University reflect on the past academic year and celebrate new beginnings. With graduation taking place on Friday, May 16, it’s a time for all to connect with the school and each other, reveling in the accomplishments, experiences, and memories formed from being part of the MSU family.
As the fourth member of her family to attend MSU, current senior Mackenzie Hughes knows firsthand the bittersweet feeling of preparing to step out into the world after graduation.
“My mom is originally from Mayville, so this place was always in my life,” Hughes explained. “Growing up, we came here for the athletic events.”
After her mom, dad, and brother attended MSU before her, Hughes came to the university on basketball and softball scholarships. She continued a sports legacy that began with her mom, who also played basketball for MSU in 1992. After her brother graduated in the spring of 2024, Hughes’ senior year was her only time on campus without him.
As a business administration major with a specialization in banking, finance, and management, many of Hughes’ classes were held in Old Main, which is currently undergoing a complete renovation. Walking through the doors of the building, she often remembered that her parents passed through the same doors when they were students a generation ago.
Like most who belong to this close-knit community, Hughes is grateful for not only the academic experience, but also for the chance to build relationships with classmates and teachers.
“The funnest part of college has been seeing professors in the building, because they’re not just our teachers,” said Hughes. “They love hearing about our lives, and we can go see them in between classes.”
That’s especially true of Rhonda Nelson, Professor and Chair of the Division of Business. Hughes affectionately referred to her as her “college mom.”
Hughes has also been busy outside of the classroom, whether it’s on the basketball court or the softball diamond. Her basketball team made it into the national tournament two years in a row, during her sophomore and junior years.
Even more than the sport itself, Hughes appreciates the new friendships she formed on the basketball team. The experiences she gained from traveling on the bus and staying in hotels with her teammates were unmatched.
The months leading up to graduation have been a whirlwind for Hughes, and she has taken them in stride. After surviving her three most challenging business classes this semester, she will prepare to step up to the podium as a commencement speaker.
Next year, Hughes will attend the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks to play a final year of basketball due to an eligibility rule change. Then she’d like to get a master's degree in athletic administration and coaching.
Even after students graduate from MSU, many remain part of the community and see the imprint of the Mayville experience in their future careers and lives.
Brock Sherva is one of them. After earning a degree in Business Administration in the spring of 2016, he is currently the CEO of nearby Northwood Deaconess Health Center, located northwest of Mayville. He marvels at how far he has come since first attending MSU after graduating high school.
“I’m originally from Northwood, so MSU was a local option,” Sherva explained. “18-year-old Brock had no idea what he wanted to do in life, so I decided to start at MSU for generals.”
His high school sweetheart – who is now his wife – attended UND, but Sherva decided he didn’t want the UND experience on a large campus. Growing up in a town of 900 people with a high school class of 28 students, MSU felt like the better fit.
Intending to only stay at MSU for a year or two to complete his generals and leave, the family atmosphere at MSU quickly pulled Sherva in. Several high school classmates attended the school as well, and he quickly connected with Rhonda Nelson, who was his advisor.
“She [Nelson] dealt with me not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up, but she welcomed me with arms wide open,” said Sherva. “It was so different than visiting my girlfriend at UND, where you could walk four blocks and not know a single person.”
Three days before Sherva’s transfer request to UND was due, he decided to stay at MSU and told Nelson to throw the paperwork in the garbage. With the idea of majoring in business, Sherva began taking classes in those familiar classrooms in Old Main, where he relished the traditional aesthetic look of the classic building.
MSU’s small class sizes and layouts were extremely conducive to Sherva’s learning style, and he appreciated the accountability where both the professors and fellow students wanted to see him in class to learn.
Since business is a broad discipline, he was able to sample specializations like banking, law, real estate, and accounting to help him find what was suitable. After having a taste of various types of business, Sherva settled on banking, auditing, and risk management.
Sherva jokes that after graduating, he never made it very far in life. After working a short time in his hometown in Northwood as a consumer lender, he returned to MSU to work in the foundation office. Then he moved to Grand Forks so his wife could complete a graduate program. After she found a teaching position in Northwood, Sherva started working in the business office of the Northwood hospital, where he eventually landed his current role as CEO and administrator in 2023.
“It’s not your typical career course, but it speaks to the education you receive at MSU,” Sherva said. “I credit a lot of my career path and changes – and the ability to be flexible – with my experience at MSU.”
Ask Hughes or Sherva if they plan to stay in touch with the MSU community in the future, and the answer is obvious.
Originally from the small town of Thompson, northeast of Mayville, Hughes will be back for visits, especially when the newly renovated Old Main reopens.
Sherva will be on campus to celebrate his younger brother’s graduation on May 16. (Like his older brother, Brock, he has also been doing accounting work in the MSU foundation office.)
Brock is excited to see the new Old Main and how it will maintain its place as the crown jewel of the campus.
Its historical reputation is as a teaching school, and those who know MSU as intimately as Hughes and Sherva understand that there is more. It’s a family that connects generations of Comets with each other and the place they all hold dear.