casnewsfall18

LAST YEAR, “True North” highlighted the extraordinary impact of internships (fall 2017) and undergraduate research (spring 2018) in setting up our students for success. Alumni consistently rank both as among their most meaningful and formative college experiences because they help students put their skills and knowledge into action. Internships and research projects have been traditionally regarded as rites of passage into the workforce, but students are increasingly leveraging them to gain entry into graduate school. This trend reflects widespread agreement that graduate degrees are playing a greater role in equipping students with the skills needed to make lasting contributions to society and the workforce. In fact, the number of jobs that require a master’s degree or higher is expected to grow more than 20 percent over the next five years. CAS recognizes these demands and has made preparation for graduate school a priority. Northern students are routinely accepted into some of the country’s leading graduate programs. Incidentally, I was visiting colleagues at the University of Kansas in October when a student approached and asked about the NSU shirt I was wearing. I was rather surprised at first, but it turns out the student, KATIE GROTE , was an alumna. Grote graduated In Honoribus in May 2016 with a double major in English and history while also studying professional writing and geography. Grote made the dean’s list every semester and somehow still found the time to study abroad in South Korea. After graduation, Grote entered the master’s program in the Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science at Kansas. Grote’s graduate studies have focused on cultural and environmental geography with an emphasis on indigenous peoples. “The Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science at the University of Kansas has a long tradition of attracting and educating top tier graduate students. This is certainly advanced and enhanced by the work of Katie Grote,” noted Alexander C. Diener, associate professor and the department’s director of graduate studies. “Katie has proven to be an excellent teacher and her research at the nexus of indigenous geography and environmental movements promises much to these fields.” Grote is on track to complete her master’s in December and has already decided to pursue a Ph.D. Grote’s journey from Northern to Kansas and beyond – like those that follow – are indicative of the growing success of our alumni in graduate programs and a testament to the overall quality of undergraduate education at Northern. This story also goes to show that no matter where your travels might take you, there are probably other Wolves nearby. DEAN JOSHUA HAGEN Dear Friends of NSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, The academic year is off to a roaring start. Campus is buzzing with activities, the new Regional Science Education Center is rapidly taking shape, and faculty and students continue their pursuit of excellence. Enrollments across the College have risen slowly but steadily over the last three years, so that CAS now accounts for about 50 percent of all credits and 28 percent of all majors at Northern. STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Success in Graduate School TAYLOR BICE graduated in spring 2017 with a B.A. in English and a TESOL certificate. He earned the competitive honor of Fulbright Scholar in 2017, and he went on to teach English in Korea during the 2017- 18 school year. He accepted an additional teaching year in Korea for 2018-19 and, upon completion, plans to attend graduate school where he will pursue further studies in teaching English language and literature to non-native speakers. JOSHUA CLAYMORE, who graduated with a B.A. in sociology with a specialization in criminal justice in May 2016, enrolled in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.S.Ed. program in the Millicent Atkins School of Education at NSU in fall 2017. TESSA DURNIN, who graduated from NSU with a biology degree in December 2017, has just started graduate school at the University of Minnesota. Durnin is an M.S. student and research assistant in the entomology department. ARLEN HANSON graduated with a B.A. in history and spent the next few years in NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY | FALL 2018