Editor’s note: The content of this article may be triggering if you have been or are sensitive to sexual assaults.
According to Winona State University’s Annual Safety Report, cases of sexual assault reported on campus are down from six in 2016 to three in 2017. Chris Cichosz, Winona State’s director of security, Lori Mikl WSU’s Title IX coordinator, students apart of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) organization and the annual campus climate survey say it doesn’t mean the assaults are down.
Mikl said just because reports are down on campus does not mean that sexual assaults are not happening as often. Cichosz and GBV students agreed.
“I don’t think the prevalence of sexual assault is down at all,” Mikl said. “I just think that students are right now a little more leery of coming forward.”
Mikl said the decrease in reports could be because of a few factors.
Mikl said one factor is how reporting assault is portrayed in the news media. She said there is backlash for victim/survivors who are coming forward.
GBV students, Molly Sarbacker, Jacob Hansen, Tom Cameron and Emma Severson said they agree with this statement.
Mikl and GBV students also said some circumstances may contribute. Including: fear of coming forward, outing the aggressor and the stigma behind sexual assaults.
Molly Sarbacker, junior student a part of GBV, has been through the process of reporting through the university.
When Sarbacker went to the Title IX office, she had GBV coordinator Heather Gerdes go with her, a service that the organization provides to anyone.
Sarbacker said the process was traumatizing.
“I think that it’s a traumatizing experience to go through reporting and to share your story over and over and over again,” Sarbacker said.
According to Mikl, all decision makers and those on the panels that hear the case are trained in how to do so.
The reporting process itself is different for everyone.
A victim/survivor can report to security, a resident assistant (RA), a trusted friend, the police or others.
According to both Cichosz and Mikl, the way most victim/survivors report is through an RA or security.
Cichosz said there is always room for improvement in the process and he is open to feedback from victim/survivors who have gone through security.
“There is always room for improvement,” Cichosz said. “I think letting victims know what their options are, I think we can always do better at getting that information out there.”
Jacob Hansen, a sophomore student a part of GBV, said there is a universal “red zone” where most assaults occur.
The red zone starts in September and goes through Thanksgiving. There is an increase in reports, for many reasons.
Hansen said some of the reasons are the first football game, homecoming, welcome week and the warm weather leading to more parties.
The U.S. Department of Education may be making changes to the Title IX rules for campuses.
These would include more rights for those who are accused of committing a sexual assault.
Tom Cameron, a sophomore student a part of GBV, said he has high hopes for the future.
“We can’t really say any specifics so far just because this information is still in the works and we are still figuring out how we can go about this,” Cameron said. “But the future is looking good. We can say that for sure. We’re definitely brainstorming everything we can and all the options for right now.”
With Black History Month underway, Winona State University’s Film Studies will be partnering with the Department of Inclusion and Diversity to sponsor a film series showcasing select films by filmmaker Spike Lee.
The series, titled “Resilience & Resistance: The Films of Spike Lee,” begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 14, with the Academy Award-nominated feature for Best Picture and Best Director “BlacKkKlansman”.
Winona State English and film professor J Paul Johnson, whose course “Directors/Stars: Spike Lee” will be curating the series, commented on the reasoning behind choosing specifically Lee for a film series.
Professor J Paul Johnson helped jumpstart and will be overseeing the series throughout its duration.
“We want to celebrate Black History Month by looking at the career and accomplishments of one of the most celebrated, important and influential of all African American filmmakers across the 20th and 21st centuries,” Johnson said. “(Lee’s) work is especially timely given the success of ‘BlacKkKlansman.”
The films selected in addition to “BlacKkKlansman”—“Four Little Girls,” “Crooklyn,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Inside Man”—are, as Johnson describes, meant to showcase the range of Lee’s career, spanning from his political works like “BlacKkKlansman” and “Do the Right Thing,” to his exercise in mainstream thriller filmmaking with “Inside Man.”
“Lee really has a strong body of work,” Johnson said. “And that’s something that can hold up a whole film series.”
Talks for the series began shortly after the hiring of Inclusion and Diversity director Jonathan Locust, who Johnson was interested in partnering on programming for the school upon meeting him.
Regarding his thoughts on the series, Locust expressed excitement at the prospect of Lee being the subject matter of an entire film series.
“Spike Lee (is) one of my favorite directors, he’s also produced some of my favorite movies I grew up with,” Locust said.
Locust expressed excitement in regards to the partnership between Inclusion and Diversity and Film Studies.
“Finding out there was a class being taught (on Lee), and being asked to collaborate, it just made sense,” Locust said. “These are the types of things that Inclusion and Diversity wants to be involved in.”
Locust said the range of the films selected will help identify with a diverse audience.
“No matter who you are, you should be able to find something,” Locust said. “Even though the films are being shown during Black History Month, these aren’t necessarily Black History Month films.”
In regards to the purpose of the series, Johnson commented on the lack of showings for Spike Lee films in Winona.
“I think it would be great if our community could have the opportunity to take a look at once again and celebrate the incredible work he has done over his career,” Johnson said.
Locust himself voiced a lesson audiences should take away from the series as whole.
“I think there is a common perception that everybody in the industry is just white,” Locust said. “… it’s important for people to see that there are films being made by under-represented groups.”
Even though this series is the only planned partnership between the two groups, both Johnson and Locust expressed interest for Inclusion and Diversity and Film Studies to collaborate again in the future.
“I hope Film Studies can keep partnering with Inclusion and Diversity on either Black History Month programming or Women’s History Month programming in the future,” Johnson said. “That could be a pretty exciting avenue for us.”
As for Locust, he referred to one of the objectives of Inclusion and Diversity as the compass for a future partnership.
“The goal is you want to try to meet as many people and engulf yourself in different cultures,” Locust said. “We want to continue having the film series and working with Dr. Johnson and other faculty and asking, ‘Who are other directors we need to be looking at?”
In addition to “BlacKkKlansman,” the subsequent films in “Resilience & Resistance: The Films of Spike Lee” will be showing every Monday and Thursday at 7 p.m., respectively, until the end of February in the auditorium of Winona State’s Science Laboratory Center. All film admissions are free and open to the public.
The Winona360 web site is primarily a vehicle for publishing journalism content created by Winona State University Mass Communication students.
In Spring Semester 2019, seven students are involved in the senior journalism capstone class, “Publication Practicum,” and will research write and edit journalism articles including text, video, audio and photographs and post them here for public viewing and comment.
The Winona State University African Students Association will be hosting the first ever Ebony Night on April 21st at 7 p.m. in Kryzsko Commons on the WSU campus.
ASA members Beke Eromosele and Nyalen Pidor are organizing the event and described it as a celebration of African and African American culture.
The night is going to be hosted by African comedian Chief Obi and
will include dance performances, a fashion show, various student performances, a red carpet photo shoot, east and west African food and more.
Eromosele and Pidor said they are excited not only about how much fun they are going to have, but for how important an event like this is for a university without much diversity.
“It’s really important to have,” Pidor said. “It celebrates a culture that is ignored at our school because we have a very small demographic of black students.”
Pidor said an event like this will make that demographic feel special and appreciated.
Both Eromosele and Pidor said it will be cool to showcase their culture to anyone who would like to come.
“It will be cool to show people our customs and our traditions,” Pidor said. “It’s a fun way of educating people who don’t know much about our culture.”
Nyalen Pidor (Right) and Beke Eromosele (Left) said they have become close friends through ASA.
Eromosele said most people don’t know a lot but would like to know more and this is a great chance for them to do so.
Pidor and Eromosele said they urge anyone to come to the event especially if they are not African or African American.
ASA is an inclusive club, according to Pidor and Eromosele.
The event is meant for all groups of people.
“When we were planning it, we had some worries about white people feeling like, ‘I don’t know if I should come or not,’” Eromosele said. “We made it known that white people and other cultures and other races can come.”
WSU’s Director of Inclusion and Diversity, Dr. Johnathan Locust, said he’s thrilled about the event and thinks it can do a lot of good things for the university.
“It promotes Winona to different segments of people who may not have been looking at Winona State University in the first place,” Locust said. “We want everybody to talk to everybody.”
Locust said he believes the power in conversation between different groups of people is what can bring those groups closer and Ebony night is going to contribute to that kind of unity.
Winona State student Eric Mullen is not a member of ASA but plans on going to Ebony night.
“I have a decent understanding of European cultures but zero knowledge of African cultures,” Mullen said. “This would be a good introductory point for me to learn more about that.”
Mullen described this event as a ‘stay-cation’ – instead of traveling to these countries to experience the culture, an event like this allows students like him to experience it first-hand at home.
The budget for the event is around $13,000 the club received from Student Senate, UPAC and other private organizations according to Eromosele.
Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for the general admission.
“Have fun and enjoy cultures that you wouldn’t normally experience,” Pidor said. “It’s gonna be a great night.”
Winona State Universities, Hannah McGlone, is on track to play in more games for WSU Women’s Basketball, then anyone who has ever played for the team.
When Hannah McGlone steps on to the floor at McCown Gymnasium, Feb. 18 she will tie Natalie Gigler, 2007-11, for most games played, at 119.
McGlone needs to play one game in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament to take the record.
Fortunately for McGlone every team in the NSIC qualifies for the tournament, barring injury she will hold the record when her collegiate basketball career comes to an end this spring.
McGlone said that, playing in 100 games and other career milestone like 900 points, 800 rebounds and 70 steals are all just meaningless stats, if they didn’t help the team win.
McGlone, the lone senior for the Warriors this season, will leave a mark on the Winona State campus not only for her play on the court but also her efforts off-court.
“I’m a hard worker and competitor,” McGlone said. “At the end of the day there is more to life than basketball. Being a good friend, family member and person off the court is what matters most.”
Hannah McGlone leads her team in a 59-51 win over The University of Sioux Falls Cougars
McGlone’s personality when she isn’t playing basketball dates to her humbling roots growing up in what she said is an average family.
Spending her childhood in the middle-class neighborhood of Streamwood, Illinois, McGlone said she never realized her full potential in basketball, until high school where she played on the varsity team for four years.
McGlone’s father always had supported her in everything she did and had high hopes for her future, however he didn’t always expect Hannah to become the basketball player she is today.
“She always had the size, but struggled with catching the ball when she was young.” joked Greg McGlone. “She had what we called blocks for hands.”
Hannah McGlone says that family is everything to her and the reason that she plays basketball.
Both Greg and Peggy McGlone coached their daughters, Hannah and Megan, while they were growing up.
McGlone was the captain of her high school team in Streamwood, Illinois
McGlone claims her parents and uncle are the reason she has become the basketball player she is today.
Everything from coaching to practicing in the driveway, her family was the most important part of her growth as basketball player, said Mcglone.
McGlone said she has no immediate plans for her future but knows basketball will no doubt be a part of it.
“If I get the opportunity to continue my basketball career on the court, it will be hard to pass.” McGlone said. “I know for a fact that I want to coach at some point.”
On track to earn a teaching degree this spring, McGlone wants to eventually work her way into an athletic director or coaching job at the collegiate or professional level.
Exactly 200 years ago, in 1818, Mary Shelly’s iconic Promethean creature was brought to life when her novel was first published.
In celebration of the 200 anniversary of “Frankenstein” being published, Winona State University is hosting a variety of events throughout January and February.
The events began Jan. 24 at 8 a.m. in WSU’s Science Laboratory Center atrium with a live reading of the entire 1818 edition of the novel.
The nearly eight-hour event hosted a constant influx of audience members, ranging from none to double digits at different times.
According to Dunbar, althogether there were an estimated 75 to 100 attendees.
The live reading was the brainchild of Ann-Marie Dunbar, an associate professor of the English department and director of the events.
“The bicentenary of Frankenstein’s publication gives us a great opportunity to celebrate one of the most original and fascinating novels written in English,” Dunbar said. “A novel that is just as relevant today as it was in 1818.”
The reading featured most of the University’s English department faculty, including Paul Johnson, an English and Film Studies professor.
Paul Johnson, WSU’s Film Studies director reads From Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” in character.
Johnson performed the first few chapters of volume two with enthusiasm, creating voices for the characters, making the event that much more noticeable for the students passing through the atrium, many of whom stopped for a moment to listen.
Johnson is the planner of the film series that is a part of the “Frankenstein celebration” at WSU.
The film series began off on Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Miller Auditorium at WSU with a double feature of the 1931 film “Frankenstein” and it’s 1935 sequel “The Bride of Frankenstein.”
Robert Pack, WSU Film Studies student, hosts a showing of the film “The Bride of Frankenstein.”
“For those of us who love the novel and love the tale and love Mary Shelly’s composition of it,” Johnson said, “simply being able to bring that to life for a day is a really rich source of enjoyment for us.”
The film series is the most expensive of the events, costing between $1,600 -$1,800 for public performance rights according to Johnson.
According to Dunbar, the English, Art, Mass Communication, and the University Theme committee are all sponsors working for and donating to the project.
The double feature began with an audience of about 75, most of which were students attending for class.
After an intermission between the films the audience decreased to about 25.
Audience waits for the double feature of “Frankenstein” and “The Bride of Frankenstein” to begin at WSU
Brittney Bluhm, an English and Film student at the university attended both features having read the book recently but never seeing the films.
Bluhm said that she liked the venue, but especially enjoyed watching the films together.
“I think that we could have had the five-minute intermission quicker. It was more like a 10 to 15-minute intermission,” Bluhm said.
Zachary Zaboj, an independent studies student who attended for class said he was surprised at how much was changed from the book to the films.
Johnson said he thought the first few events went well, the audience sizes being more than satisfactory.
Frankenfest will continued Feb. 19 with the next film in the series, “Young Frankenstein,” at 7 p.m. in WSU’s Miller Auditorium.
Community members in and around Winona, Minnesota, will be able to view a variety of interesting news articles on the newly updated Winona360 web site.
The site is a function of the Winona State University Mass Communication department and is populated with articles, photographs and video stories created primarily by upper division journalism students.
Students in the Spring 2018 semester’s senior journalism capstone class, Publication Practicum, are researching, interviewing, photographing, video recording and editing articles. They will upload their articles to the site and then hope to hear feedback from site viewers.
After more than a decade of planning, and more than a year of construction, two pedestrian tunnels under the railroad tracks adjacent to the Winona State University campus are open.
The tunnels opened in time for WSU’s Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017.
WSU received a federal funds grant in 2006 to assist with the cost of construction of two pedestrian tunnels under the Canadian Pacific rail lines that run east-west through the campus, separating the main part of campus from athletic fields.
Students, faculty, staff and community members now can safely cross the tracks by using the tunnels which also include ramps that follow Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines.
The tunnels were built after many years of research and planning, and cooperation between the university, city, county and state agencies and railroad company planners.
WSU Mass Communication Professor Tom Grier used the department’s unnamed aerial vehicle to shoot video of pedestrians using the tunnel while a train passes prior to the WSU Homecoming football game.
by Elizabeth Pulanco, featured photo by Taylor Nyman
With the spring season underway, flowers and outdoor projects are in bloom.
At Winona State University, the process of creating a community garden has taken root with the construction of a raised soil bed on April 15.
The Winona State SEED Garden is located on West 8th Street across from academic buildings on the Winona State Campus.
The SEED (sustainable, edible, educational, discovery) Garden has been in development for several years. Sophomore Jackson Ramsland has been the most recent student to take on the task.
Ramsland said his involvement with the garden began during spring semester of 2016 when friend of his, Allison Bettin asked if he wanted to take over the planning.
“Being very interested in gardening, I said ‘yes’ and took on the project,” Ramsland said.
Ramsland said his interest in gardening is connected to his time spent in the many gardens at his childhood home and summer jobs working at tree nurseries and organic farms.
“When I was growing up, my family had a pretty big plot of land so we had a lot of gardens,” Ramsland said. “We had a flower garden in the front yard and in the backyard, we had a couple of raised bed food gardens and we would always grow tomatoes and zucchinis.”
Ramsland said he had weekly meetings with faculty members, members of the university’s arboretum committee and the health and wellness department.
From the beginning, Ramsland said the creation of the garden has been a group effort.
“I have established some very important relationships with faculty members, student groups that are interested in working outside,” Ramsland said.
Jonathon Mauser, a chemistry professor and member of Winona State’s arboretum committee was also interested in the project and worked with Ramsland to find resources and funds to move the project forward.
Chemistry professor Jonathon Mauser fills a wheelbarrow with the gravel used to build the wall holding the raised soil bed together. The construction of the raised soil bed is expected to be finished by April 24.
Mauser said he had previous experiences working with community gardens and helped build the garden for his alma mater, the University of Portland in Oregon.
“I was an undergrad, so at this point I was on the student side of it and it is kind of fun to be on the other side of it now and kind of come full circle,” Mauser said.
According to Mauser, Winona State’s SEED Garden is being funded by the university’s Green Fee.
“The Green Fee is a payment that every student pays starting this term It is a part of their tuition fees,” Mauser said. “The Green Fee has gone to support this community garden and has also supported the spread of recycling bins on campus, which is going to be happening soon.”
The Green Fee also paid for reusable water bottles given to first-year students when they arrive on campus.
According to Mauser, the mission for this project is an accumulation of different elements and involves different aspects of the university community.
Ramsland said produce from the garden will be donated to the Warrior Cupboard, which is a food shelf that will be located in Winona State’s Integrated Wellness Center. Ramsland said this produce will be used to help combat food inequity and insecurity.
“About 56 percent of Winona State students qualify as being food insecure,” Ramsland said. “One of the biggest things with food insecurity is that most people aren’t getting adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, so if students start using the garden, we hope that it will become very popular and that students will be getting the food that they need.”
Along with giving food to the Warrior Cupboard, Ramsland said hewould like to find a mobile way to distribute the produce from the garden around campus.
“I would love to set up a farm cart or something and drive around campus and give students produce. I think that it could be something that could become a very cool staple of Winona State,” Ramsland said. “I can’t think of a lot of campuses that I have visited that have had a garden of this size for this purpose.”
At the moment, volunteers for the garden are working on the raised soil bed which will hold most of the produce. Ramsland said the plan is to have the soil bed finished by the week of April 24 and start putting plants into the ground by May 1.
The raised soil bed at the SEED Garden will contain different fruits and vegetables that will be sent to the Warrior Cupboard Food Shelf in the Integrated Wellness Complex on Winona State University’s campus.
As Winona State University’s spring commencement nears, graduating students are faced with the reality that they will be on their own. This thought is scary for most graduates, and for those who have traveled from other countries to pursue their degree as Warriors, it can be even scarier as they leave their four-year home.
Click the map to see where the four featured international students are from.
According to WSU’s Director of International Services and Cultural Outreach Kemale Pinar, 300 international students attend Winona State representing 45 countries. Of these students, 39 are graduating this semester. Insight into four of these students’ backgrounds, Winona State involvement and post graduation plans, illustrates the process international students might endure as they remain thousands of miles from home following their time at college.
Jakiul Alam
Busy streets, hectic sidewalks and tall buildings was not the big city vibe Takiul Alam was looking for when exploring college options outside of his home country of Bangladesh. After living in the capital of Dhaka with a population of more than 18 million, he wanted the opposite.
According to Alam, he found what he was looking for in the city of Winona – beautiful surroundings, a much smaller population and snow.
Still, none of these features were a true selling point for Alam. For him, it was about the scholarships.
Although he was leaning towards attending college in the U.K., Alam made the decision to attend Winona State after receiving scholarships that covered 75 percent of his tuition. Now, after three and a half years of study, he will graduate with a degree in computer science.
Alam claimed he never felt homesick after leaving Dhaka, and the biggest thing he had to adjust to was the difference in food.
“The food is pretty bland,” Alam said. “Back home, we use a lot of spices to cook, so that was the biggest obstacle.”
For his first two years at Winona State, Alam served as president of the International Club. This gave him the opportunity to share his culture’s food in the annual International Dinner as well as enjoy dishes from other countries.
Alam’s lack of homesickness will benefit him after graduation, as he has no intention of leaving the U.S.
In March 2016, Alam enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. He said his basic training date keeps getting postponed, but he hopes to begin training by the end of this year.
Senior international student from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Jakiul Alam, shows off his military ID during an interview on Friday, April 21, 2017 in Kryzsko Commons at Winona State. Alam enlisted in the Army Reserves to eventually gain citizenship and is awaiting his basic training departure date.
Money once again played a large factor in one of Alam’s life decisions, as he enlisted to receive money towards tuition as well as citizenship after passing basic training.
Since his enlistment, Alam said he is unsure what will come next for him after he graduates, but he does know he would like to live in Minnesota.
“My plans are up in the air until I know when I go to basic training,” Alam explained.
With his mom and two sisters supporting his decisions from back home, Alam said he will continue to enjoy the Minnesota snow and wait for the next phase of his life to unfold.
Rachel OuYong
A software developer position at Pearson VUE in Bloomington, Minnesota awaits Rachel OuYong after graduation. Instead of feeling first-day jitters when she arrives, OuYong will see familiar faces when walking into the corporate headquarters.
OuYong is a WSU computer science major and math minor from Hong Kong. She said she came to Winona State after she traveled to Minneapolis to visit her aunt, who is a WSU alumna. After then journeying to Winona and receiving a tour of campus, OuYong said she wanted to attend.
“The town is very different from where I grew up,” OuYong said. “As a city, Hong Kong is like New York. I wanted a big change and decided Winona was a good place to be.”
Throughout her four years at Winona State, OuYong has been involved on campus through the International Club, as a worker at WSU’s Tech Support Center and as a student researcher for the Computer Science Department.
Senior Rachel OuYong sits at her computer desk in Technical Support in Somsen Hall at Winona State and waits to help students with their malfunctioning devices on Monday, April 24, 2017.
During her junior year, OuYong attended a job fair in the Twin Cities through Career Services. This visit resulted in a summer internship for OuYong at Pearson VUE, and six months after her time in Bloomington she was offered a full-time position beginning after graduation.
While landing an internship and accepting a job offer is high on OuYong’s list of greatest accomplishments, she said attending the Grace Hopper Celebration twice ranks first.
“That conference is the world’s largest for women in computing,” OuYong said. “That was probably the highlight of my four years of college.”
Senior Rachel OuYong from Hong Kong, China, stands in front of her senior capstone research project on XML Data Storage of Lung Cancer Treatment Outcomes Prediction Tool in computer science in collaboration with Mayo Clinic on Monday, April 24 in Watkins Hall. OuYong said her project explains software design, analysis and results for the benefits of the data storage program.
OuYong’s undergraduate research with her advisor led her to present the project “Predicting Lung Cancer Outcomes” at the conference. This project carries over into her senior capstone, as she focuses on Data Storage Of Lung Cancer Treatment Outcomes Predicting Tool in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. Her research poster is on display in Watkins Hall on Winona State’s campus.
Wasil Chisti
Wasil Chisti’s journey to Winona State includes a series of missed deadlines.
Chisti said his father encouraged him to leave home in Dhaka, Bangladesh to “get a better education from a better country.” He looked to attend school in Canada, where a few of his family members and friends live. After missing the application deadline by a few days, he said his mother suggested he “try the country next door.”
In 2012, Chisti attended a college in Missouri to study engineering and two years later decided to transfer to Mankato State University.
“I just couldn’t see myself graduating from there,” Chisti said.
He had plans to apply to Mankato State, but missed the deadline. Chisti changed his major to business administration and attended Rochester Community and Technical College for one year before transferring to Winona State and changing his major to human resources. He said he changed his major after realizing how much he had worked in customer relations since the start of high school.
At RCTC, Chisti said he took a class because he thought it was transferrable to Winona State, but he learned too late this was not the case. This forced him to stay another year at Winona State to earn his degree.
“It worked out,” Chisti said. “Whatever happened, it happened for the best.”
At Winona State he was hired for a paid internship with the College of Business startup, which he also receives credit for. Chisti has served as human resource manager for the group since last October, which involves recruiting, screening and interviewing students on campus for jobs.
Senior international student from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wasil Chisti (center), participates in a College of Business startup meeting as student resource manager on Friday, April 21, 2017 at Winona State’s College of Business Engagement Center. The College of Business startup is a student-run organization with approximately 8-10 students who collaborate to reach out to the student body of Winona State with job oppurtunities.
Chisti said after graduating he looks to secure a job, and it does not have to be “the most attractive.”
“I can go into a job five days a week and not be the happiest person there,” Chisti said. “But the paycheck can make me happy.”
Christian Kolby
Christian Kolby from Oslo, Norway said he would have never considered himself a leader three years ago.
“Today, I am the most respected College of Business leaders,” Kolby said.
He said Winona State’s College of Business offers a lot of opportunities for students to expand their skills, which is what he did and will continue to do.
Kolby, an economic and political science major and global studies minor, said he served as a “normal” college student his first two years at Winona State, as he earned good grades but was not involved on campus. His junior year he joined the Economics Club and was pitched as VP of finance, allowing him to work alongside administrators for the College of Business and gain experience.
“The dean will ask me if he needs people, so that’s rewarding,” Kolby said.
After a liking for the Minnesota Vikings led Kolby to search for Midwest colleges that fit his budget, he considered Winona State as an option.
He said, “I applied, got accepted and never really looked back, and it worked out.”
Senior international student Christian Kolby from Oslo, Norway, takes a headcount of kids as a camp counselor for his Entrepreneurs in the American Economy class event to mentor young adults for entrepreneurship opportunities on Friday, April 21, 2017 in Kryzsko Commons at Winona State. Kolby used this opportunity to gain experience in his field of study by working with economic and political science.
Kolby explained how a scholarship program for international students allowed him to pay in-state tuition, saving him thousands of dollars per semester. He said this, combined with Winona’s small-town feel, moved him to choose Winona State over other colleges that accepted him, such as the University of Minnesota.
Using his club involvement with the College of Business to build his resumé, Kolby is interviewing with companies including WinCraft and Fastenal, as the semester concludes. His ultimate goal is to permanently live in the U.S., staying in Minnesota for now.
“If opportunities arise elsewhere, I’ll pack up my bag and go,” Kolby said. “But, Winona will always be my second home.”
