Anderson Builds Family and Philanthropy at SDSU

Sonja Anderson doesn’t miss a basketball game.

A season ticket holder since the early '90s, the Jackrabbit Women’s Equipment Manager also makes time for women’s softball, soccer, and volleyball games.

“It’s just what I do. It’s something I look forward to. In some respects, it’s my job, but it’s more than that.”

Sonja explained that there is a real sense of community, family even, among Jackrabbit student-athletes and the staff who support them.

“I call them my kids,” she said. “You know, sometimes it’s a platitude when people say, ‘It’s like family.’ But here, at SDSU, it is the truth.”

As an only child, being part of the big family that is Jackrabbit Women’s Athletics means a lot to Sonja.

“This is my family. They are my kids,” she said. “I don’t have brothers or sisters, no nieces or nephews of my own.”

This may come as a surprise to those who know her today, but growing up, Sonja didn’t go to ball games. Instead, the Garvin, Minnesota, farmgirl spent most of her free time gardening with her mom or helping out with chores, like filling the cattle water tanks.

“Growing up, it was just the three of us. So, I had a special relationship with my folks,” she said of her parents, Russell and Candace Anderson. “We lived 15 miles from town. Dad was the kind of guy, that once you were home from school, you stayed home. You didn’t go back into town for games, but we did watch Fran Tarkenton on Sunday afternoons after church – a football player for the Minnesota Vikings, don’t ya know,” she joked.

Sonja’s close bond with her parents impacted her decision to stay close to home and finish a bachelor’s in horticulture at SDSU after receiving an associate degree from the University of Minnesota Waseca.

She graduated in 1988 and returned home to Minnesota. After working in the field of horticulture, she decided to pursue a degree in education. This led her back to Brookings. Even though Sonja didn’t end up making a career of teaching, working in the classroom did guide her to the job and family she loves today.

How? She met Ruth Anderson.

“I student taught for Ruth Anderson at Medary Elementary, and she and LeRoy became like my second parents.”

Coincidentally, Ruth and her husband, LeRoy, share Sonja’s last name.

Longtime Jackrabbit season ticket holders, the couple’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“I didn’t even go to games when I was a student, but the day after, I would hear Ruth talking about the game with other teachers, and I thought, ‘This sounds interesting.’”

Once Sonja began joining them at games, she was hooked. She even asked for time off from work to attend games.

“When I first started going to games, it was just so entertaining watching the players. Today, it is fun watching my girls and cheering them on by name,” Sonja explained.

Taking care of family

A woman of faith, when Sonja reflects on the past three decades, she says she knows meeting Ruth and LeRoy when she did was all part of God’s plan.

In 2003, just before her 40th birthday, she was diagnosed with cancer. At the same time, her parents were also dealing with health issues.

“My parents could not be there for me, so Ruth came with me to every appointment she could. When she could not come with me, she made sure there was someone who could take me to chemo or take me to radiation appointments.”

Ruth and LeRoy were also there for Sonja when her parents were tragically taken from her. In 2003, they were killed in a car accident.

“I told Ruth, ‘I can’t do this without you.’ She came over every day.”

Slowly, Sonja’s life returned to a new normal, and the time she once spent with her parents, she now spent with Ruth and LeRoy.

It was only natural that they were the first people she shared her good news with.

“We had gone over to Ward for dinner, and I thought, ‘No time like the present,’” Sonja recalled. “So, I told them, ‘I took a new job. I will be the new Women’s Equipment Manager for SDSU.’ Ruth stopped eating and looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to wash other people’s clothes?’”

“I said, ‘This is something I really want to do.’”

Sonja was telling the truth: since 2008, she has poured herself into her work. She sees what she does daily – ensuring Jackrabbit women athletes have clean uniforms and the equipment they need – as more than a job. To Sonja, it’s taking care of “her kids.”

Supporting women’s athletics is her legacy

Taking care of “her kids” extends beyond their daily needs. Always their cheerleader, Sonja goes out of her way to show she cares. If an athlete is having a difficult time, she offers a listening ear.

When it comes to Jackrabbit Athletics, Sonja is also generous with her time outside of work.

During the Summit League Tournament a few years back, an athlete forgot her shoes, and Sonja got a call at 10:00pm. She did her part to help connect the player with her shoes.

Early in her career, after attending the annual welcome dinner for student-athletes and their parents in Larson Commons dining hall, Sonja felt the venue was a bit too stuffy. So, she offered to host the athletes and their parents in her Home Owners Association Club House.

“It’s a lot more comfortable,” she said. “It creates that homey atmosphere.”

This is important, since the meal is where parents get to meet the Jackrabbit Athletics staff who will be helping care for their kids.

Jackrabbit athletes appreciate Sonja’s extra efforts. Several athletes attended her 50th, blue-and-yellow-themed birthday party in 2013. Their continued presence in Sonja’s life means a lot to her, especially since Sonja’s dear friend, Ruth, passed away in October 2022.

“Over time, Ruth and LeRoy stopped worrying about the new role I was taking on,” Sonja said. “They enjoyed meeting athletes and coaches when they stopped in to visit me while I was working.”

Sonja also cares about athletes’ academic success. She sponsors the Sonja Anderson Family Basketball Scholarship in Athletics.

Thinking about the future of women’s athletics at SDSU, in 2022, Sonja gifted her family farm in her will to fund the Sonja K. Anderson Endowment for Women’s Athletics Excellence.

“Our women athletes, in my opinion, do not get the same recognition as the men. I think it is time they do,” Sonja said.

In addition to shining a light on SDSU’s women athletes, Sonja wants to make sure that “her kids” are taken care of long after she is no longer here to cheer them on. She envisions the endowment, estimated at $2.7 million, being used for practical items, like turf for the softball field or new laundry equipment. She also hopes it funds some fun opportunities as well, like travel.

“This is my legacy,” Sonja said. “People are remembered in many ways. I want to be remembered by my kids for giving the best hugs and conversation. The endowment is a tangible reminder, both now and in the future, that I care for them like family.”