STATE StoriesSeason One

Travis Jensen
Hey there Jackrabbits! Welcome to the first ever episode of STATE Stories podcast. I'm one of the hosts, Travis Jensen, Vice President of Leadership Initiatives at the SDSU Alumni Association. I'm here with my co-host, President and CEO of the SDSU Alumni Association, Andi Fouberg.

Andi Fouberg
And we are coming to you, not live, from the Jensen Smith boardroom of the SDSU Alumni Center. Hello, everyone.

Travis Jensen
This podcast is all about celebrating the amazing SDSU community and the legendary alumni who have come from this wonderful institution. We'll be bringing you stories, laughs, and a healthy dose of Jackrabbit pride.

Andi Fouberg
And whether you're an alum or a friend of SDSU, we want to reconnect you with State, share some favorite memories, and remind you of why SDSU holds a special place in all of our hearts.

Travis Jensen
This season, we'll be chatting with some incredible SDSU alumni who are doing fantastic things in all sorts of fields from agriculture, health care, higher education, you name it. We'll probably have a Jackrabbit doing it.

Andi Fouberg
And of course, we can't forget the fun stuff. We'll be diving into some hilarious stories from campus life. Those only at SDSU moments. And what truly makes our alma mater special.

Travis Jensen
So buckle up, Jackrabbits. We are in for a great season of storytelling, laughter, and a little bit of nostalgia. But before we get to our first guest episode, tell us, Andi, what's one of your favorite SDSU memories? 

Andi Fouberg
One.

Travis Jensen
Just one.

Andi Fouberg
That seems hard.

Travis Jensen
Yeah. Yeah, you know, I don't make the rules. I just enforce them.

Andi Fouberg
You actually did make the rules.

Travis Jensen
I did actually make them.

Andi Fouberg
You decided that we were going to each tell one story. And so while you told me we were going to tell one story, I still have struggled with what the one story. I think you, like me, had an incredible experience at South Dakota State. And so, the idea of one story, one impactful time here can be really challenging, right? Because we had fantastic professors that you could tell a story about it. We had great friends that we could we were in organizations with that you can tell great stories about. And so it becomes a little bit challenging to narrow it down to one. So, thanks so much for this assignment. There's no extra credit if I tell more than one story. Is that what you're saying?

Travis Jensen
Correct. Well, and you are the boss, so you can.

Andi Fouberg
And now this is a podcast all about stories that I remember from college, which while there are many memorable stories I don't know that I have, I don't know that my memory is good enough to tell all of them. And maybe that's one of the beauties of going to college in the 90s instead of today. There's very little evidence.

Travis Jensen
Less documented.

Andi Fouberg
Yes, much less documented than what happens today. Although the memory I will choose to share was well documented. I was a member of the Pride of the Dakotas, and we had the opportunity to march in Bill Clinton's second inaugural parade. And so that was that is probably that kind of moment, certainly historic moment. just in the annals of our country. Right. but for me, in my time as a college student, and certainly it wasn't just about the very long bus ride to Washington, DC. and if you ever have a chance to ride a bus to Washington, DC, please don't. especially if you are not 20 something, because I don't know how my body would handle that bus ride today. But you're with your friends and it's just, we had a wonderful, wonderful experience. Certainly, the opportunity to march in a inaugural parade is once in a lifetime and just so many memories. Whether it's marching down Pennsylvania Avenue and turning toward the viewing stand and, seeing all of the, the dignitaries and the president and so forth, or the time before when you're just kind of getting ready. That's a really long day. what you don't realize when you're watching the inauguration is there's a little bit of loose timing in terms of it's a really long day when you're participating in the parade. So, the, the experience itself, the things that we got to do as part of, that experience just so impactful in, my memory. So, I think that is one of those there was a there was, one moment when we were, waiting and you're on the mall in Washington, DC, and we had so many, you know, just a lot of time. And there was we were walking along, and I saw a wheelchair down the mall, and so. And it's cold. Right. And there's a, it's a fur coat. There's a person in a fur coat and the tag on the wheelchair, I have no idea if she was actually in the wheelchair. I'll never know. But the tag on the wheelchair said Rosa Parks. I assume I have no way to know that it wasn't. And so, I am going to say that it was, Rosa Parks are say that it was Rosa Parks. And so, just the idea of being near someone who is, such, an impactful part of our American history, too shy, to not to college, too, not too cool because it wasn't that at all. It was. I guess that is not how one would describe me, but I would I would say definitely, just didn't have didn't go and say thank you or whatever. I should have said at the moment, but, that I, I, I suppose this the story also has regrets, but definitely just this kind of, moment, from the whole experience. And then I think just back to, a couple of years ago when students had a similar situation and not an inaugural, but going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Pride of the Dakotas provides so many of us, you'll hear from one of our guests just how important and impactful that experience is for so many by having them have, they didn't ride a bus so thank you to those who helped get them there that they did not have the bus experience, but it was I cared about the bus. But the reality is that trip was really impactful.

Travis Jensen
Yeah. And like you said, really, truly was a once-in-a-lifetime moment

Andi Fouberg
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I've had, I lived in Washington, DC for ten years, so I've had the opportunity later to go to other inaugurals, but, you know, was not in the parade. Right. And that's just different. Right. Like it's just a very different experience. And so, just that I wouldn't have had that opportunity if I hadn't been in the Pride of the Dakotas and if I hadn't gone to South Dakota State University.

Travis Jensen
Well, if you had to pick one story, that's a pretty good one to pick.

Andi Fouberg
Well thank you. So, you also have to pick one story.

Travis Jensen
Yeah. That's tough. Well, I don't have one once-in-a-lifetime moment story to share, but I do have one that I feel like is still impactful to me, even to this day. In the moment, you know, in that at that time, I probably wouldn't have recognized how impactful it is. But my story is from my freshman year of college, and it was early spring semester, and we were having one of those just epic South Dakota blizzards and all of us on fourth floor, young Hall, or just really, we had a lot of pent-up energy that needed to be released. And didn't know what to do. And someone suggested that we all go outside and play football.

Andi Fouberg
In the middle of a blizzard.

Travis Jensen
In the middle of the blizzard. Yes. Yeah. And if our moms had known at that time what we were doing, I think they would really question our decision-making abilities.

Andi Fouberg
Freshmen guys have so many good ideas.

Travis Jensen
Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, that was reflected in the attire that we used we elected to wear out there, which is not much, a T-shirt and shorts and maybe some gloves because, you know, that makes sense. We have to protect our hands if we're going to play flag football or. But yeah, it was, you know, it was just really fun to be able to spend some quality time together. And I think we spent maybe an hour and a half out there. So how we didn't get hypothermia, I don't know. And I think once we came inside, we were really questioning it. But I think the reason why it's so impactful is because it was a bonding moment for a couple dozen of us. And as I reflect back that almost nearly 25 years and I think back on some of the people that I was, that was a part of that experience, I'm still in connection with them. Right? They're still part of my network. I'm still friends with them. And interacting with them is just really cool. I think a lot of our listeners, although maybe they can't relate to the questionable decision-making of that, can relate to the idea.

Andi Fouberg
I think most of our listeners can probably relate to questionable decision making.

Travis Jensen
While in college, sure. But I think they could probably most definitely relate to just being able to make those connections while at STATE. Right? Like, yeah, just lasting memories. Whether it's finding your spouse or just one of those rock-solid friends, connections you make with faculty and staff, it's just it's a really special place. And although that wasn't a big once in a lifetime moment, it was certainly an impactful one for me.

Andi Fouberg
Well, I think that's why I'm looking forward to sharing these stories with our listeners. Right? They'll have an opportunity to hear some of these impactful. And, you know, whether their life changing or life altering or really just, this was a great part of my college experience. I often talk about how SDSU is special, and we're going to get to hear from a lot of people, some of whom you know, some of whom you won't or don't know, until we get an opportunity to introduce them. And so, I think that's one of the things I'm looking forward to most in this is just getting to share some of those stories, which is why it's titled STATE Stories.

Travis Jensen
That's right. Exactly what we're trying to capture with our guests. And we are really excited for the guests that we have for season one. So, we really hope that everyone will subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode.

Andi Fouberg
And if you know a fellow alum with a story, let us know. We would love to hear from you and learn more about alums that maybe we already know and don't know that about them, or alums that we don't yet know. We're looking forward to that.

Travis Jensen
Until next time. Go Big, Go Blue,

Travis Jensen and Andi Fouberg
Go Jacks!

Travis Jensen
Hey there, Jackrabbits! Welcome to another episode of STATE Stories podcast, stories from legendary SDSU alumni. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating our exceptional SDSU community and its esteemed alumni, bringing you inspiring stories, laughter, and lots of Jackrabbit pride.

Andi Fouberg
Our guest today is the director of athletic bands, directing the Pride of the Dakotas marching band, pep band, and the concert band, and serves as assistant professor of music. A 1998 alum, Dr. Kevin Kessler has influenced thousands of SDSU students and alumni. It's with great pleasure we have him joining us on the podcast. Welcome to the show, Kevin.

Kevin Kessler
Thanks. It's great to be here. The checks in the mail for that introduction. Wow. It's really nice. It's great to be here.

Travis Jensen
Kevin, we're so excited to have you joining us on the podcast. When we were dreaming up the idea of this podcast, we wanted to have guests who could share great stories about State. You were one of the first people we thought of joining us. So again, thank you. So, when students, alumni and friends think about their favorite memories of State, it's not uncommon for some of those memories to include the Pride of the Dakotas marching band. You have the pleasure and responsibility of leading the Pride. From your perspective, what makes the Pride so special?

Kevin Kessler
Well, certainly the students are what make it, right. I love the fact that we don't require an audition. And so that has allowed us to welcome into the band people from all walks of life. We have students who come from schools that are so small, they've never marched a step. We have students from schools that are some of the best high school marching bands in the country, and they all come together to form this group. And I love the idea that we don't have to turn anybody away that has played an instrument or spun a flag and wants to be a part of this. So, that's really special. The idea that students come from all different academic disciplines on campus is fun as well. And so, it's this melting pot in our college culture that, the student who is the ag major gets to meet the poly sci major or, the music major gets to meet the business econ major or whatever it is, and it forms this terrific family. And I think the members of the band, past and present, would call it that. And that's what makes the Pride so special are the connections that these students make. The experiences that they can talk about, for the rest of their lives. Andi, you and I talk to Pride alumni all the time. Andi, you’re a Pride alum. And we could sit there and tell stories, and very little of them would be about the performances themselves. Right? It would be about a travel experience or, a specific person or a specific event that happened within their time in the Pride. The performances are great, and we love them, and we work hard to do the best we can with those performances. But it's the connections and it's the people and it's the experiences that really make this ensemble special.

Andi Fouberg
As a Pride alum, I also appreciate that there were no auditions coming from one of those, I had marched before, but coming from one of those, those small towns. Thousands of students have participated in the Pride over the years. Working with that many unique personalities, and for our listeners, Kevin was my drum major when I was in college, so maybe I was one of those unique personalities. You must have some funny stories. So, what's your, give us some of your best stories?

Kevin Kessler
I think from a, from a teaching standpoint, some of these stories, I'm probably not privy to because I think the best stories are probably formed when, you know, the parents are away. You know what I'm saying, right? But as far as being around them, I just love their sense of humor and their energy. We will do dress up days, right? One day a week we’ll do just to break things up and to have some fun, we'll do a dress up day. And some of the things that these students will do, as an entire section and really, really sell the bit. And so you have, we'll do a Disney Day, and we'll have an entire section dress up like Disney princesses and you know, these or

Andi Fouberg
Please tell me it was the tubas.

Kevin Kessler
I think it was the trombone section, actually, or the entire piccolo section. Somebody took the time to cut out little pieces of construction paper, black construction paper, and they all wore white shirts. And so they, they taped these dots to the shirt, and they show up as 101 Dalmatians. Just other, other things that I love, moments that crack me up is during football games, we will play at tailgate concerts. We will take one band, one part of the band and take them to the alumni tailgate and we'll take the other part of the band and go north to the backyard. And then when those concerts are done, we congregate for a while in the SJack before we go outplay. And just organically over the years, every section now has something that they do in the SJack prior to going out and marching pre-game, and it's just fun to watch it. There's nothing that has come from the staff. They just all have their thing, they have their cheer. They all sit in the same spot. They have these just little activities. And we just walk around and just listening to them, the jokes they tell, just the laughter, I mean, I just, I really get a kick out of that. As a student, I think some of my best memories were when we were on the road, if we were traveling to something, and just again, the connections we would make, making the most out of odd performance situations, small high schools where, the grass looked more like, you know, your neighbor's lawn or something like that, just dealing with those things. But the students are their energy, and, like I said, just those organic moments that they create, when we give them a little bit of downtime, just I always get, I always get a good laugh out of.

Andi Fouberg
Well and their energy is infectious. So that's pretty great. to be around a lot, right? 

Kevin Kessler
Yeah. It keeps you young. You learn a lot of, phraseology and you learn a lot of pop culture that you would not if you weren't around people like that. That’s what I love about the job is, I can maybe stay relevant with my teenage daughter. I can or certainly with the students I work with. And their energy is absolutely infectious. And you can see that, not only within the band and within the band, it's perhaps students who, are new to the university and haven't quite found their place yet and haven't quite found their people. I think that's not necessarily a funny story, but it's fun to watch to see those students kind of get pulled into the fold. And we have students who are insistent on, oh, no, you're not going to you're not going to sit off by yourself and be lonely. We're going to make you a part of this. And then during the games, just seeing where we sit and being surrounded by the student section, seeing that interaction and us getting, just getting into the game day environment together, those are, those are some of the best parts of the fun parts of the job for me.

Travis Jensen
You know, Kevin, as a fan, it's really fun to watch the just the general public's interest in the Pride. It seems to have grown and continues to grow over the years. And I think with that, it appears that there's an increase in the number of students participating in the Pride. Is that fair? And then what would you attribute that to?

Kevin Kessler
Yeah, I think the public investment in this band goes back a long time, literally decades. If we really wanted to get granular into the history of the Pride, the love for this band and the attention that this band has been afforded goes back well over 100 years when Carl Christiansen was the director. And there was something magnetic about his personality. And this band was unusually large for the size of the school. And that, you can attribute that going back decades and a tradition that has been maintained. You know, currently does the, has the band been getting bigger? Yes. Over the last 8 or 9 years, we've seen some terrific growth. The invitation to Macy's was certainly a big catalyst, but we had grown since my arrival. The band had grown over the course of 6 or 7 years by about 70 members. We were in the mid 250s, maybe 260s. And then when we got the Macy's invitation, the year we went to Macy's, we were 345. So obviously that was a carrot, no pun intended, Jackrabbit fans, but that certainly helped a lot. And we've been able to maintain good numbers over the last couple of years. We were over 300 last year, will be in that neighborhood again this year. And that's a result of certainly students and people want to be a part of something that is special and appreciated. And I think it's a really nice relationship that we have between the university community and us. I mean, we appreciate their love and their support. And because we do feel that sense of support, it's something that one, it’s attractive. If you are going to be a part of this group, you're going to be loved and appreciated. So what better catalyst and recruitment pitch is that right? That, this is not just a band. It's a presence. It's part of the university culture. And we're very appreciative of that.

Andi Fouberg
You mentioned Macy's. The band has been part of some pretty special SDSU moments. I had the opportunity to be there when they marched at Macy's, and it was emotional. But you've been a part of a lot of those moments at SDSU. Can you pick a favorite? Do you have a favorite? Which ones stand out?

Kevin Kessler
There are two that that go together. One is that the band was invited to play for President Bill Clinton's last campaign stop, which was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the night before the 1996 election. And we got to go to the Sioux Falls Arena and play for him and play for the rally. And then after that was done, we were invited down to the floor and out walks Bill Clinton and shook everybody's hand. And that was that was a powerful moment, getting to meet a president. And then of course, in, you know, true college kid fashion, we started chanting inaugural parade, trying to, you know, make the case to get us to Washington. And lo and behold, we got an invitation. So those two things go hand in hand. And just a thrilling moment. I mean, just chills, walking down Pennsylvania Avenue and turning toward the reviewing stand and seeing Bill Clinton grab Vice President Gore by the shoulder and say this is the band I was telling you about. And we have video of him pointing at us. If you are a good lip reader, you can see that moment. I think for me as a student, that was, by far, I don't think you can, even put a close second to those, that stretch of days in 1996 and 1997.

Travis Jensen
Kevin, working for the Alumni Association, Andi and I have the pleasure of hearing stories from thousands of alumni and friends. And the word special is used frequently. I'm guessing you've probably heard that as well. From your perspective, what makes SDSU, you know, the university so special?

Kevin Kessler
I'm going to quote one of my friends and colleagues, Dr. Aaron Ragsdale, who's our percussion instructor. When we talk to students about, prospective students, about coming to SDSU, one of the things that he talks about, at length, is the idea that this university is kind of right sized, and what he means by that is that we are big enough to offer incredible opportunities, not just in music, but for our purposes. That's what we talk about. We talk about the number of different ensembles we have, the variety of music ensembles we have, the theater opportunities, the dance opportunities, the travel opportunities. And yet, we are small enough to know you, you are not going to get lost because we are a small enough school in the performing arts that we know practically everybody by name. And so we provide these world class opportunities and yet there is a really personal commitment amongst the faculty. And there is this, this sense of, real commitment to the individual student because we're able to do that because we're not swamped with, you know, 600 kids auditioning to be in the marching band. Right. And I think that's part of what makes it very special. And then, beyond that, again, it's the idea that we, we are welcoming, we nurture that quality in our students and because of that, they form these relationships and connections that they have for the rest of their life. I mean, there are people that I met the first week of marching band as a freshman that are still the people that I socialize with today. I met my wife in the marching band. So I, I think just that healthy balance that we have, that Dr. Ragsdale again refers to as right sized, is what makes this place, really special and makes us stand out.

Andi Fouberg
Kevin, you are the head of the Pride. And, as an individual, you have accomplished a lot in your very brief professional career. What would you say, and I'm going to make you say something. Don't, you're a humble guy, so don't go off on me but what would you say you are most proud of?

Kevin Kessler
That's a really, that's a loaded question. I only can say. Well, I can say one thing. Wow. And you run this place, so I have to listen to you, and I have to obey that.

Andi Fouberg
That implies that anyone does. So, I mean, I know you'd be the first.

Kevin Kessler
So, I mean, I'm not going to answer it with one thing, but I'll, I'll give you a couple.

Andi Fouberg
That's great.

Kevin Kessler
Certainly, certainly Macy's was a highlight of my career. The band has done so many amazing things in its history, and that was one thing that the band had not done yet. So I think, that being a unique jewel in the Crown was, was important. I'm also really proud of the student success amongst the members, on campus and off campus. You know, we've had this last year, in the fall of 2023, 27% of the university population made the Dean's list, right? 45% of the Pride made the Dean's List in that same semester, while they were in marching band and busy with marching band. We've had a Udall Scholar in the marching band. We've had students, go on to grad schools, and really high level, highly regarded graduate programs in, in all kinds of things. Just be successful community leaders. We've had, Pride graduates, be elected into the South Dakota Legislature later. And it's the success of the student and the idea that they're able to do marching band and continue to be successful in school and then go out and do all those great things is, is, very important to me. But personally, yeah, Macy's is a is a big deal and I just think,

Andi Fouberg
It's a big lift to take 350ish college students to...

Kevin Kessler
It was, but again, going back to the success of former Pride members, the person who helped coordinate the trip himself was a graduate of SDSU, had a music education degree, marched in the Pride, and it meant a great deal to him that he was able to lead this trip and organize this trip for us. And that's just another example of the quality of, of people that we are sending out into the world from this university and from, from the band as well.

Andi Fouberg
So we're new to this podcast thing. So, tell us what we should have asked you that we didn't ask you.

Kevin Kessler
I'm new to this, too, so I'm not sure. How am I? How am I supposed to add. I think if we had time, I think there's a lot of individuals. I was kind of being broad in in how I discussed student success, but, we could we could do another entire podcast on this student went out and did this in the world. And this student is doing this now, and we could also discuss what we're what we're hoping to do in, in the future, you know, the goals that we have and so forth.

Andi Fouberg
So thought about asking you about the future, but I didn't mean to put you on the spot, Kevin.

Kevin Kessler
Well, you're not going to get a specific answer.

Andi Fouberg
Kevin, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. We really appreciate it.

Kevin Kessler
I appreciate you having me on. And I love nothing more than talking about this band. And the members of it are just my favorite people in the world. And talking about all the, all the fun things that we get to do.

Travis Jensen
Thanks Kevin.

Kevin Kessler
Thank you.

Travis Jensen 
Thanks for joining us for this episode of STATE Stories podcast. If you liked what you heard, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your support helps us share these incredible stories from our legendary SDSU alumni. You can listen to all our podcast episodes on our website at statealum.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening.

Travis Jensen
Hey there, Jackrabbits! Welcome to another episode of STATE Stories podcast, stories from legendary SDSU alumni. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating our exceptional SDSU community and its esteemed alumni, bringing you inspiring stories, laughter, and lots of Jackrabbit pride. 

Our guest today is the associate athletic director of communications for South Dakota State University. Tyler Merriam is the lead play by play voice for football, men's basketball and baseball. He also produces Jackrabbits Sports Network, hosting radio shows, podcasts, and producing endless content for the ever-growing fan base. Welcome to the show, Tyler.

Tyler Merriam
That’s a very professional introduction. I'm not worthy of it but thank you.

Travis Jensen
Yeah, I'll pat my own back if I can. 

Tyler Merriam
As you should.

Travis Jensen
Thank you.

Andi Fouberg
Oh, my. This is going to be exciting. So, to get us started, you have quite a bit more experience at this type of thing with a microphone than we do. Any tips for us, Mr. Merriam?

Tyler Merriam
Well don’t sell yourself short. You are not a tremendous slouch in any way, shape or form. I mean, be yourself. Relax. Have fun. I have a feeling we're going to enjoy ourselves over the next few minutes.

Andi Fouberg
If you're going to be a slouch, be a tremendous one.

Tyler Merriam
Excel at anything you do.

Travis Jensen
I tell you what, let's jump right into it. 

Tyler Merriam
Let's do it.

Travis Jensen
Let's do that. SDSU athletics has a fun and rich history, and you've been witness to many of those memories and moments. Now I recognize this is probably a tough question for you, but what would you say are your top three fondest SDSU sports memories? 

Tyler Merriam
Oh, wow. Are we talking about specific games or just moments, or am I just allowed to run with this thing for days on end?

Travis Jensen
Run with it. Have fun with it. 

Tyler Merriam
Well, I think you have to go back to, I was lucky enough that I was a freshman the last year of Division 2. So, I got to see the North Central Conference and then got to witness the transition in person. And then my first year as a full-time employee, I was the voice of women’s basketball when they were nationally ranked, went to the tournament for the first time, won a game, came so close to going to the sweet sixteen, and that was something obviously nobody from South Dakota had ever done before. It really captured the imagination of a lot of people coming off the WNIT runs of the two years before that. So that was a really cool thing because it was kind of the first time a lot of that had occurred. And to have a front row seat and not probably at that point have enough context to realize how special it was, like you knew it was cool, but you know, we’ll do this every year, right? This is how this goes. No pressure, AJ. So that obviously ranks right up there. Having the opportunity to be in the catbird seat for back-to-back national championship runs with football and to see how that program has grown. Because I remember sweating to see if they would get in the playoffs and then sweating whether or not they’d be a top 8 seed. And now, here you are, they are the number one seed, they are going to host all these games. It’s almost just assumed, right? Again, no pressure, Jimmy. It’s assumed that these things are going to happen. Still to me one of the great days ever when you go back to March of 2012, the Summit League Championship double title win by the Jackrabbit women and men. It was the men’s first. The women had an overtime win over Kansas City. That day because Justin Sell from the very first day he got hired as athletic director said we can make all these comments about where things are going, it jumps to another level the first time the men’s basketball team goes to the NCAA tournament. It’s just different. And it was. And to get to have a front row seat for all of that. Those are moments that are really cool. There’s all sorts of travel stories that jump out and things like that. But as far as like specific games, specific moments, those are probably a few that rise to the top pretty quickly.

Andi Fouberg
Travis wanted you to name one, and I allowed you to name three. So we're clear, right? 

Travis Jensen
She knows you well apparently.

Tyler Merriam 
She knows me too well. Yes. I felt I was able to censor myself. 

Andi Fouberg
Those are great. I mean, those are the those three if you think about just kind of what that what they mean to SDSU athletics and SDSU and to alumni, those are really grand moments. 

Tyler Merriam
Was there a surprising snub, in your opinion?

Andi Fouberg
No.

Tyler Merriam
Oh, okay. I was just curious if there was one other one that you guys would have thought of.

Andi Fouberg
I think picking one of those three would have been really challenging.

Tyler Merriam
Sure.

Travis Jensen
I think as the average fan, they recognize those moments as like, that's when we have arrived. 

Tyler Merriam
Sure. 

Travis Jensen
Right. Like that solidified for us. This is the moment that Jacks have arrived. 

Tyler Merriam
And you go back to like the 2016 Dakota Marker game in Fargo. That's one that sticks with people. There are certain moments along the way or a play here or there. The Montana State football game last September, I mean, that's a moment that will live on, just in general, the Summit basketball tournament. I mean, there's a lot more that you certainly could go into.

Andi Fouberg
So you have the responsibility and perhaps pressure, as the play by play voice to keep things moving and listeners informed, as the action is taking place in real time and sometimes in action, if I remember a shoe tying incident at one point. Describe how you stay focused on the task at hand while also recognizing you’re a big fan. 

Tyler Merriam
You're giving me a lot of credit that I stay focused first and foremost. But in all seriousness, my dad worked at the Oahe Dam as a power plant mechanic for three decades, and it was manual grunt labor, and he hated every second of it except for every other Friday, because he worked nine hour shifts and got every other Friday off. And he told me constantly growing up, told my brother the same thing if you get a chance to do something you love, do it because I don't love what I do. It's a federal job, takes care of my family, great pension, benefits, retirement, all those things. I don't love what I do, I love what I do. Like, this isn't work. You know, there's time put into it and there's passion and all these things. But I'm not digging ditches. I'm not dealing with, you know, downpours and all these things because you're outside. I get to talk about sports and that's fun. And I get to, I have the opportunity to build and engage relationships with these student athletes, and that keeps me young I’d like to think. Some of my best friends or people that I've gotten to know, either as broadcasters or coaches and whatnot. So it's a privilege for me to get to do this. It's not something that I want to do it right. And I want to represent our fans. but I don't view it like it's this huge anchor that is weighing me down by any stretch. As far as like going with the flow of everything and staying attentive and all that. You just describe what's going on, you know, and certainly you have your prep. I think some of it goes back to an old line that Vin Scully uttered, the longtime voice of the Dodgers, that you have the humility to prepare and the confidence to pull it off. So you have notes and you're prepared if unique things happen. But I'd forgotten all about the Dentlinger shooting thing till you brought it up. But something happens and you just go with it.

Andi Fouberg
Oh my gosh, It's one of my favorites. It was classic, Tyler.

Tyler Merriam
I was not prepared for it. And I probably could have done a better job of it and listening back to it. But it's just one of those things, and there's times that a line will come up in, in a broadcast, especially in football, when you have so many voices, something will be said and you kind of make fun of the other with it and it becomes sort of a running theme. And so, you just kind of roll with it and it's fun. I mean, that's the biggest thing is, and I hope that comes off to the listeners, it's not a laborious task to go on the road and do these games. It's fun.

Andi Fouberg
Well, it's fun to listen to you so.

Tyler Merriam
Thank you.

Travis Jensen
So talking about that preparation, when you look at athletes, oftentimes you hear them talk about how there might be a routine or a ritual that they utilize to get into the zone. How about you? Do you have a routine or a ritual that helps you kind of get in the zone before you get behind the mic?

Tyler Merriam
I mean, not particularly. I don't really get nervous anymore. Do you get like the that energy, you know, that that there are times and specifically I can recall last January in Frisco before the Montana game, it was our pregames two hours and we're getting going and I'm sitting there just watching the clock like, can we just get to the game? Like we've had all this buildup, we're on the air. Can we just can we kick this thing off now? Do I have to wait 90 more minutes? You know, it wasn't a nervous oh my gosh, I'm going to screw this up. It was let's just go. You know we're ready. I'm sure everybody else was the same way. We've been here long enough. We've waited. Let's just go. There's an excitement level. Like I said, Travis, that you get excited to get to do what I get to do and talk about it, and, and, and you play off the crowd, too. I think that's the other thing. It's not so much, you know, all those things leading up to it. It's playing off of when you've got 19,000 people at the stadium where you got thousands inside what was Frost Arena now is becoming First Bank and Trust Arena. The atmosphere at the summit tournament. You know, just like a player you get captured in all of that and try to do it justice. And it's awesome to play off of all of that. And so you know, it's probably little things I do here or there and, and the biggest thing is I just try to I try to slow myself down because you talked about being a fan, being excited. The easiest thing in the world is to go a thousand miles an hour. Take a deep breath, slow yourself down, make sure everybody can understand you, and also to remember that I have no control over what happens. This announcer jinx stuff is great to talk about, but if I could impact what was actually happening, you don't think I would have done that long ago in a variety of ways? So I can't catch a ball for them. You know? I can't make a throw for him. I can't shoot a ball or make a pass or whatever. All I can do is describe it. So take a breath, try to enjoy it as best you can, and soak it all in.

Travis Jensen
Well, you've polished your craft. You've been doing it a few years now. We certainly don't want to age you by any means.

Tyler Merriam
Of course not. 

Travis Jensen 
But there was a time you were a student here at State. You earned your degree in journalism.

Tyler Merriam
Best decade of my life.

Travis Jensen
Let’s reflect on maybe some of those moments huh.

Tyler Merriam
As a student? 

Travis Jensen
Yeah as a student. Tell us, what are some of those memories that stand out to you that you just. It brings a smile to your face. 

Andi Fouberg
Well, and you mentioned in passing, but listeners may not know that you worked in this as a student. You didn't decide to come halfway. You've been doing this even before you got to SDSU.

Tyler Merriam
I knew what I wanted to do from I didn't know. Obviously the position I have didn't exist until I finished college, but I knew very early on that I wanted to do sports play by play. Ironically enough, one of the previous voices of South Dakota State University Athletics, Chris Stevens, was doing high school games in Pierre, and Chris became a mentor of mine before he passed away and learned a lot through him. Chris introduced me to Ron Lenz when I was a sophomore in high school if memory serves. Ron, of course, the long tenured sports information director here at SDSU and built up relationships. Tom Coughlin was the general manager of the radio station, one of the radio stations here in Brookings at the time, and they were owned by the same company as the station that I was working for in high school in Pierre and Tom and Scotty Quas said hey, if you come out here, we'll have jobs for you. And Tom gave me some of the best advice I've ever had, and I owe a great deal to Tom Coughlin. And Scotty and I are dear friends and it's become, you know, one of the most cherished relationships I have. And so it's funny how things work out. And Ron the same way, you know, every Tuesday I have lunch with a group, including Ron Lenz and Ron got me started my freshman year. I was already doing the radio thing. And then Ron hired me in the sports information office. And through that, again, we talk about sometimes it's the quality of the job you do, and sometimes it's connections in who, you know, being hired by Ron and working in the SID office, I got to know all these coaches, all these administrators. And that led to we need a fill in for this, and then we can do some baseball and hey, there's a football game. Can you do this? And so here I am in college doing a football game on WNAX. Now there would be a little bit of nerves in that particular case. Thankfully Jerry Oster was there to smooth everything over. And there's another guy. Jerry and I still work together to this day, and he's become a dear friend. And Steve Heming, of course, who was the longtime voice. So I was lucky to have a lot of people that shepherded me. A lot of people that encouraged me, were willing to put up with me, because you think I'm a handful now, when I didn't know anything back then, I can only imagine what I was like to certain people. But they humored me, and they allowed me to grow. And I've tried to pass that along now. And we've got obviously, you know, Brent Bowen's a great example. Brent's a student who we were able to recruit up here in part to be on our crew. And he's had a lot of opportunities because of that, because if nobody took care of me, I wouldn't be where I am. You know? I had to have a lot of people guiding me and again, overlooking some things to get there. And I was very lucky to be able to, to be here, to watch SDSU growing up, to be just three hours from home, far enough away, but not too far. And to have the opportunity to grow was tremendous. I had the same dorm room in Binnewies my freshman and sophomore years and then lived off campus for the next eight years of my schooling and eventually earned my undergrad, well, eventually was given my undergrad. 

Andi Fouberg
Please just take this and go. And you wouldn't leave.

Tyler Merriam
That's true. You know, they say you can go anywhere from here. Well, I'm not living proof of that.

Andi Fouberg
So, I'd like you to put your fortune teller hat on here for a minute.

Tyler Merriam
What am I Carnac all of a sudden?

Andi Fouberg
Carnac the amaze. Yes.

Tyler Merriam
Aged reference. Carnac the Magnificent.

Andi Fouberg
Carnac the Magnificent. That's what it was. Yes. What is the future of jackrabbit athletics look like? I mean, obviously we assume, we're on a great trajectory, right? But if you were to look out at Jackrabbit athletics, what would you say is on the horizon?

Tyler Merriam
You know, in all honesty, it's tough to answer, Andi, because you know as well as I do the ever changing landscape of college athletics. Is SDSU in a really good spot right now? Certainly. What are things going to look like in three years? So many things are changing with conference realignment and with NIL and collectives and all of these things. It's really hard to predict where things are going. I have a tremendous amount of faith in our president, Barry Dunn, and in our athletic director, Justin Sell, knowing they've thought through all this. Because the biggest thing that I think people on the outside don't understand is if a situation arises where a potential move could come up, it is not a scenario in which you get a call and say, hey, we're considering you as an option. Take a year, year and a half, do a bunch of research, talk to folks, get back to us. It's going to be a Wednesday at 2:00 o’clock. Hey, we're making a Friday at Noon announcement that we're adding three schools to our league. You are in or you are out. You have 24 hours to tell us. So, Barry, Justin, they have to have all their ducks in a row for if these calls come, how to handle them and what the best option is. And you don't want to move for the sake of moving, but you also need to at least keep up, if not, be ahead of the curve. And that's such a delicate line to walk in. Things are much different now than they were five years ago. They're much different five years ago and they were ten years ago. SDSU is using the best place it can be right now. It really is. But what does the future hold? I think it's hard for any of us to tell. And it's hard to tell with our broadcast contracts where things are going. You know, Booth cam wasn't even thought of five years ago. And now a bunch of schools have it's become a big thing for us, the digital platforms and how we deliver stuff. So everything is such in constant motion that it's really hard to predict too much, other than I have tremendous faith in our leadership, and I think we're in the best spot we could possibly be.

Andi Fouberg
And I think we're really fortunate to have the fan base and the support that we have because it gives you some confidence that no matter what happens, no matter what decisions get made that are in our control or as you say, so many of the things out of our control, Jackrabbit Nation will be there and be, behind us and supporting. And that's the confidence that that must bring President Dunn and Justin Sell and others, has to be just a real support.

Tyler Merriam
That's a great point. And I think the other thing, too, there will always be a place for student athletes to come to a place to focus on earning a degree, to obtain that degree in significantly less time than it took me to, and also to succeed, whether it's on the field or in the pool or on the track or whatever it might be, there will always be a place for that. Now, for some student athletes, like they're interested in trying to go pro and they're interested in another things, and that's fine. And there's a place for that too. There will always be a place for this. And SDSU is so much better than a lot of them at again bringing individuals in who have distinct majors. And you know, how many mechanical engineering majors have come through. Mark Gronowski’s one. And we could go back in time to a number of them or nursing majors who you know what that six figure NFL deal looks great in the practice squad but I went to school as a pre-nursing and I really want to pursue that. That's not the norm. It happens here and it happens again and again because of the types of individuals that are recruited. And that goes back to the philosophy of the leadership from the top down. And so because of that, that gives you great confidence to and that even if things change, you're at a different level, whatever. There still is going to be a place for what happens here as far as student athletes are concerned.

Travis Jensen
It really has created kind of a special environment, right? Whether that's for the student athletes or just the average fan. It's a really good time to be a jackrabbit, right? It's just fun to witness everything that is transpiring. One question that we really like to ask our guests, and the reason why we like to ask it, is because we get this unique perspective right? We all have our own reasons why State is special, whether that's the academics, whether that is the relationships that we're building over the years, whether it's just the community as a whole. But from your perspective, Tyler, what makes SDSU so special?

Tyler Merriam
I think you kind of hit on it. My answer would be the people. And without going too far down the rabbit hole, for those that don't know, you know, my wife Jill and I have two children, two boys, both of whom are special needs, both of whom have had a number of challenges in their lives and will continue to, and both are currently prospering. And the support from President Dunn, the support from Justin and my coworkers, the support from the community, the support from people like Andi. dear friends, that is not the way things go in a lot of places. We had a member of our staff, a recent hire, who has a special needs child who asked, can I bring my child around? And I looked at this person. I said, well, why wouldn't you be able to? Well, at my previous job, like I just. No by all means like, Joe comes up here and he knows where Kathy Heylen's office is, because that's where the candy is, and he knows where Tyler Glidden office is, and he knows where to go here, and he's going to stop there. And like, that's the family atmosphere. And it's not just within athletics, you know, it goes through the whole department. Every time that my wife is at Hy-Vee and Barry's at Hy-Vee, Barry stops or, hey, how's Joe, how's Wyatt, how are things? That's not everywhere. It should be, but it's not. And it's a great compliment, a great testament to how things go. I would not have gotten through some of the things, we would not have gotten through some of the things without the support of, again, people on campus, people in the community. And to this day, I ran into somebody yesterday who used to work here and hasn't been here in a while. Hey, how's that little boy? Is he doing okay? You know, what's the latest? That doesn't happen everywhere. And so, to experience that, to get you know, enveloped in that warmth, it's very special and Justin talks about it a lot that there's, there's always money, you know, you can always find money somewhere. You can find places to work, but can you find a place where it's a family feel? Can you find a place that truly accepts everything? And there's no question in my mind, this is that place. And my wife and I and our kids are forever grateful.

Andi Fouberg
Thank you. That's, this has been a lot of fun. I do want to clarify for our listeners, I don't know how long it took you to get through college, but I don't think it was a full ten years.

Tyler Merriam
I'm not going to ask you to look that up.

Andi Fouberg
Well, and we're not allowed to share that information with others. And so we will whatever the secret is, but Tyler, thank you. Thank you for being here with us. Thank you for what you do at South Dakota State University because not only does it matter but it’s a lot of fun for us to have you here and have you sharing your talent with us so thank you.

Tyler Merriam
Well, thank you for having me. I enjoy being had and it was a great pleasure. 

Travis Jensen
Thanks for joining us for this episode of STATE Stories podcast. If you like what you heard, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your support helps us share these incredible stories from our legendary SDSU alumni. You can listen to all our podcast episodes on our website at statealum.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Travis Jensen
Hey there, Jackrabbits Welcome to another episode of STATE Stories podcast, stories from legendary SDSU alumni. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating our exceptional SDSU community and its esteemed alumni, bringing you inspiring stories, laughter, and lots of Jackrabbit pride.
 

Our guest today is an esteemed alumna of South Dakota State University, who has made significant contributions both in her professional career and to the SDSU community. Kim Tyler, a 1982 graduate, had a distinguished 31-year career at the Kellogg Company, retiring as vice president of the Alternative Channel Sales. Kim most recently served as the co-chair of the historic SDSU Bold and Blue campaign. Welcome to the show, Kim.

Kim Tyler
Well thank you. It's great to be here.

Andi Fouberg
We are excited to have you. So thank you.

Kim Tyler
Well, we get to talk about our favorite things.

Andi Fouberg
Yeah. Yeah. So, let's do it. Your story is inspiring. We'll get to a lot of that. We want to hear about your fondest memories at SDSU. What can we start with? Something very recent.

Kim Tyler
Okay.

Andi Fouberg
You were the co-chair of the Bold and Blue campaign, SDSU Foundation's campaign that raised over $604 million for SDSU.

Kim Tyler
What a remarkable, remarkable event. And I say event not because of the big announcement night, but the many years that it took place. The thousands of people that completely bought in and embraced, supporting SDSU in just huge, huge ways. It was such a privilege and honor to be part of the campaign, let alone be, I guess, on the PowerPoint slide. That said, I was a co-chair. Right. But, what a tremendous professional experience, and just so inspiring to be a part of it. You know, when I think toward the end and we were counting the folks and thinking about over 30,000 people participated with, you know, every level. the number of folks, both that were first-time donors and got on board, and then the number of folks who really supported us with huge leadership gifts. It was just a testament to those individuals and how they were so bought in, right, to our university and how they could change lives, and really change the history, change the trajectory, of SDSU. It was remarkable to be part of it.

Travis Jensen
And it was a culmination, as you pointed out, of years of work in the making. Right. Working towards that. Describe for us what it felt like when you learned of that final total. I mean, we're talking about $604 million dollars. That’s a lot of money.

Kim Tyler
Well, I guess to be honest, though, when you're kind of on the inside during the years and you're just seeing, I mean, every update we would get, every few months or as the years progressed into the campaign, we just kept being overwhelmed, with the support. And we kept thinking, wow, you know, we started the campaign, and our good consultant thought, hey, you know, boy, a really good response. We think for sure that you can reach over a 400 million mark. That was the first number that we talked about. And, except that when Dana and I met with the president and Steve Erpenbach and a couple other leadership folks, you know, Dana and I were like, no, that's not a good number. You know, who would raise 400 when a half a billion is the number we need to go for. So, I mean, it was pretty early on that we decided, nope, we're going to have great response. We have such good leadership, both at the foundation but more over at the university and we have extraordinary jackrabbit loyalty. The region supports us. Oh, no, I mean, right away it was like, no, we're going to hit. We are going to go after a half $1 billion. So then toward the last year or so, as we're thinking about how we're going to wrap up the campaign. to be honest, it wasn't shocking because you got to be I was a little bit more on the inside. But when you did start thinking about, okay, we didn't just do a half a billion, you know, we eclipsed that tremendously to the 600 million mark. So yeah. Overwhelming. It was a joyous day, obviously, for all jackrabbits. Yep.

Travis Jensen
Anyone that interacts with Kim Tyler would say that you are a diehard jackrabbit, not just in your words, but certainly within your actions as well. Yeah, and you have generously given your time, your talents and your treasure to State. And it probably comes as no surprise to you. We see this frequently, this type of generosity from our alumni.

Kim Tyler
We do.

Travis Jensen
What is it about SDSU that makes alumni want to give back?

Kim Tyler
You know, I tried to think about that a little bit. You gave me a little heads-up on some of the things we were going to talk about today. And it's the people part. It's the, it’s over the years, the people who have bought into the culture of what being a jackrabbit means. And, then that turns into the mission. And really, SDSU, when you think about how a land grant university really came to be a what, in the late 1800s? It was about service, and it was going to be a university that prepared people to serve their region, their community, frankly, the globe. Because of the programs, you know, the majors, the colleges that make up a land grant university, it's really all about service. We have everything from entrepreneurs to engineers and health, you know, agriculture. And so I think that's it. I think there's such a culture of making the world better for each other, and for our state and our community and ultimately the world.

My story, I guess, how personally I think that has affected me as, hey, I mean, my parents met here in the 40s, late 40s. You know, they were engaged at the military ball. My dad played in the band. He, you know, I still have his 1942 band sweater. He played cornet. So he has, he had great stories of playing in the band when the weather was horrible and the games were long and those kind of things. So there you go. I mean, I'm a I'm a daughter of a band member, and my mom was active on campus, and I'm sure at that time in the 40s, what was there? A few hundred kids. I don't even know what the attendance would have been at that time. So then fast forward. I was able to play volleyball here and tennis here one year. and I think I think about Title IX and, you know, the volleyball team drove around in this mediocre, crowded, old kind of banged up minivan like a van. You know, it wasn't minivan in those days. It would just be a van. A cargo van, right. And the coach had to drive. We barely fit the team in and our gear, and that's how we went to games. And we wore these really, really ugly navy blue cotton warm up shorts and, bad shrunk, wrinkled gray t-shirts for. But you know what? It didn't matter, did it? Because we were the women on the team were so excited and so focused because I remember telling my parents after graduating from high school how I, you know, yeah, I'm going to go to SDSU, but I think I want to try out for the volleyball team because I just wanted to wear yellow and blue. I mean, I just wanted to make the team. I never thought I, you know, I certainly wasn't ever a star. It was a I was a mediocre player who made the travel team. You know, there weren't scholarships or anything like that. 

And then fast forward, I think the other reason that I'm so loyal is that, when I graduated from SDSU, I took a horrible job that I didn't want to stay in. And it was early in 1983. I graduated in 1982. Unemployment was over 10% at that time. That was in the early 80s recession. Interest rates were like 15%. You know, we're complaining about 6 or 7% today. So here I am, you know, trying to get a job. What am I going to do? I really enjoyed sales. I enjoyed interacting with folks. And I, I had left Brookings, went home to live with my parents, and I get a call from my old roommate saying, well, the placement center called, and they said they might have a job interview for you with the Kellogg Company. And I'm like, I didn't even know who the Kellogg company. You mean, like the National Kellogg Company or was it some other local, you know, sales company that Kellogg Sales Company. So of course, I called the Career Planning and Placement Center. That's what it was called at that time. They said, yeah, the Kellogg Company is going to be in Sioux Falls. They're interviewing at Augie and, for sales jobs. Wow. I mean, that's how I got my career is through SDSU. So I signed up for interviews. They took me. I competed against some Augie graduates, and boom, I was the only one selected. So, you think back to there's probably maybe 3 or 4 things that really affect people's lives, really affect them in your entire life. And that may be your family, may be your, you know, your faith, your spiritual beliefs and your career. And for me, it was also my top five for sure is SDSU. I mean, I got my career from SDSU. My family is connected to SDSU and so I think that's one of the reasons I'm just, you're right, a fanatic, you know, a really enthusiastic supporter.

Andi Fouberg
Well, with a story like that, you're probably not going to enjoy this question but which is always a great way to start how to ask a question, but we're asking people about their kind of favorite memories of SDSU, obviously. Right. And that can be challenging. So instead of just asking you for a favorite because everybody complains when they're told what is your favorite. Share with us a couple.

Kim Tyler
Sure. Yeah. You're right. I have no single favorite. It's more of the cumulative time that you spend with friends here and experiences and, you know, throughout your college days. Well, I was an RA. I was a resident assistant in Pearson. Second floor, Second North. Yep. Second North.

Andi Fouberg
How long?

Kim Tyler
Just one year. I lived in Pearson Hall for two years. You know as a freshman and looked up to my RAs. They were great friends and thought that would be a pretty good job. And, hey, you know, paid room and board. 

Andi Fouberg
 Yes, it did. Yes, it did.

Kim Tyler 
Yes. So, that's a good way to go. Anyhow. So that was fun. That was a great experience. And I learned being an RA, that there are tunnels underneath campus.

Andi Fouberg
Those were closed by the time I was an RA.

Kim Tyler
Okay. So that was fun. I know, I remember vaguely, you know, very vaguely, one evening in the middle of the winter where there was another RA that taught us that there were those and we found ourselves, you know, across campus from Pearson, underneath somewhere. So.

Andi Fouberg
Maybe they didn’t reach all the way over to Hanson. Maybe the tunnels didn’t get.

Kim Tyler
And I think we got pretty far anyhow. Anyhow, you know, that's a fun memory. Yeah and being an RA was great. And a lot of friends and good memories from doing that. You know, the fact that I did get to be a jackrabbit athlete, that's huge to me. That was really important. Like I said, even though there wasn't any, you know, we're talking many decades ago. So no scholarships, no, no glitz and glamor with that because you were playing, you know, D2 with a pretty small budget. But just the fact that I had those teammates and that experience and the fact that I could say, hey, I made the team. And then I got to run out on that court, Frost Arena, and play volleyball. That's, that's really special. And I think, you know, just the social aspect and growing up, becoming an adult in college is really important for a lot of people. But I have to go back for me, just the biggest thing about the fact that I got an interview with, you know, a huge company, a global company in Sioux Falls, and they let Brookings know. They let SDSU know that they were looking and that I could do that was, you know, that's huge. I think that's probably my biggest, oh, you know, just such a positive thing.

Andi Fouberg
And led to an incredible career. You like to downplay you had an career with Kellogg.

Kim Tyler
I had a very good career with a super company with a lot of the same values and culture that SDSU have. You know, it was, people didn't realize this, especially when I worked there in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s is that the largest shareholder, is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. And at that time, back in those decades, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation was a top five foundation in the world, and they were supporting the betterment of kids and helping families thrive. So think of that. Think of you're working for a company whose largest shareholder is trying to make a difference in the world, you know, and that was the culture at our, you know, and we're a food company. And that doesn't mean that everything we made was perfect and healthy and everything, but it was wholesome. And, just the way we went to work, every day was, in a family way and with the most integrity we possibly could have. So, yeah, I got to work for a great company. And, what a great experience. But that was, you know, that, SDSU led me to that.

Travis Jensen
As I say, I'm starting to hear a theme here. Right? Between SDSU and your experience at Kellogg. Seems pretty special.

Kim Tyler
It was.

Travis Jensen
So, going back to your experience as a student-athlete, for those of us that were never student-athletes, I think it's hard for us to really grasp how much, time and dedication is spent towards being an athlete while also focusing time and attention on your academics. It requires a certain level of work ethic and discipline. How did that experience as a student-athlete prepare you for your professional career?

Kim Tyler
Well, Travis, you're given a 1979 or 80 athlete way too much credit. You know. So let's just be real here.

Andi Fouberg
Travis weren’t you listening when she talked about the van.

Kim Tyler
You know, it's just yeah, I'm a whole nother generation of, you know, a woman athlete in that time that, you know.

Andi Fouberg
Laid the groundwork.

Kim Tyler
Well,

Travis Jensen
Guess I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit.

Kim Tyler
Okay. And that. No, I it was a great experience, and I would never, ever change. I would never, but, hey, back then, you know, the practices and the commitment wasn't, was just a percent of what our men and women do today. Right. And the, the pressure on them and just the level of, work, you know, the work and time and effort that's put into today's Division 1 athlete. So but, I mean, to get to where you're, I think where you're going with that. Sure. Look, having to be part of a team and have high standards and that's part of being a jackrabbit is that, you know, we're family. And we certainly there's a huge amount of caring for each other and supporting each other and wanting to make a difference. But there's also a standard to be held to. And I think, certainly that work ethic and the standard of performance, helped working for a Fortune 500 company.

Andi Fouberg
So what I hear you talking about is a little bit of expectations, but what advice would you give current students, recent graduates who are looking to make their mark in the world, right? Whether that's what they take from SDSU out into the world, what they can give back to SDSU, what would be some advice you would give graduates?

Kim Tyler
You know, I think whenever I think about being the best version, you know, of yourself, it it's about thinking about others and about how your role at your job, in your family, your role in your family, whether your spouse or daughter. You know, it's about how you can help somebody else. And I always felt the most satisfaction when I felt like I was making a difference or when I was. And we used to say this at Kellogg. Well, did I add value today? You know, did I add value for my customer? Did I add value to my employee or my peer that I worked with? And I think that's what leads a lot of people to keep rooting and keeping in touch with jackrabbits is because we're making a difference, and we have high standards. And most of jackrabbit, or SDSU graduates, are in roles that are making a difference or improving the lives of others, and that's when it feels the best. So, for a graduate, hold yourself to a high standard, think about how you're affecting your, your role at work, and your family and then also stay connected, because it's so much fun to be on a winning team. And I think that's what, that's how Jackrabbits feels that we're on such a winning team, and it feels good to be a part of that and make a difference.

Travis Jensen
So the Bold and Blue campaign may be over, but that doesn't mean we're done, right? We have great leadership here at the University that is constantly looking ahead, visioning ahead on the future of SDSU. And just as one example, right. This drive to become an R1, Research premier research university. So many great things are happening and will happen thanks to this great leadership. But it does require the involvement of our alumni. So can you just tell us why do you think it's so important for alumni to stay connected with SDSU and to give back?

Kim Tyler
And we were going to do this just for 15 minutes today. That's a.

Travis Jensen
Fair question.

Kim Tyler
Wow, Travis, that's a big one. Yeah. well, you know, where do you start on that? First off, you said. Yeah, Bold and Blue. The official campaign and the big announcement. We've kind of come to an end on that. But like you said, that's now the really has been a springboard to the next level of greatness for SDSU. And we have great leadership on this campus. We have super people, right? You folks have done just a tremendous job of keeping our alumni connected and motivated and inspired by the great communication that we send out on a regular basis and opportunities to be involved. I guess. You know, being a part of something greater than yourself. That's why you should be connected to SDSU. Being able to say that you're connected to a university that is improving the world around us and because, you know, on a business side, SDSU is, is a great force for economic development in our state and our region. And, so to be a part of that and to support that and to stay connected, it feels good and it's the right thing to do. Yeah.

Travis Jensen
Kim, we want to thank you for being here with us today, for sharing your stories and your insights. It's been an absolute joy.

Kim Tyler
Oh, thanks for having me today. It's been fun to be with you.

Andi Fouberg
Thank you, as always, Kim. Great to have you here.

Kim Tyler
You're welcome.

Travis Jensen
Thanks for joining us for this episode of STATE Stories podcast. If you like what you heard, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your support helps us share these incredible stories from our legendary SDSU alumni. You can listen to all our podcast episodes on our website at statealum.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Travis Jensen
Hey there, Jackrabbits Welcome to another episode of STATE Stories podcast, stories from legendary SDSU alumni. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating our exceptional SDSU community and its esteemed alumni, bringing you inspiring stories, laughter, and lots of Jackrabbit pride.

Andi Fouberg
Our guest today is a cherished figure in the South Dakota agricultural community and a dedicated alum of South Dakota State University. Jim Wooster has made significant contributions to SDSU and the state's agricultural sector, and we're so thrilled to have him joining us today. Mr. Jackrabbit, welcome to the show.

Jim Woster
I'm looking forward to this. I liked your intro. You could keep talking. Just go as long as you want to. No, that was good! No, and I’m looking forward to it. I love this university.

Travis Jensen
You know, Jim, it is an absolute honor to have you here with us today. 

Jim Woster
Thank you!

Travis Jensen
It's always fun to visit with you and to hear the stories that you have to share. And as Andi had alluded to, you are an active member in the university community. You've been a part of SDSU for many years now. Why don't you start, could you just share with us how did your journey with SDSU begin?

Jim Woster
It like many young guys my age, young gals my age, our parents didn't go to college. Grandpa and grandma didn't go to college. You're going to go to college, period. Don't argue with us, and back then it was South Dakota State. I mean, for the most part because either agriculture or home economics or teaching. And so I wound up coming to South Dakota State in the fall of ‘58, and just everything about it kind of fit. You know, I was a pretty naive young thing and got here and learned some things. I could tell you a story about my first roommate from Rapid City who was not too far into our tenure’s roommate, he started selling cigarettes out of the room, and I didn't know where he was getting them until the police came. And there's a big box that well he was stealing them out of the store. But he went to the Navy. They let him give him his choice, so that I don’t know. Can you imagine being that dumb that you didn’t know where is this guy getting these boxes? He’s selling them for like $0.25 a box or something like that. It was great, you know? But that was my first education. How dumb I was. But that was okay. But it was just we lived in Scoby Hall, and you know, ate our meals at Wecota, down in the basement of Wecota, the cafeteria and it was in all three over there. It was just a great time. I think that's where, you know, you talk about and I always refer to this, Andi does also, of South Dakota State University being a family, and I mean that sincerely. But I think it all started on 3rd East at Scoby, you know, Jerry Fitzgerald, a farm kid from Dell Rapids, Wally Wallace, a farm kid from Dell Rapids, Chuck Patterson, engineer from Windom, Minnesota. Gary Mischke, another engineer from over by Windom, Minnesota. In the first couple months, 8 or 10 of us, Errol EerNisse, who's been a leader at this university as a volunteer, an engineer from Rapid City in a you know, because you've the only thing you've got as a lonely freshman is each other and especially when you're eating all your meals together. It just, that friendship lasted a lifetime and it's still there. Alan Tuntland, we were all at 3e Scobey. I mean, that's where it all started. These 10 or 12 guys, and we've remained friends. And I imagine there's not a soul that, maybe other universities, that wouldn't tell the same story that these friendships go on for life started as a freshman in a dormitory. I mean, it was just interesting! You don't realize it at the time. It's 25, 30 years later that you realize, hey, these are pretty good people. And I met them the second day I started at South Dakota State. Somebody would stop here and say ‘You gonna go eat?’ I guess I will, so you walk over to Wecota. Where are you from and where are you going?

Andi Fouberg
You've been involved in numerous initiatives at SDSU over the years. Can you tell us about some of the projects or roles you've taken on at the University and maybe why you've taken them on? And do you have like kind of some favorites?

Jim Woster
Oh, that's a good question. Well, I suppose when you're around here, it kind of started, working at stockyards. Dan G., who’s a legend around here judging team coach, taught livestock marketing. I started coming up and talking once a semester, well quarter at that time, talking to his marketing class. And from that, he started bringing his, a bus load of the marketing kids down once a semester to the stockyards for the entire day. And anyway, I got to get to know some people up here. And then we started just an initiative with the Block and Bridle kids. I'd been in the Block and Bridle Club again to introduce the young people to the agriculture industry. They'd come to Sioux Falls, we’d go to GTA feeds then over to Zip Feeds, and just take 5 or 6 of the kids around and young people around that were juniors and seniors. And, that went on for quite a while. I was not that, well I guess I was too, but when I think about, what have we been Division 1, 20 years? I think it is, but I think about that as maybe the biggest thing and I was not necessarily leader in that, but I was at all of the meetings. I was at the Board of Regents when we made that presentation to get the approval. And when I look back now and I'll be very honest, I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing. But I'm a person that understands that when you've got the Jerry Lohr’s, and the Al Kurtenbach’s, all of these people and we just didn't go into that. I remember meetings, day long meetings in the old alumni conference room. A lunch would be brought in, and Carol Peterson would come, and she'd research, ‘Can we do this academically? Are we ready to do this academically?’ And people would come in and talk about the dollars, you know, is this going to work? So it wasn't half hazards. And as I listen to people that are smart, and really smart, I thought, you know what, I think these guys are right. And obviously it did work. But that was probably one where I learned more. I was a big I was a part of it. I was there all the time, but I learned more than what I gave. I can tell you that. But that was probably one of the biggest things that we've done, that I've been a part of it. It's just that I'm very proud of. And again, I'm going to be very honest. At the start, I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing.

Andi Fouberg
There were a lot of people who had a lot of opinions on both sides for it.

Jim Woster
Oh goodness, yes. Understandably! 

Andi Fouberg
 Yeah, it was a big decision. It was a very big decision.

Andi Fouberg
So you have told me over the years a number of great Hobo Day stories. 2022 you were the grand marshal of the Hobo Day parade. Quite a kick, right? Knowing your passion for state that was a moment for you. So talk a little bit about your Hobo Day history and specifically that.

Jim Woster
Hobo Day, when I started at South Dakota State, Hobo Day wasn’t Hobo Day. It was Hobo Week or two weeks, because you build a float. And the seniors and juniors that, like the ag float that we worked on. Pharmacy always won, I mean they were always, they’d win most beautiful most valuable. Darn them, but there was a farmer in town, the Davis farm, big shop, and that’s where we worked. And of course as a freshman you wore the green beanie, but you’re supposed to grow a beard. Well for whatever reason I wasn’t able to, and so I was getting stopped walking to class. People would say, “Why aren’t you growing a beard?” I’d say, “I can’t.” “Yes, you can.” I’d say “How do you know that?” Well anyways, but I think Hobo Day at that time we didn’t have tests during Hobo Week. There were no exams or anything like that. The float deal was probably a month. Most nights for the floats you’d have 20 people that’d be out in that shop. People would know what they were doing mechanically, but I think when I was a junior when the ag float finally won the most beautiful and beat the pharmacy people. And of course that was a three-day celebration. Although, we didn't need much a reason to celebrate, but it worked out. I think that another, this was an interesting Hobo Day. I think I was a junior, and for whatever reason, on a Friday night we're downtown in front of Gus's B and G Billiards and it's supposedly out of hand. You guys, maybe could have called it a ‘mini riot,’ but no, there's nothing getting broken. But Hilton Briggs was president of South Dakote State University at the time. Just to show you how things change. I had a friend who was dancing on the hood of his car and this and that and the other thing. All of a sudden there's a gentleman just walking down the street, coming from 6th, heading south, down towards where about 200 people are, myself included, with a bullhorn, megaphone. And it's President Briggs. And just to show you how times have changed, as soon as we saw who it was, it starts to get quiet. And he said something to the effect, this is not verbatim, he said, “You students have got 10 minutes to clear these streets and get back to wherever you belong, or I will take names and I will expel.” The streets were cleared in three minutes.

Travis Jensen & Andi Fouberg
Wow!

Jim Woster
Because you knew he meant it. Yeah, there was the president of South Dakota State, ‘get the heck out of here or I’m going to kick you out.’ It is just a different time, but I remember that and that’s it. I don’t know why I wound up being a grand marshal twice but 20 years ago I was, and it rained all day. It rained during the parade, and we weren’t very good at football. North Dakota University was beating us by 50. I mean they were just killing us. Nobody left and I didn’t want to leave because I’m the grand marshal. There was about 200 people there. I’m watching these two young guys in front of me. They had a flask or two in their pocket. They’re cheering, I’m really admiring that they still got their heart and soul into this. Well North Dakota U had a big running back, named Deustch. I don’t remember his first name. He went on to play in the pros, but a head so far away on the field. Anyway, he gains another 17 yards. Then this kid stood up and he said, “Ease off, North Dakota.” Then he fell down passed out. I thought he was hurt, so I run down. No, he was just sleeping, but he summed it up for the 30 of us left. Would you ease off out there . That was a long Hobo Day.

Andi Fouberg
Well you came up to me after you had been through the parade route in 2022, and it was not a rainy day. It was a beautiful day, huge crowd, and I didn’t expect many things to surprise Jim Woster about South Dakota State anymore, right? But when you watch the parade you see it at your upper-vantage point, and you had the opportunity to see it on the whole route and the people and the excitement and just how it is hard to capture a little bit of just how big that event is.

Jim Woster
I didn’t realize, because like you say, you find a spot. My niece lives just down the street a little bit, so you park, and you walk up and that’s where you go. My sister, when she was here, her husband had Fergen’s Menswear. So we would park behind Fergen’s and watch the parade, go in and get coffee. You don't realize how many people there are. They're hanging off rooftops. They’re sitting looking out the windows. It's absolutely amazing. I don't think, Andi you're right, I can't remember. I remember getting brought down to the end of Main Street and we had a horse and buggy. That's what I was riding on. And all of a sudden, I get emotional. I'm sitting there just by myself thinking about this is an amazing thing that we're doing. I understand that at many universities it's hard to keep this kind of thing going. That it's just not something, but like Andi said, you just don't realize until you make the whole road, the whole route. Sorry, you just don't. It's amazing.

Travis Jensen
And there's so much passion within our alumni community, right? The Jackrabbit Nation, so to speak.

Jim Woster
That’s right, our Jackrabbit family! They love this place. I mean you see it so many times. Yeah, thank you for asking me to do that because it was just a very special day. It really, truly was.

Travis Jensen
You know, Jim, you took the passion that you have for SDSU, and you brought that into your professional career. You had a successful professional career. You've played a pivotal role in the South Dakota agricultural community. How did your education and experience here at SDSU prepare you for your career in agriculture?

Jim Woster
Obviously, an animal science major, you know, just the basis of things. We had like beef production and sheep production. I grew up on a beef operation, but you know, the things that I’ve always told the young people that are thinking about not going to college. At least a couple of years and again, for two reasons, the people you meet that are going to be part of your life for the rest of your life. If you needed that are in the same career that you are, but the other things are genetics, the nutrition and all the things that dad might have a little problem teaching you or Uncle John. I mean, and that's not a criticism, but those are the things. And then I think the other thing is the trips to the Sioux Falls stockyards, and there was a little doubt in my mind that I wanted to be in some kind of livestock marketing. And part of that was the marketing class. Bill McCone taught a beef production class and marketing class. Bill and Helen were just great people. If any students that were around here at Christmas time that's where you went for lunch. I mean, they just made sure that the kids were, they were good people. The marketing thing that I fell in love with started with, McCone, the class that McCone was teaching. And then Dan G. later took that on.

Travis Jensen
So you touched on it a little bit, talking about, you know, your interest in genetics and maybe the lack of, access to that information prior to coming to SDSU and having worked in the agricultural sector, you've witnessed changes, right? And over the years, advancements in technology. How have you seen SDSU evolve over the years to meet the needs of the agricultural community?

Jim Woster
We've got, just a block or two from where we're setting the Precision Ag Center. I mean what that's done to agriculture, and I'm not smart enough to get into the depths of technology. But when I see the people that are involved in what they're doing, and I've got one of my best friends from college, ranches and farms in Sully County. And they are into technology. His son came here, played football. His grandson came here, played basketball. And now the three of them are, but what they're doing with technology is just phenomenal. And that’s just interesting that the Maynard, the bachelor at Onida, South Dakota, that left the land. And you go to the Precision Ag Center I think there's 15 kids out there getting $5,000 a year scholarship because of that. And he had no connection here except for the research component. Out in that country that taught him about no till farming. But the technology, well we're the first Precision Ag to have a Precision Ag four-year major in the country. This facility over here. And there's others. I mean, you can go around campus and find but the one that really jumps out and says it all about who we are is the Precision Ag Center. It just is. And again, I couldn't even talk to what they do over there, but I do know what farmers say. I mean when they talk about, Precision Ag we are a leader in this state and started here at South Dakota State University.

Andi Fouberg
You talked a little bit about SDSU being a family, and we've talked about that, and we've talked about how special this place is. And just what kind of goes into our experiences here. But what do you think has maintained that spirit, that community, that makes this place so special?

Jim Woster
That's, you know, I think a part of it probably goes back to, and the word rural isn't necessarily applicable anymore to South Dakota State, but it kind of is. We're still in this part of the country and the families and the generations that go here. We're still kind of like a small town in South Dakota or northwest Iowa or southwest Minnesota. Where, you know, everybody kind of gets to know people, and it's just, I think a good example is, and we've talked about this before, but I think about just last Thanksgiving that Barry Dunn and Jane hosted Barry's family, 30 some people. They're sleeping on the floor just like you'd do if you had the farmhouse. Barry's job was to do dishes and take out the garbage and this, that, and the other things. And then Andi, she's hosting that weekend. She hosted, uncle and mom and dad and this and that. And the Foundation here, they're always having a birthday party or something. But I think the one that got me, and I know that if this is redundant Andi tell me, but Justin and Jenny Sells, the biggest day that we have at South Dakota State for fundraising for the athletic department is the annual scholarship. Well about two months before we're going to have the scholarship, Justin’s son announces that they're getting married on that day, he and his little lady. Now what do you do if you're the athletic director? There was no hesitation. None at all as far as Justin and Jenny. We got a wedding. Family. But he wasn't worried, because it was all set up to go. And it set a record, by the way, another record. But it was going to go good. You know why? Family. Because everybody was going to step in and make sure that that event. But I thought about a dad and a mom who are athletic director and academic advisor for these kids. And with a thought, we got a wedding to go to. Sorry, we can't be… Family. And I think that to me that said it all, it really did.

Andi Fouberg
Your commitment to giving back to SDSU is evident. People who know you, know about SDSU, because you tell them about SDSU. You are affectionately referred to as Mr. Jackrabbit. You have been incredibly generous, offering your time, talent, treasures to serve the Jackrabbit community. What would you tell alumni in terms of staying connected, how to support the university, what's your message to people in terms of, you know, this place and their life after they graduate?

Jim Woster
I think it's got to do with the young people. People, you know, we’re not old people, but young people that start here. It's a different world, and you know when I went to school and even 25 years ago, it wasn't quite as difficult financially to do the things you do, but that's what scholarships do. But I just really encourage alumni that have not been back here for 20 years to come. And people will set it up. Andi will help, the Foundation will help, but to really take a look at the campus. Most importantly, is to pay attention to the young people that are the reason that we do what we do. Watch them walk across camp and stop at the union and just sit down, and it’s really easy to do. I mean, it’s you know, I was thinking about that, and this is one of those moments for me. There's been so many of them, but the semifinal game that our football team won to go to our third national championship game, which the guys won, but if you remember the night it’s snowing. It's kind of nasty. It's full, it’s just packed. And we’re there, and we’re going to win the game. We're there. I mean, we know we're going to win. All of a sudden the students are just there throwing snow, but then they start singing, ‘If you're going to play in Texas, you got to have a fiddle.’ They started singing before it came out of the, you know, the loudspeaker. And I'm looking at them and I thought, they get it. They get that this is a lot more than a football game. This is South Dakota State, and this is who we are, you know, because it was not the nicest evening. Everybody was there, but the students were just ‘if you're going to play in Texas, you got to have a fiddle in the band.’ And it was, I don't know. I thought to myself, this is special. Look at the young people. They're getting it.

Travis Jensen
That's such a good point, Jim. I think it's so easy for us to get caught up on the impact that the university can have and the various different industries and the economy, and right? But at the end of the day, it all boils down to the students that the university is serving, right? And I'm hearing this theme from you throughout our entire conversation, so let me ask you this… You have seen students, many students, come and go over the years. What advice do you offer SDSU students or recent graduates who are looking to make an impact in their careers?

Jim Woster
It’d be happy. I used to do a lot of speaking, especially the high school kids and FFA things. I just asked the young people in the audience whether it was a commencement speech. I want you to do something for me. I want you to think about the class that you had at Chamberlain High School that you didn't like. We have them all, and there’s nothing wrong with not liking a class. I want you to just imagine going to that class every day, five days a week for eight hours. You sit in that class and you do it for 40 hours a week and do it for 50 weeks, and you do it for the next 30 years. That's a job you don't like. And no, you're not going to do well. As soon as you find everything, it's the same thing. You had classes here and that’s the other thing that we do at South Dakota State. It's the guidance to take these young people and start directing them via the courses and the counseling to where they want to be. But I think I saw a figure that like 60% of the people graduate from universities in the country 20 years later are not in the same field. They're doing something different than what they, whether it was an engineer, or one of my best friends, I started at 3E Scoby graduated as an engineer from South Dakota State, went to the Twin Cities with Honeywell and just wasn't happy, entered medical school at University of Minnesota, and he's been a physician in Los Angeles for 40 years. I mean he didn't like what he was doing. He made the change. But the young people, when you find what it is or when you go home at night, you're ready to go again in the morning. When you find what it is that on Thursday you're not looking forward to Monday, and on Sunday you're not hating Monday. Again, when you find that job, and it's out there, I mean if you're 30 years old, don't worry it's there. The rest of it will take care of itself, but it all starts here. And I think we do a good job of the guidance, you know, kind of directing people. My sister taught here for 32 years, and she taught basic English for one of her classes. So she saw all these kids that came in, and she said the same thing. She said, ‘Young people, if they need a little bit of help, just to say to, you know, do you like music, or do you like being outside, or what do you know?’ Then kind of work your courses around that. It's be happy.

Travis Jensen
Find your joy.

Jim Woster
Yeah, the rest will take care of itself.

Andi Fouberg
Jim, what didn't we ask you about that we should have asked you about?

Jim Woster
You didn't ask me how old…No, I don't want to go into that. I think the other thing is that the blessings that we've had with leadership around this university. And that's where, you know, when I think about, I can't even remember the figure, $600 million or something we just raised at this little school. But in all the years I've been here, I think this combination of the Barry Dunn and Justin Sells and Steve Erpenbach and Andi. It all goes together, and I go back to that thing family. I mean everybody takes care of itself. But those kind of dollars that just doesn't happen. Somebody has to make it all go. And part of the reason is what we've got going on here is just a, you know, there's just a joy that you see people that are around the campus here. But our leadership. Well right now as I walk in, Jane Dunn brought banana bread over. I mean, you know, the first lady decided if you want some banana bread, here help yourself! And I guess, you know, somebody asked me one time what some of the things that I was most pleased about, and I guess with all the leaders that, you know, I'm in agriculture and especially in livestock did to have a cowboy from that ranch from Mission, between Mission and Valentine, as the president of South Dakota. I mean, a real cowboy understands a saddle horse and knows what a drought does and all of that's, I don't know, there's something about it. And we just had from Peggy and David, been really, really blessed. And of course, there's a guy that told us to clear off the streets or he will expel us. That goes back a ways, too.

Travis Jensen
Well, I think we have said this on every episode, but it's a great time to be a jackrabbit.

Jim Woster
You just summed it. It really is. Yeah, it truly is, because if you're going to play in Texas, you better have a fiddle. That’s all I can say, so.

Andi Fouberg
Well, this has been insightful, a real joy. Thank you, Jim, for being with us. You are right South Dakota State University has been blessed with some really great leaders, and I put you in that group because you have been a constant and a cheerleader and a real champion for South Dakota State for a really long time and we appreciate that.

Jim Woster
Thanks, guys.

Travis Jensen
Yes, thank you Jim.

Travis Jensen
Thanks for joining us for this episode of STATE Stories podcast. If you like what you heard, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your support helps us share these incredible stories from our legendary SDSU alumni. You can listen to all our podcast episodes on our website at statealum.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Travis Jensen
Hey there, Jackrabbits Welcome to another episode of STATE Stories podcast, stories from legendary SDSU alumni. This podcast is dedicated to celebrating our exceptional SDSU community and its esteemed alumni, bringing you inspiring stories, laughter, and lots of Jackrabbit pride.

Today's episode is a special one, because we have two guests joining us today. Our alumni guests today are Erica DeBoer, chief nursing officer of Sanford Health, and Madison “Maddie” Fitch, a critical care registered nurse at Sanford Health. Erica and Maddie were participants in the first-ever cohort of the SDSU Alumni Mentor Program. Erica served as Maddie's mentor, and we're excited to hear about their experiences and insights. Welcome to the show, Erica and Maddie.

Erica DeBoer
Thanks for having us. 

Maddie Fitch
Thanks.

Andi Fouberg
Erica, we'll start with you. You have built an impressive career in the nursing field. And, Maddie, you are quickly, going on that track. Can each of you share a little bit of the journey that began for you at SDSU?

Erica DeBoer
I love this question because in all actuality, SDSU was actually the second college that I went to as I started my college career. I actually started at Winona State University with really that freshman experience, some of the fear that comes along with that, and actually it was in the middle of my time at Winona State that I went to visit my twin brother at SDSU, and all of a sudden it was like magic. Like I felt like I belonged. And so, after I finished up my year at Winona State and came to SDSU, it became like my new home. It's where I met some of my most important friends. And obviously, the opportunity to reconnect with my twin brother and be back on a similar campus and in the same town.

Andi Fouberg
Maddie.

Maddie Fitch
I think for me, going into my freshman year of college, SDSU was also kind of my second choice. I really wanted to go to a different school, and so coming to Brookings was just not what I expected myself to be doing as a senior in high school. But I quickly fell in love with the campus and the community. And I also met just some wonderful people in my freshman year, but then unfortunately, it was cut short with Covid. And so, you know, my introduction to SDSU was not what I had pictured, but all in the same, when I came back sophomore year, it was such a special place to be, and I just had really fond memories from freshman year that definitely carried into sophomore year as well.

Travis Jensen
Maddie, I've heard your story before. I've had the pleasure of visiting with you, and you shared that experience where, the challenges of Covid, we're all familiar with that. Right? But you talked about there was a moment where you had kind of a shift, right? Where you went all in. You're like, I'm going to make the most of this experience. Tell us a little bit about that.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah. I think getting sent home in the middle of what was, you know, I was in the middle of anatomy. And so, getting sent home in the middle of that and looking at my nursing journey and trying to imagine what that would be like, I went home, and I started working at Monument as a nurse's aide and I think through that experience and missing my friends at school and missing everything that had been in person, I just recognize, you know, there's too many opportunities in life to just sit by and, let them, you know, kind of, I guess, pass up those opportunities. And so, I think that was kind of the shift of working with patients and being in the middle of a pandemic and had never worked in health care before. And so that experience definitely propelled me to do things that I had never imagined doing before so.

Travis Jensen
Now we mentioned in the introduction that you both work together in our mentor program, the first cohort of this mentor program. But the two of you have actually known each other for a few years now. Tell us how your paths crossed.

Erica DeBoer
Interesting question. I actually, unlike Maddie, I've always wanted to be a nurse, and that's what’s been my career choice from the beginning. So obviously I switched colleges, early on, but I became a nurse aide, at Good Samaritan Society near my hometown. And that was where I really started to understand where I wanted to work, what I wanted to do. So when Maddie and I actually first connected, it was fairly instantaneous as part of the mentorship program. Obviously, Andi and I had been spending years contemplating what does it look like? How do we build this mentor program? How do we help people get back to campus, but also give back in a meaningful way? And so by being part of the first mentorship cohort, it was super important to me to connect with, Maddie or other, nurses, up and coming nurses, so that I could understand not only what their lived experience was, but how do we start reconnecting and reimagining what it has to look like as we think about health care today? Because Covid has transformed us. It's transformed us in good ways. It's transformed us in challenging ways. But through the experience and the mentorship program with Maddie, I was able to understand through her experience of clinicals. But also, then as we continued our relationship, just all the amazing insights that you can gain when you're closer to the people that are doing the work.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah, I think when I had first kind of heard of Erica, I was a SSNIP at Sanford. And so that was their internship program. So I knew of her. And then I remember it was like the kickoff to the mentorship program. And Andi came up to me and she's like, “You know who your mentor is, right?” And I was like, yeah. And then I told Andi, you know, I had accepted a job at Sanford. And so, you know, a few hours later I get a text from Erica, and it was just really special to connect with her. You know, during my, internship experience, she talked to our group. And so that was really cool. And then just to get to know her and her vision for the place that I work, the place that I love working at, and then also just hearing her passion for nursing students and the vision she has for them has been really exciting too. But I think it just speaks volumes to what the mentorship program can do and just the experience you can have.

Andi Fouberg
I think you actually met as Trustees. 

Maddie Fitch
Yeah.

Andi Fouberg
Right? Because you, Erica, served on the council of Trustees after being on the Alumni Association Board. Maddie was a student on the Council of Trustees, and I think I remember introducing the two of you probably the year before in passing at a meeting.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah. It was like the spring.

Erica DeBoer
You’re exactly right. I had actually forgotten that connection that happened just because, again, yes, we've known each other for a couple of years, but it's interesting. So thanks for circling us back.

Andi Fouberg
It was a quick…

Erica DeBoer
It was super quick.

Andi Fouberg
Right? Like on a break in between meetings, I'm like, hey, you should meet this person. This might be your future path. Right? So yeah, I think that was just passing. 

Erica DeBoer
Yeah, it was a quick like, ‘hey!’

Andi Fouberg
Maddie, you have been involved now in the mentor program, and I want to ask, what were your initial thoughts of having Erica as your mentor?

Maddie Fitch
Well, it was kind of like, I don't know, a little star struck moment. I'll be honest. I was like, oh, this is the boss of all my bosses. Like, I hope she likes me. You know, I've now accepted the job in her former unit at Sanford. And so it was, you know, definitely a little like, oh, geez, in the start. But then, you know, you have one conversation with Erica and you realize how down to earth she is and how much she cares. And we quickly became very good friends, and she just has so much wisdom and passion for nursing. And I really appreciated that not having anyone in my family in the health care field. And so, yeah, it's just really special and it means a lot.

Erica DeBoer
I have to just say one example of, like one of those moments that I'm like, oh, this feels so good to be a mentor to somebody who's asking me questions. So Maddie is amazing at asking all the right questions, and if she doesn't get the real answer, she's going to find it out no matter how she ends up doing that. So, I remember it was a quick text message that she said, “Have you ever taken this type of patient before?” And I’m like, ‘Yes, I have. I actually took the first one.’ Again, it made me feel super old, but nonetheless, she sent this long, drawn-out, voicemail, voice message. And I listened to it and I'm like, ‘Oh, I can't wait to talk about this.’ So I got to go back to my old world of ICU and pathophysiology and all the light bulbs that can come on when you have that crucial conversation with the team and help them understand all those pieces. So she reignited some things in me, that in some cases, you feel like you forget about once you get to that administrative level. But so fun to be able to be that resource and have that conversation and actually then take that conversation to the next level and say, ‘Gosh, you know what? If Maddie's asking this question, what do we need to change? What do we need to adjust to make sure that we're addressing some of those questions and concerns?’ Because what's beautiful about Maddie, and she's always been this way ever since I met her, is she's got a true passion for the human, that sits in that bed that she's taking care of. And just because I'm nervous about calling that doctor, what's the most important thing for that patient? She's a true advocate and just incredible. And this is what we want, right? Maddie is who I want taking care of me.

Maddie Fitch
Oh, that's so kind. Oh, my gosh.

Andi Fouberg
So I'm not the only person you leave long voice messages for?

Maddie Fitch
I’m horrible at just like short things, you know? I got to explain myself.

Andi Fouberg
I like it.

Travis Jensen
That’s what we want in a nurse, right? Detail oriented.

Erica DeBoer
Yes, yes.

Travis Jensen
I love it. So, Erica, one of the many, many things that I appreciate about you is you maintain this firm belief that leaders need to be mentoring future leaders, right? We need to invest in that next generation. Now, with that thought in mind, I also recognize that you're incredibly busy. You have a lot on your plate professionally and personally and socially, but yet you still participated in the program. What motivated you to become a mentor in the SDSU Alumni Mentor Program?

Erica DeBoer
Fantastic question. From my perspective, I would maybe boil it down to three different things. One, I think that connection between college and what does reality really mean is super critical and helping people navigate what that looks like, I think is so valuable. I didn't have it, so I want to be that for somebody else. That's one. Two, when you think about how complex the nature of health care is, business, industry, no matter what that is, why wouldn't you want someone to have some kind of connectivity to all the mistakes that I've made and others have made, and then those lessons learned. How do you actually share some of those? Because, gosh, you don't want people to make mistakes if they don't have to. The third is that connection to our front line is so incredibly important to me, because they're the future problem solvers for us, and they're the future leaders. So, those would be the three main reasons why. Maybe the fourth selfish one is I get a lot of energy from mentoring other people and learning and understanding from a different perspective. So that would be the selfish side.

Travis Jensen
Now you both are proud jackrabbits and have strong ties to SDSU. What are some of your favorite memories from your time at State?

Maddie Fitch
I would say for me, probably most recently, Frisco. It’s just a special experience, and I think to any graduate of SDSU might say this but graduation week was just so special to me. To have my entire family in Brookings to support me through all the accomplishments and to meet my friends and see where I studied and worked and lived. There’s just such a cool experience, and you really do feel that Jackrabbit pride at the end of it. It’s so bittersweet, but at the same time, it brings back all of the memories. So I think graduation week was just a blast but Frisco. Hopefully, we’ll be back in January!

Travis Jensen
That was pretty special.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah, that was so fun!

Andi Fouberg
Maddie is leaving out a little piece of this, right? Because, Maddie, you had a part in your graduation ceremony. 

Maddie Fitch
Yeah.

Andi Fouberg
You were the student speaker.

Maddie Fitch
That was a really cool experience. Very grateful for that opportunity, for sure. Yeah, got to hang out with Andi quite a bit that week, which is fun.

Andi Fouberg
I will tell a quick story on Maddie, because I am one of the people who helps prepare the students for the commencement address. And we were in her second practice, and Dean Bott- Knutson from the Honors College and I brought her in, and she came up and the first question that I asked Maddie is, ‘Do you have gum in your mouth right now?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ And she goes, ‘You didn't catch me the last time. I said, ‘I did. I didn't feel the need to tell you, but now that we've done it twice it needs to be corrected.’

Maddie Fitch
I did spit my gum out before I came in here. I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh.’

Travis Jensen
Lesson learned.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah, I've learned my lesson a few times.

Travis Jensen
Erica, how about you? What are some of your favorite memories from State?

Erica DeBoer
As you can imagine, it was a little bit different experience for me because I came in as a sophomore. So, Maddie brought up Mamm Phys. I got to take Mamm Phys and Pharm at the same time at the same semester because of the difference between quarter versus semester. So just a little bit of stress and the need and desire to be successful, so I remember that piece. But what was so amazing, it didn't matter where I was, I met one of my best friends, my sophomore year, and some of the friends that I still spend time with today, in Brown Hall. And then I had the opportunity at the second half of the year to actually become an RA. So, really fun to have that opportunity. One, to not necessarily have to transition to learn a new roommate, but to understand what leadership looks like in resident life. The other funny story I have to tell you is, as many of you probably know about me, I'm not really the I love having fun, but I prefer working. Always working. So, I was in the office as an RA, just managing the front desk. We actually were having a highlighter fight, and I headbutted the filing cabinet and ended up in the E.R. Now, most people would say ‘Yeah right you headbutted a filing cabinet.’ I was at work; this is when I did it. They’re like, “Are you sure you weren’t downtown at the bars?” No, I was not. We were having a highlighter fight. Very normal activity within the dorms, but anyway…

Andi Fouberg
I was an RA for a year and a half. I don't remember ever having a highlighter fight. Are you throwing the highlighters at one another? Are you drawing on one another?

Erica DeBoer
We were trying to draw on one another.

Andi Fouberg
Okay. 

Erica DeBoer
Yes, yes. So that's one memory that came to mind.

Andi Fouberg
The 90s were a different time, everyone.

Erica DeBoer
Very.

Andi Fouberg
Maddie, what have been some of the most valuable lessons that you have learned from Erica during your time in the mentor program?

Maddie Fitch
I think she kind of touched on it earlier, but just always making sure that your patient and their family is the priority. It doesn't matter, you know, your fear of, asking a silly question or the doctor getting frustrated with you or maybe not asking the right question in the right way. But at the end of the day, I think just watching her passion for others and just how much, you know, you can change for one person if you genuinely care about them and their experience, I think is really ignited me in my career so far. And then also just keep asking questions. Erica loves to ask questions. And so I think, you know, taking that into my own practice and into my own personal life as well is just been really valuable and powerful and has allowed me to do a lot of things I never, ever would have dreamt of. And so I think those are kind of some of the big ones to take away.

Travis Jensen
So this question I've asked every guest on the podcast so far, and it pertains to the success of SDSU. What we've witnessed over the past several years, just so many accomplishments, so many success stories. Right? Whether you're talking about academically, athletically, you know, via research, watching all of our alumni just thrive professionally, right? It's just such a great time to be a jackrabbit. So with that in mind, what's one thing that you're most excited about as it relates to the future of SDSU?

Erica DeBoer
One thing?

Travis Jensen
Yeah, one thing. I know that's hard.

Erica DeBoer
The one thing that I'll say from my chair that I'm working in today is the partnership that I have with our College of Nursing, but now even extending on to our College of Engineering is how do we start thinking differently? How do we start pushing those boundaries so that we can do health care differently? Which means we've got to think outside the box. We got to think about different ways for us to contemplate what this looks like. And I feel like that relationship with SDSU and the ability to have those super frank conversations about this is the big problem we're trying to solve. How can you help us? How can you partner with us to get it done? It's amazing the synergies that I'm beginning to see.

Maddie Fitch
I would say just kind of in a similar sense and through the research I've done, post-graduation, I think just continuing to see the growth of students after they're done and, you know, for my experience I'm still working with some faculty at SDSU, even though I'm not in school, but as a professional and a new professional at that, I think it's just really valuable and speaks volumes to how much the university cares about its alumni and also the surrounding area. And, you know, the region itself, I think is just really powerful. And what they want to do and how much they want to serve and give back to their community, and just continuing to support their alumni and also, selfishly, I'm excited to see my sister graduate from SDSU in a couple of years. So, yeah.

Andi Fouberg
From each of your perspectives, what is the thing that really stands out at SDSU as a place of learning, growth, and committed community? What makes it different? What would you say is that thing that makes SDSU special?

Erica DeBoer
Honestly, I'd have to say it's the people. It’s like coming home. I can remember not being on campus for a really long time. And then when I was invited to be on the alumni board, how I just it was like, oh yes, the campus has changed a little bit. Yes, it's gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit busier, but so comfortable and so much commitment and so much community in that space that it's hard not to just want to lean in and figure out how to do it bigger, how to do it better, how to serve the state of South Dakota and all the amazing individuals in a little bit different

Maddie Fitch
That's what I was going to say.

Travis Jensen
Great minds think alike.

Maddie Fitch
Yeah, I was like ditto. No, genuinely the people and just the place itself. Anytime I go back I feel like I never left, and it's just so special anytime you have a conversation with someone on campus or in Brookings or you meet someone and you’re like ‘Oh I went to SDSU’. Like the number of family members I have met at work and they’re like “Oh I’m a Jackrabbit alumni,” and I’m like, ‘Perfect. We’re going to have a great day.’ I think it’s just so special, and the people genuinely care about you and your success and your well-being. And I think that just goes a long way when you're looking at what SDSU does for everyone.

Travis Jensen
Erica, Maddie, thank you both for being here today, for joining us on the podcast, for sharing your stories, and your experiences. We really appreciate it.

Maddie Fitch
Thanks. 

Erica DeBoer
Thank you.

Travis Jensen
Thank you for listening to this final episode of season one of STATE Stories! We hope you have enjoyed the incredible stories from our SDSU alumni. We can’t wait to bring you more legendary stories in the future. Be sure to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know when season two drops. In the meantime, you can catch up on all our episodes at statealum.com/podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in season two!