The SMSU Podcast

This week, SMSU is busy preparing for its 56th commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 4th. To discuss the social media and content creation surrounding commencement and for the university as a whole, we invited Mitchell Riibe, the Digital Marketing Strategist, to go over what SMSU is doing regarding content creation.

This Week is the SMSU Alumni and Foundation’s “M4L Day Of Giving”. On April 25th, M4L Day (Mustangs 4 Life Day) will bring alums, friends, students, parents, faculty, and staff for Southwest Minnesota State University's Day of Giving. This 24-hour online fundraising event offers opportunities to show your Mustang Pride. Your support will directly impact current and future students. Justin covers all the different bonuses and opportunities during the online event! There will also be a social on April 25th from 3 to 5 p.m. on the SMSU campus. https://www.m4lday.com/giving-events/m4l24/home

This week the computer science student’s have been busy this year putting together an app that they call, Calbuddy, short for “Calendar Buddy”. It allows students to fill out what type of events they would like to be notified about, it can also work for class notifications through the work they did with the SMSU IT department.

This week, Tayyaba Rahman is in the studio discussing her upcoming event, the Future Forward Speaker Series, presented by North Star Mutual School of Business. Tayyaba comes from Pakistan and is pursuing her Master of Business Administration at SMSU. The event occurs on Monday, April 15, from 3-5 pm in the SMSU Conference Center! RSVP for this free event at www.smsu.edu/go/futureforward

Next week, the SMSU Theatre Program presents “An Inspector Calls.” Director Nadine Schmidt chose this show because it's a classic detective story that fits this year's theme: Timeless and Timeliness. Senior Theatre Major Colton Jensen plays Eric Birling, a member of the family called on by Inspector Goole. Colton touches on how he prepared for the role, as well as handling lighting design using new lighting equipment the program received last fall. The show runs April 10-14, starting at 7:30 pm, with a matinee showing on April 14, beginning at 2 pm. All performances will take place in the Fine Arts Theatre. Tickets are $10 at the door. SMSU students and employees can attend for free with their SMSU ID.

This Week, Dr. Ken Murphy joins us to discuss the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. In preparation for that, the planetarium at SMSU is putting on a show this weekend. Tickets are sold at the door for five dollars, and SMSU students get free admission. Dr. Murphy discusses the significance of this solar eclipse and provides “need to know” information to stay safe and enjoy this amazing scientific event! The show times are March 29 and April 4, both at 7 p.m., at the SMSU planetarium. After the show, if you don’t have the proper eye protection, glasses are available for purchase for four dollars.

This week, Dr. John Ginocchio is preparing for guest artist Tom Scott, who will perform with the SMSU Jazz Ensemble and area high schools. This activity is funded in part with a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council made possible by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund. Tom will hold an open discussion on Tuesday, March 26, from 12 to 1 p.m. in the SMSU Fine Arts Theater. The event is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

We’re back after Spring break with SMSU Student Body President Sam Lund. Sam goes over his journey at SMSU, recapping what led him to choose SMSU, how he dealt with online learning through the pandemic, and how important it is to be involved on campus. Sam also goes over what he’s been up to the past few weeks and the great opportunities that have come his way due to his work in student government and his large involvement on campus.

This week we call up SMSU alumni Wokil Bam who earned a degree in environmental science and chemistry and a minor in biology from SMSU in 2012. Since then he’s been busy studying and researching earning his master's from LSU in 2015 and his Phd in 2021. Since June 2023, Wokil has worked with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as a postdoctoral investigator, geochemist, radiochemist, and chemical oceanographer. Over the past few months, Wokil has been on a research voyage to Antarctica and New Zealand. This won’t be his first research cruise, in total Wokil has spent over 300 days at sea doing research over the past two-and-a-half years. If you’d like to know more about Wokil’s research or how he found his way to SMSU go check out; https://www.smsu.edu/today/articles/2024/01-18-2024_wokil-bam-oceanresearch.html

On this week’s episode, Vickie Abel gives us an in-depth look into what challenges SMSU students face and how Accessibility Services helps give them the best opportunity to succeed. Vickie is also the coordinator for the Mustang Market which helps provide basic living items ranging from food to hygiene products. If you would like to donate to the Mustang Market there is a drop off location at the Alumni and Visitor Center

This week we are joined by Karalyn Closs and Cameron Peterson, students enrolled in the culinology program at SMSU. The on-campus restaurant, “The Mustang Kitchen”, is preparing to open its doors every Tuesday this semester with their first night of service being February 20. Service will run 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm with the last order going in at 7:30 pm. Full details on the restaurant and menu items can be found at: www.smsu.edu/go/mustangkitchen .

On this week’s episode, Dr. Rieppel lets us in on a “grand” update for the music department at SMSU. This past fall the department gained possession of a baby grand piano through funding from the SMSU Foundation. On February 12, The Southwest Minnesota State University Music Program presents “Pairs and Doublings” a dedication recital for the new baby grand piano featuring Dr. Daniel Rieppel. The recital is set for Monday, February 12, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre at SMSU.

SMSU will host the 12th annual Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational this week. The event is spearheaded by the SMSU Ag Club, with Hannah Myers and Madison Douvier coordinating the day's events. On Friday over 1,300 high school FFA students will compete in a wide variety of FFA competitions, along with a chance to receive scholarships from SMSU. The event kicks off at 7:30 am in the RA facility and will run until 1pm, taking place all over campus. If you are interested in volunteering at the event sign up here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xscRULQKq0ae9PrnSpIaf3H8_cXWW8RFgCvFIFtJ3_NUQk1UTENZOUVTSTM5TEVWMFRBSk5FOEpIOC4u

With Tropical Night taking place Angela Lee, Director of Alumni Relations and Outreach, is on to talk about what is happening for the Alumni returning to campus. Angela also goes over what’s happening at the new “Elizabeth Lockwood Alumni Center” and the changes happening.

As the second half of the school year gets underway financial aid is something high school seniors should be aware of. There have been quite a few changes that have been made to the application process and Director of Financial Aid, Natasha Boe goes over what those changes are and some of the misconceptions that surround financial aid. If you have questions on how to get started or if you are looking to apply you can go to the SMSU website https://www.smsu.edu/campuslife/financialaid/applying-for-financial-aid.html

We kick off the new year by discussing the Mustang Pathway Program with Jeet Sausen, Associate Director of the program. She talked about how the program started and the success it has generated for SMSU. The Mustang Pathway is the only program of its kind in the state, across both public and private higher education. The program serves historically underprivileged students and provides an alternate entry through a five-week summer program. Students who successfully complete the program are automatically admitted in the fall semester at SMSU. Dr. Erin Kline and Jefferson Lee IV spearheaded the program in 2019 with the full backing of President Kumara Jayasuriya. Sixty-one students have completed MPP with 63% of those students going on to enroll in spring classes. If students are interested in joining the Mustang Pathway program, follow the link below or reach out to Jeet at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=xscRULQKq0ae9PrnSpIafyVfqB9wrXxAvNruw2AQ401UMVZQNUZOSUFXMlFRNkZUVTBUTE9NTklVTi4u

In today's episode, the VP for Government Relations, Communication & Marketing, Bill Mulso goes over his history at SMSU as he retires after working at the university for 35 years. Marcy talks with Bill about some of their best memories as students along with going over SMSU's most monumental changes throughout the years.

On this today's episode, the Director of Choral Activities, Music Education, and Music Theory at SMSU, Stephen Kingsbury, goes over the upcoming trip to Prague and Vienna the SMSU Chorale will be taking over Christmas break. For more information on how to get involved with the SMSU Chorale and other vocal groups at SMSU contact Dr. Kingsbury through email at Stephen.Kingsbury@smsu.edu or give him via phone at 507-537-7247

On today's episode, Associate Professor of Biology Alyssa Anderson and Associate Professor of Exercise Science Mostafa Hehazy give an update on the 18th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference which took place on November 29th in the campus of SMSU. Anderson and Hezahy tell us a little bit more about their role as co-organizers of the events and their duties at SMSU. Anderson also talks about the history of the event and what students can expect from the event. Hezahy tells us about the different areas of study we can expect to see in the event, the number of students, and others. This year's keynote speaker was a 1990 SMSU graduate, Michael Beedle, and his involvement in environmental science in the public sector. To access the event program please visit www.SMSU.edu/go/urc

On today's episode, Communications and Marketing Office Graduate Assistants, Juliana Villa and Jennifer Aguilar give us an update on their responsibilities as content strategists for SMSU social media channels. Juliana, a native from Colombia, and Jenny a native from Minnesota, talk to us about their roles, challenges they faced, and how they come up with ideas for SMSU social media channels, specifically TikTok. Additionally, they tell us a bit more about what brought them to work and study at SMSU, and what they enjoy most about working in the Marketing and Communications office. Visit SMSU.edu for links to our social media accounts or search SMSUToday on any platform. SMSU social media accounts include: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, Youtube, Snapchat, and ZeeMee.