Challey Spotlight: Marin Roragen
Accounting Student, Challey Institute Scholarship Recipient
Marin Roragen just completed her freshman year as an accounting student at NDSU. She grew up in the Fertile, MN area and after an impressive tour of the College of Business and the welcoming people she met, she knew NDSU was the place for her. Marin is also a recipient of the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute Scholarship, which supports students who are interested in learning about economic opportunity and human flourishing.
As a regular attendee of Challey Institute events, tell us about one that was your favorite.
My favorite speaker was Magatte Wade. She was an entrepreneur from Africa that came to the United States when she was young. She was a very successful person and worked with big companies. One day she felt like she needed to do more for her home country, so she went back and tried to help them as much as she could by creating jobs for them. She shared a lot about economic freedom, which was something that I had never really understood before. In essence, what she said was that a lot of the regulations don't allow countries in Africa to make necessary improvements. That was really interesting to me. She was super passionate about her topic and I just really enjoyed listening to her.
Is there any part of that event that you think might help with your future career?
Starting my own business would be really cool. She explained a lot about how it's really a privilege we have here in America to be able to just hop online and start a business in like 20 min. This taught me to keep my eyes open for opportunities around me where I could help people.
How has participating in the Challey Institute enhanced your NDSU experience?
Going to these classes, like the Human Progress & Flourishing Workshop, gives you a lot of different perspectives. I feel like a lot of the economic-type stuff I never really looked into because I didn't think it was important, but now, I'm understanding how it plays a huge role. Economics affects many different countries in different ways. It's been really interesting to hear all the different speakers and what they have to say about it.
How has philanthropy and the Challey Institute supported you?
Obviously, the scholarship is super helpful, because as we know college isn't cheap. I appreciate it so much. They are so kind, and I appreciate everything they do for us. This is also a cool opportunity for students like me to be able to hear from distinguished people. Having the opportunity to hear from people that are almost Nobel Prize winners and people that are super intelligent has been a wonderful experience. It's so fun to hear their ideas and everything they've done for our world.