We caught up with several former NDSU football players recently to find out how their classroom experiences helped push them to successful careers.
NAME: Ryan Smith
POSITION: Receiver
HOMETOWN: Wahpeton, North Dakota
GRADUATED: 2015
YEARS PLAYED: 2010-13
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Financial advisor for Edward Jones (Wahpeton, North Dakota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“NDSU taught me that you will always have a shot at being successful if you work hard and do not make excuses.”
NAME: Esley Thorton
POSITION: Linebacker
HOMETOWN: Bismarck, North Dakota
GRADUATED: 2015
YEARS PLAYED: 2010-14
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Orthopedic sales representative (Fargo, North Dakota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“My experiences at NDSU have had a significant impact on my career success and ability to successfully contribute to my sales team. The hard work, time commitment and stress of being an NDSU student-athlete helped prepare me for long days at the hospital and stressful situations in the operating room. I’m extremely grateful for the lessons learned and relationships formed while at NDSU.”
NAME: MJ Stumpf
POSITION: Linebacker
HOMETOWN: Harvey, North Dakota
GRADUATED: 2017
YEARS PLAYED: 2012-16
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Project Engineer at IEA/White Construction (Clinton, Indiana)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“My experience at NDSU has helped me to have a good sense of accountability for myself and my role in my career. The culture at NDSU pushed me to understand my role and to do it to the best of my ability. NDSU also taught me to strive to be better every day and to continually look to learn and grow.”
NAME: Landon Lechler
POSITION: Offensive tackle
HOMETOWN: Beach, North Dakota
GRADUATED: 2017
YEARS PLAYED: 2012-17
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Plant supervisor at Golden Valley Ingredients (Beach, North Dakota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“My experience at NDSU prepared me for my current job by allowing me to prepare and plan for upcoming tasks. My time at NDSU showed me the importance of surrounding myself with hardworking, caring people that create a team-oriented work atmosphere.”
NAME: Ben LeCompte
POSITION: Punter/Kicker
HOMETOWN: Barrington, Illinois
GRADUATED: 2015
YEARS PLAYED: 2011-15
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Northeast Region Sales Director at Discovery Benefits (Fargo, North Dakota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“The College of Business and the professional selling program were key in preparing me for my sales role at Discovery. The addition of being a student-athlete and having to manage my time very carefully also was a tremendous help in getting me ready for a successful career.”
NAME: Andrew Grothmann
POSITION: Fullback
HOMETOWN: Hillsboro, North Dakota
GRADUATED: 2013
YEARS PLAYED: 2009-13
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Loan officer at Farm Credit Services (Hillsboro, North Dakota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“Being an NDSU student-athlete taught me how to best deal with the good times and really hard times. It’s very similar to helping farmers in my current job. There are good years and bad. We just keep pushing forward and working the plan that is laid out.”
NAME: Chase Morlock
POSITION: Running back
HOMETOWN: Moorhead, Minnesota
GRADUATED: 2018
YEARS PLAYED: 2013-16
CURRENT JOB (CITY): Owner/Head trainer at Rise Training and Fitness (Moorhead, Minnesota)
HOW DID YOUR NDSU EXPERIENCE PREPARE YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR CURRENT JOB?:
“My NDSU experience taught me about true discipline and hard work, which I transferred over to what I’m doing now. At NDSU, I learned that small details matter and can separate you from the competition, whether it’s in athletics, school or work.”