Several NDSU staff members and alumni were recognized during the 12th annual TRIO Day Annual Dinner, held at NDSU’s Memorial Union on April 22. The event attracted more than 200 participants.
The Friend of TRIO Award, presented to departments for extraordinary support for TRIO programs, was awarded to the NDSU Bookstore. Receiving plaques were Kimberly Anvinson, associate director; Carl Wichman, assistant director – book department; Joy Anderson, operations manager; Brad Sonmor, electronics; Mary Siverson, clothing; Jody Askew, gifts; and Jane Lessard, art and supplies.
Randolph Peterson received the Veterans Upward Bound Achievement Award. Peterson, who served 10 years of active duty in the Army, is enrolled at NDSU studying computer science.
The Upward Bound Achievement Award was given to Madina Joseph, who was born in Sudan and migrated via Ethiopia and Kenya to Fargo South High School in 2001, where she was accepted into the Upward Bound program as a sophomore. She graduated from NDSU in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and is working at Sanford MeritCare.
Eric Bisimwa was honored with the Student Support Services Achievement Award. Bisimwa, who hails from the Congo, has lived in Fargo for nine years. He attended Fargo South High and participated in Upward Bound. Utilizing tutoring and services offered by Student Support Services, he graduated from NDSU with a bachelor’s degree in business and finance. He owns Bonjour Fargo, which provides products from home countries of local immigrants.
Student Support Services also presented Outstanding Leadership Awards to Erika Beseler Thompson, learning services/orientation coordinator in Orientation and Student Success, and Kathy Circle, a graduate student who has been tutoring for Student Support Services since 2006 and Veterans Upward Bound in 2008. Circle began teaching mathematics in 2009 through the Pathway Program, a collaborative program between NDSU and North Dakota State College of Science.
Kari McGee is the recipient of the McNair Scholars Program Achievement Award. A former McNair Scholar at NDSU, McGee graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2002. She earned her doctorate in chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 2008, and has co-written 12 publications and given 17 presentations. McGee is a senior research chemist in nanotechnology and inorganic chemistry for 3M in St. Paul, Minn.
During the ceremony, Fargo mayor Dennis Walaker read a proclamation declaring April 22 as “TRIO Day” in Fargo, and representatives of North Dakota’s congressional delegation read letters of support. The event’s master of ceremonies was Kris Mickelson, assistant director of TRIO programs and project director for Upward Bound.