North Dakota State College of Science will hold its commencement ceremony on Friday, May 11 at 3 p.m. in the Ed Werre Arena located in the Clair T. Blikre Activities Center in Wahpeton, N.D. Six hundred ninety students from the Wahpeton campus, NDSCS-Fargo location and online are scheduled to graduate. Two hundred eight of these graduates will be recognized with a Scholastic Achievement Award.

Faculty Senate President Barry Frank will serve as the Grand Marshal, Vice President for Academic Affairs Harvey Link will preside as the Master of Ceremonies and NDSCS President John Richman will give remarks and recognitions as well as the presentation of degrees, diplomas and certificates. Addison Helgaas, Student Senate President, will share his remarks. The NDSCS Performing Arts department will also perform musical selections.

North Dakota State College of Science students, faculty and staff will celebrate Agawasie Day on Thursday, May 3. Events on the College’s Wahpeton campus will begin at 1:00 p.m., with competitions, inflatables, music, food and numerous attractions taking place throughout the afternoon and evening. The day-long celebration will close with an outdoor street dance for students from 9:00 p.m. until midnight in the parking lot north of Old Main, with music provided by a disc jockey.

The public is invited to participate in the Agawasie Day Car Show, which will take place from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Registration for the car show is free for all participants, including students, faculty, staff and the public. Trophies will be awarded for Best in Show and President’s Choice, as well as 1st and 2nd place Car, Truck and Motorcycle. Additional information and registration is available online at ndscs.edu/agawasie or by calling 701-671-2401.

In 1914, the College published its first yearbook called the Agawasie. The arrival of the annual became a day for celebration, hence the start of the annual Agawasie Day Picnic. While publishing an annual yearbook was discontinued in 2004, the day for celebration still lives on as Agawasie Day and is celebrated every year right before the start of finals.

Students from the North Dakota State College of Science received a number of awards at the North Dakota SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference, which was held at NDSCS earlier this month. By achieving gold medals at the state level, 14 of these students qualified to compete in their respective categories at the national SkillsUSA Championships, which will be held in Louisville, Ky. in June.

The NDSCS students who received gold, silver or bronze medals at the state competition include:

ALASKA
Fairbanks: Keegan Chapin, Automotive Service Technology, Bronze

MINNESOTA
Battle Lake: Caleb Bellig, Welding Fabrication, Gold
Cyrus: Eric Larson, Electrical Construction Wiring, Gold
Frazee: Ryan Bade, Collision Repair Technology, Gold
Moorhead: John Baumgardner, CNC Technician, Bronze
Sartell: Cole Mortiz, Welding, Gold
Spicer: Trey Johnson, Plumbing, Silver
Spring Grove: Mitch Anderson, Welding Fabrication, Gold

NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck: Tanner Klein, Power Equipment Technology, Gold
Dickinson: John Heidt, CNC Turning Specialist, Gold; Shelby Kilwein, Diesel Equipment Technology, Silver; Caleb Krebs, Diesel Equipment Technology, Gold
Fargo: Chandler Rheault, Welding Sculpture, Gold; Rebecca Roberts, Welding Sculpture, Silver
Jamestown: Kyle Schumacher, Automotive Service Technology, Gold; Dylan Staloch, Automotive Refinishing Technology, Gold
Lisbon: Cassie Witte, Culinary Arts, Gold
Milnor: Taylor Busche, Plumbing, Gold
Minot: Mason Bahl, Welding, Silver; Henry Lemar, Automotive Service Technology, Silver
Napoleon: Jake Bakken, Plumbing, Bronze
Oakes: Brittney Harty, Culinary Arts, Silver
Rugby: Ethan Clements, Welding Fabrication, Gold
West Fargo: Joe Shook, CNC Milling Specialist, Bronze
Wahpeton: Austin Berger, Automotive Refinishing Technology, Silver
Walcott: Jordan Mead, Diesel Equipment Technology, Bronze
Williston: Steven Fixen, Electrical Construction Wiring, Silver

SOUTH DAKOTA
Aberdeen: Schyler Kumpf, Collision Repair Technology, Bronze

The NDSCS Performing Arts department will present two concerts in April, with the Concert Band and Concert Choir performing on April 19 and the Jazz Band and Wildcat Singers performing on April 30. Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the North Dakota State College of Science campus in Wahpeton. The concerts are free and open to the public.

The NDSCS Concert Band and Concert Choir will present their last concert of the season on Thursday, April 19. The Concert Band will perform several pieces including “Tis the Last Rose of Summer,” featuring trumpet soloist Madison Nelson-Gira. The Concert Choir will collaborate with the M State (Fergus Falls) Voice Ensemble on two pieces. “Ave Verum” and “Let Everything That Hath Breath” were featured on Minnesota Public Radio last fall, with students from both NDSCS and M State participating in the recording session. Both choirs will also perform separately at the concert.

The NDSCS Jazz Band and Wildcat Singers will conclude their North Dakota tour with a home concert on Monday, April 30. The groups will be on tour the previous week with school performances at Circle of Nations (Wahpeton), Wishek, Bismarck, Medina, Drake-Anamoose, Grand Forks, Cavalier and Thief River Falls (Minn.).

Second-year OTA students became trained in CarFit as part of their academic coursework and hosted their first CarFit event on November 29, 2017 in Schuett Hall. Students completed a 12-point checklist with several participants to ensure that they “fit” their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety.

CarFit is an educational program created by the American Society on Aging and developed in collaboration with AAA (American Automobile Association), AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. The CarFit program offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles “fit” them. The CarFit program also provides information and materials on community-specific resources that could enhance their safety as drivers, and/or increase their mobility in the community.

Five students from North Dakota State College of Science will be performing with statewide collegiate music groups on February 3. The students are:

North Dakota Collegiate Women’s Honor Choir:
• Nicole Demars, Cavalier, N.D.
• Faith Goettle, Campbell, Minn.
• Brandi Romereim, Wahpeton, N.D.

North Dakota Intercollegiate Band:
• Dilan Kluver-Pasche, Hoffman, Minn.
• Luke Olsby, Wahpeton, N.D.

The Women’s Collegiate Honor Choir students will perform with singers from other North Dakota colleges at a concert on February 3 at 3:00 p.m. at the Reineke Fine Arts Center at North Dakota State University. The choir is an annual tradition at the North Dakota Choral Directors Association (ACDA) yearly convention. This year’s conductor is Dr. Philip A. Swan, who is Co-Director of Choral Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc. The students will prepare music during the month of January and have two days of rehearsal with Dr. Swan prior to the concert. 

The Intercollegiate Band students will perform with instrumentalists from other North Dakota colleges at a concert on February 3 at 3:00 p.m. at the Reiland Fine Arts Center at the University of Jamestown. The band has become an annual tradition in the state. This will mark the second year of NDSCS participation in the group. This year’s conductor is Professor Emeritus Larry Gookin of Central Washington University, of Ellensburg, Wash. The students will prepare music during the month of January and have two days of rehearsal with Professor Gookin prior to the concert.