“I had a great student experience. I wanted to come back and I wanted to help any way that I could,” Dr. Kari Torkelson.
Dr. Torkelson conducts an eye exam on one of her patients at the Lifetime Vision Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
Power of Participation Involvement in campus activities plays an integral role in a student’s collegiate experience and Alumna Kari Torkelson, O.D., ex. ’91 is a prime example of the depth of that connection. In 1989, when Torkelson applied to the University of Minnesota, Crookston she wanted to play basketball and volleyball. “I loved athletics and still do,” Torkelson says. “Not only did sports give me a group of friends right away, it helped to keep me focused on doing well in the classroom.” Her dad put up a basketball hoop for her when she was only 8 years old after she won a free throw shooting contest in school and a second at the regional competition. “I never had shot a basketball before then,” she remarks. “I was surprised as anyone at my success.” When she was 10 years old, she placed third in the state competition. “I spent many hours in the shed shooting baskets on the farm,” Torkelson recalls. “It is still a stress reliever for me today, and I find it relaxing.” In her sophomore year at the U of M, Crookston, she took on a new challenge as a residential advisor (RA), known today as a community advisor, in what
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was then Brink Hall. “I grew a lot as an RA,” Torkelson says. “I developed my communication skills, practiced conflict resolution, and honed my leadership ability by putting it into practice every day. “I developed close friendships with the other RAs and some of my closest friends now were RAs on campus when I was,” she says. She fondly remembers cookouts with Director of Residential Life Gary Willhite and his wife, Lynn. The RAs found camaraderie in planning activities and spending time together. “I remember one time, after all the students had left for the semester, playing dodge ball with a tennis ball through the halls of Skyberg,” she smiles. “We had good times together.” Being an RA helped Torkelson pay for some of her college expenses, and it meshed well with her athletic schedule. She enjoyed working with Andrew Svec, the current director of communications, public relations, and marketing, when he was first hired as the assistant director of residential life. She also enjoyed JoAnn Westburg who was the senior secretary in residential life. “Gary, Andrew, and JoAnn were good to us and really helped me grow in my role as an RA,” she says.