about it. With all the military moves that I’ve made and couple academic moves this probably has been the most heartfelt welcome that I have received and I think that the University of Mary is a special place as well.
The Knapp Family Photo: Glasser Images
What brought your family to Bismarck? Caprice: We both had really great job opportunities and started to really think seriously about the area, the schools, the quality of life here, and the more we looked into it, the more inviting it became and the more interesting it became. It seemed like everything all fit not only career wise but personal.
How long have you lived in Bismarck? Caprice: 4 months
Where are you from originally? Colin: Originally Florida, but with many stops between here and there. I spent 11 years in the military, so I ended up going through England, Virginia, Florida- that’s when we got married so that would’ve been back in 2002. In 2003 we moved to Colorado, lived there for 2.5 years, moved back to Florida. We were only supposed to be there for three years, but we ended up staying 10 before going to Pennsylvania for 5. We were 16
both at Penn State for a while, and then Caprice ended up taking a job outside of academia in health care still at Penn State when this opportunity ended up presenting itself.
What do you love most about Bismarck? Caprice: For me, I really like a couple things. One is we can get outdoors, I like that. The kids, we have two daughters 8 and 12, and when we moved here in the summer I think they really enjoyed riding their bikes and being outside. The other thing is I really like the people that I work with; they’re just a really nice, wonderful, welcoming group and so in that respect I think its been an easy transition, to feel like we’re part of a group already, so I enjoy that. Colin: I’d never been to North Dakota before, I came up for the job interview so this was state 49 out of 50. Oregon is the only one that’s left. I expected Bismarck to be pancake flat and bland, but I have really enjoyed the scenery even though I consider myself a mountains person. Now I’ve been outside on 15 degree days on long runs and don’t even think twice
BISMARCK MAGAZINE | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020
What’s your favorite thing to do so far? Caprice: “Our daughter is twelve, her name is Moorea, and I really like going down by the river with her to go roller blading. The other thing is enjoying new things like learning how to curl. I’ve been trying out a women’s hockey league so things like that that we would just normally do that have been really fun as well.” Colin: Curling by far. I look forward to it every week. I’ve been trying to find ways to do it more but it just hasn’t worked out yet, but I’m curling in a late Monday league and it is one of the highlights of my week. Caprice: Our daughter is learning how to curl as well, Etta, she’s eight.
Do you have a favorite restaurant? Caprice: We’re trying as many as we can. We’ve gone back several times to Mackenzie River. We take people there when they come visit, actually.
What surprised you most about Bismarck? Colin: So this might be shocking. One of the first events we went to where we were like okay we’re going to leave the kids at home, we’re going to go out, and have an afternoon to ourselves. We went to the First Annual Beer and Donuts event. The first people we met there were not from ND, they were from Caprice's home town in Florida.