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March 2020 SPARKS FLY: DSU OFFERS WELDING COURSES FOR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS by DSU student Amanda D’Aniello I wasn’t wandering aimlessly around the Dickinson State University (DSU) Agriculture Building long before adjunct instructor Mr. Ben Krebs pulled me into the room 107 workshop. Inside, students leaned around the scrap metal pile, talking shop before class. I could tell they were excited to get to work. As class began, the students began gearing up – close-toed shoes, denim pants, fire-resistant jackets, and, most importantly, glasses and a helmet to protect their skin and eyes from the sparks that were about to fly. Instruction depends on the day, they told me. Mr. Krebs assigns them projects that they work on independently and he checks in to help them along, as needed. Each week on Tuesday night, the DSU students spend three hours in class from 6 to 9 p.m. learning techniques, equipment, and standard safety procedures. Outside of class, they’re required to spend 20 hours on their projects throughout the 16-week semester. The welding class that I attended is included in Dickinson State University’s new dual mission offerings. Long term, the plan is to provide continuing education, certification, and recertification to existing welders in the community, and help to fill a gap by training employable industrial welders in the state. The University is also considering the addition of two new welding programs that could be proposed in the near future – a one-year certificate and an associate’s degree. Dr. Chip Poland, chair of the Department of Agriculture & Technical Studies at DSU, often asks himself, “How do I create new welders?” He explained to me the shortage of welders throughout the state. “Certainly manufacturers have come to the table. There is a desire and a need.” And this desire was absolutely reflected in the students I spoke to as well. Many of them are farmers or ranchers who wanted to pick up the necessary skills to patch broken equipment or tools. Others were considering a career in welding and viewed it as a great, and lucrative, opportunity. One student went so far as to say, “I wasn’t coming [to DSU] because [DSU] didn’t have welding but [the concept of a program] changed my mind.” Now, he’s enrolled in DSU’s one-year Farm and Ranch Management certificate, and possibly an associate’s degree in Agricultural Business Management, while taking the welding classes that are currently available. Like many of his classmates, this student wanted to continue playing football while learning a skill that would help him on his family farm, and also professionally.
DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY NAMES STUDENT NURSE OF THE YEAR
L to R Erin Berger, NSA advisor and assistant professor of nursing; Giselle Ishimwe; Dr. Cheryl Lantz, chair of the nursing department; and Abigail Brooks, the 2019 Student Nurse of the Year. Giselle Ishimwe, a junior nursing student at Dickinson State University (DSU), was named Student Nurse of the Year during the University’s annual competition in December. Ishimwe has been selected to represent the DSU chapter of the Nursing Students’ Association at local and state events. Ishimwe is a native of Rwanda. Her family moved to the United States when she was 15 years old. She graduated from West Fargo High School in West Fargo, North Dakota and obtained a degree in Licensed Practical Nursing from the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in Wahpeton, North Dakota, in 2018. Giselle is an active member of the DSU chapter of the Nursing Students’ Association and has been involved with other organizations on campus, including Student Senate and the International Club. In addition to her school obligations, Ishimwe works as a licensed practical nurse at three different facilities: Villa Maria in Fargo, North Dakota, where she also worked as a certified nursing assistant before becoming a nurse; Sanford Home Health in Pediatrics also in Fargo; and at St. Luke’s Nursing Home in Dickinson, North Dakota. Ishimwe drives home to Fargo every few weeks for work and to visit family. When Ishimwe was asked why she wanted to be a nurse, she responded, “My parents made sacrifices to move all the way here and leave everything behind that they had worked so hard for in order for my siblings and I to get the education we need and to be successful in life. All I have ever wanted out of life is to have a purpose and my purpose is to help others. Nursing is something that you should not just do for pay. It has to be in your heart and you should have a passion for it. When passion meets purpose, success is always guaranteed, and that is called destiny. I was destined to be a nurse.”
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“There are a number of students who want to participate in sports at the collegiate level, but their true passion is in welding,” Dr. Poland shared, and having a degree option would allow them to do that. There are other benefits to this course, too, explained Dr. Poland. A college degree is a chance to “develop the whole person” along with “some softer skills that business tells us they’d like employees to have – communication, leadership, critical thinking, and working with others.” It is Dr. Poland’s hope that by providing these extended degrees, students will leave better prepared for the job market, and prepared in case of a career-ending injury, or a massive change in the job market. By the end of the program, students will be able to say, “I’m not just a welder, I have a set of skills to do a variety of things.” In the meantime, sparks will continue to fly (behind heavy protective curtains) in the Dickinson State Agriculture Building. The students will continue learning the basics of welding, and many will go on next semester into a more advanced, and specified course. Without question, this experience will open doors for the students participating whether that be in industrial work, manufacturing, farming, or ranching. The future these students choose is up to them! For more information about programs at Dickinson State University, contact the Office of Admissions at dsu.hawk@dickinsonstate.edu or (701) 483-2175.
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