Making a mark on Rapid City

After only a year of living in Rapid City, Michael Paulson has already made his mark on the community. He raised $17,000 for Monument Health, is serving as a board member for Elevate Rapid City, and has already helped mentor local students on the ins and outs of computer programming.

Michael, an engineer with Netflix, moved with his wife Lana and their then three kids from California to South Dakota last March, just a day before California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order. The family was looking for a change after spending six years on the West Coast.

“We committed to [be there for] five years,” said Michael who was not thrilled about the original move to California. Lana and Michael, who met at Montana State University in Bozeman, were living in Montana when Michael was offered the job with Netflix. “Being from Montana, I wasn’t exactly stoked to be in California,” he said. “But everyone should try to have one adventure in their life.” The couple moved west five weeks before their first child Asher was born. “I didn’t like it,” Michael said of living in the Golden State. “You just feel the weight of everything at all times. Even if you are doing good, it is hard.”

At year five, the couple began looking around for their next adventure but could not find anything they wanted. Then 2020 happened. It was their sixth year in California, and the couple was still searching for their next move. “Then partway through (the year) a little thing called COVID happened. At that point it was pretty obvious it was time to get out of there.”

The family of five packed up and moved to Rapid City where Lana’s parents live. “We hung out here for awhile trying to figure out if I had to go back to California. I just didn’t think we could go back.” The couple decided they would settle in Rapid and found a property. Then, Michael’s boss allowed him to work remotely. “We are very happy,” Michael said. “My wife grew up here, and we always wanted to return to the area. I just didn’t want anything big again.” Michael’s family had moved away from Montana and Rapid City provided the small-town feel Michael loved with the convenience of traveling for work all while being close to family. Michael transformed a portion of his garage into a home office complete with a green wall and sound-proof foam so he can easily live stream for Twitch and his YouTube channel ThePrimeagen.

Aside from his work at Netflix, his live streaming tech videos, and spending quality time with Lana and his now four kids, Michael is getting involved in all aspects of his new community. Last fall, he raised $17,000 for Monument Health through a 24- hour video game marathon. Netflix matched every dollar Michael raised through his participation in Extra Life, an online grassroots movement that brings together thousands of gamers around the world to play in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Players, like Michael, live stream their gaming on Twitch to get donations. “I really wanted to be a part of (this community),” Michael said of his donation to Monument Health. “I want to have a more meaningful impact here.” He is already prepping for the next event in November hoping to up his play time to 36 hours. Netflix will also double match the donations this year. For every dollar raised, Netflix will match two dollars. “It is a fun event and there are a lot of really awesome people that come and join along.”

For years, Michael has helped college-aged students throughout the world get a better understanding of the programming world. His interaction has helped many young adults, including a School of Mines student he connected with prior to moving to Rapid City. Michael continues to mentor the student and meet up with him face-to-face. He hopes to continue mentoring additional students at the school as well as help in other areas through his position as a board member of Elevate Rapid City. He intends to use his time on the board to get to know where his talents and resources could best be utilized.

“My first and foremost goal is to have better insight into what is going on here. I want to help, but I am not sure the best way to do that. I want to understand what’s happening, so I can better assist things moving forward.”