Learning, growing, thriving
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eetayna M zz & D
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.D. Fargo, N r ts and culture • Live in ut a o b nate a • Passio
MAZZ
I’m originally from England, and I came to Fargo for an employment opportunity at NDSU. I am now about to start my 18th Year at MSUM and am the Chair of the Bioscience Department. I’ve had great experiences since arriving here.
I first connected with Dayna in August 2001 when I was at Duffy’s Tavern with my mum, sister and brotherin-law who were visiting me from overseas, as well as a new group of friends from my apartment building. One of my friends asked me why I wasn’t dating anyone, and eventually mentioned one of their good friends, Dayna Del Val.
LIVING IN FARGO-MOORHEAD
Later that night I was talking to Dayna via the tavern’s payphone, and we had a nice conversation. Roughly a month later I was returning to Fargo from a conference in France, and I happened to be on one of the last group of airplanes that made it to their intended destinations on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Later that night, on a day when the world was so upside down, Dayna decided to invite me over to meet her and her wonderful child, Quinn. We have been together ever since.
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As our relationship grew, I did notice fantastic opportunities for activities, club sports, after school activities and outdoor pursuits which were available and welcoming for families. I am glad to have lived here long enough to see the transformation of the area and to experience the cultural things Fargo has to offer. Metro Profile 2023-2024
DAYNA
The diversity of our population is growing and evolving all the time, and that’s an excellent thing. Culture is about more than food, but that’s a wonderful place to start meeting, getting to know and starting to understand people who didn’t have the same lived experiences we had. More international restaurants, more leaders of color, more expressions of culture that isn’t easily classified as upper Midwest by way of Scandinavia or Europe is tremendously exciting and a great learning and growing opportunity for us all. After a long career in arts administration, I hung up my nonprofit hat and entered the entrepreneurial world this spring. I currently offer talks, retreats, courses and coaching around a program I developed called Discover Your Spark. I help people discover WHO they are, not what. Too often, we get hung up on job titles and not what lights us up, what makes us show up as our best selves. I help people find that inner spark, be it large or small, to bring joy and light to their lives by creating a framework to get going on the first step and the one after that. I always appreciated the arts programming that was available to families here. When my son was growing up I took him to the museums, as well as local, national and international performances. Because of that, he never felt like he didn’t “belong” in the arts. It’s important for kids to know they can participate in the arts because it makes for adults who understand and appreciate their value.