2022 Alumni Association Awards

The SMSU Alumni Association presented their annual awards during Homecoming. These included the alumni achievement awards, honorary lifetime memberships, and the GOLD award for young alumni. This year, a special award for outstanding service to the University was also presented. Honorees were celebrated by the Alumni Association throughout the 2022 Homecoming Weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Alumni Achievement Awards

Mary Fuhrman ’95

Mary (Reisdorfer)

Fuhrman has grown up in the Hy-Vee grocery company. She’s been with them since 1988, when she was in high school in Adrian, Minn.

“I worked at the Hy-Vee in Worthington. When I went to college, I transferred to their Marshall store,” she said.

She earned a Business Management degree and a Marketing minor at SMSU, known then as Southwest State.

Fuhrman has held numerous positions during her years with the Hy-Vee, each adding more responsibility. Hy-Vee is a growing, 88-year-old business, with over 285 stores, and based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Today Fuhrman is the Senior Vice President of the Southeast Region and Non-Foods for Hy-Vee, a position she has held since March 2022. In late 2021, Hy-Vee decided to move into Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. They anticipate breaking ground on new stores in spring 2023. Prior to working the Southeast Region, she was Senior Regional Vice President, Northern Region, helping Hy-Vee expand into the Twin Cities market.

“I am so honored and thrilled to have been considered for this award,” Fuhrman said. “I enjoyed my time at SSU (SMSU) and made lifelong friends.”

’76

Dr. Carl Harris grew up in Louisburg, North Carolina. He came to SMSU to play basketball for the Mustangs. His former coach, Dale Honeck, had just been named the head coach at Southwest and recruited him to play basketball for two seasons in 1974-75 and 1975-76.

“The faculty, the leadership at the university, and the student body embrace you with unbelievable support. I was a basketball player and the community really embraced and supported me,” said Harris.

Carl’s passion for education came from being a first-generation college student. Like so many other young people, he believed that college was for someone else. Fortunately, he was able to play basketball, and through that, financial support paved the way.

Harris’ experience and accolades for contributions to education are extensive. He began his career in the Elizabeth City, N.C. parks and rec program. He became a teacher and coach and later principal and superintendent in school districts in central North Carolina.

In 2010-2011 he was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education in the U.S. Department of Education under the Obama Administration.

“I really believe Southwest propelled me to that long list of things that I’ve been able to do,” he said.

“When I got the call about this award from Southwest, I was so excited because that was my true beginning. That’s where I finished my undergraduate degree. That’s what propelled me to be ready to go into the workforce where I started my career,” Carl said. “It’s a little more special coming from here.”

Kyle McGowan ’81

Kyle McGowan always calls his alma mater the Harvard of the Midwest. People in Nebraska don’t typically know where SMSU is located so that’s what he tells them.

“My best friend and I visited and really liked the campus and the people we met. Coming from Alta, Iowa, you don’t go to college close to home,” Kyle said.

Doris Olson, Molly Person, and Lon Moon were three people were influential in Kyle’s journey to become a teacher. Upon graduation in 1981, he secured his first job in Ceresco, Neb.

He soon started a master’s degree program and became an assistant principal. He worked hard and eventually became head principal, transportation director, and activities director. He became superintendent for the district in Crete, Neb. where he spent the rest of his career.

After his retirement, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators hired him to lobby at the state legislature, where they were able to secure a grant to promote public education. Kyle was one of three school ambassadors who traveled the state to promote public education.

Kyle and his wife, Lori, who met in high school, have three grown children, Morgan, Conner, and Ian, and two grandchildren. Kyle and Lori live in Crete, Neb.

Clark Meyer ’94

Clark Meyer has made his career on seeing opportunities and making the most of them.

Meyer liked the campus and SMSU’s proximity to his home because he often returned to the farm to help his parents. The strong computer science program at Southwest made it an easy choice for him.

Meyer grew up on a farm just outside of Lester, a small town in northwest Iowa. He was counted on to work on the farm, but he excelled in school – particularly in computers, math, and as a wrestler.

“Within the first week, I ran into one of the wrestlers and they said, ‘Why don’t you join the team?’ I said yes and just walked on,” he said.

Meyer went on to become an All-American his senior year, placing third in the national tournament.

He is grateful for the encouragement he was able to get at a smaller school like Southwest. Being around people who care and who set a high bar served Meyer well his entire career.

Meyer graduated from Southwest in 1994 with a computer science degree and minors in math and business. He began working for Sweetman Const. Co., a major construction materials business in Sioux Falls, right after graduation.

In 2018, Sweetman Const. Co. was purchased by Knife River Corporation, and Meyer was named president. He oversees the company’s operations in South Dakota, Iowa, and southwestern Minnesota, including Ellis & Eastern and Rail to Road, a transloading business Meyer helped form while with Sweetman.

When he’s not running his businesses, Meyer enjoys his family time. He and his wife, Toni, live in Sioux Falls with their three boys.

Honorary Lifetime Membership

Dr. James (Jim) and Marianne Zarzana

Dr. James (Jim) and Marianne Zarzana both have degrees from the University of Notre Dame, these two bleed brown and gold. They were this year’s recipients of Honorary Memberships into the SMSU Alumni Association.

Jim grew up in Sacramento, Cali., and studied English in college and ultimately earned his Ph.D. in English at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. It was there he met Marianne (Murphy), a Chicago-area native who was working at Notre Dame. The two were married in 1983.

The Zarzanas came to Southwest in 1989 to take a position in the English Department. As Jim began his teaching job at Southwest, Marianne became involved in public relations, advocacy work, and freelance writing in their early years in Marshall. She spent six years working with the Admission Office before earning her MFA from Minnesota State University-Mankato. She taught in the English and Communications Studies and served as director of the Creative Writing program. She is a widely published poet, giving readings, presentations, and workshops.

Jim made a name for himself among students teaching English and British literature courses. He was the faculty coordinator of the Advising Center when it was formed; led the quarterto-semester conversion; chaired the English Department; and served on a number of committees.

“Teaching has been our way of paying it forward,” said Marianne. The Zarzanas are incredibly honored and humbled by the award. They are especially delighted to be inducted together. Jim and Marianne live in South Bend, Ind. and spend as much time as possible visiting their daughter Elaine and her family in Sweden.

Paxton Alumni Service Award

Ken and Gwen Mukomela and Family

Southwest has always been a second home for the Mukomela family. Their dedication, led by Ken, has been lifelong. To honor their contributions, Ken and Gwen Mukomela and the Mukomela Family were awarded the John and Kathy Paxton Alumni Service Award. The Paxton Award bears the name of John and Kathy Paxton who set the example for service to the University.

“It’s really an honor,” said Gwen, Ken’s wife of almost 65 years. “Someone from the college brought the plaque over to the McLaughlin House where Ken was in hospice. My nephew, Matt Mukomela, who earned his master’s online from SMSU, presented it. Ken knew right before he passed that this recognition was being given to our family.”

The award is a tribute to Ken along with Gwen and their children Kristi, Richard, Mark, Kari, and Karla. Ken joined the faculty in 1968, the second year of Southwest. He retired as a professor of Business and Office Education in 1997. Ken passed away in Marshall on March 12, 2022, after a battle with cancer.

Originally from Langon, N.Dak., he received his bachelor’s degree from Mayville State and went on to receive both master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of North Dakota. He entered the Army in 1954 and served his country with honor throughout his 40-year military career, retiring in 1996 with the rank of Colonel. He earned 14 military awards including the Legion of Merit Medal, the Army’s highest peace-time honor. Ken was a long-time member and officer, also serving in the Honor Guard of American Legion Post 113.

The family recently established the Ken and Gwen Mukomela Scholarship to give back to the University. It was important to Ken that it would be given to a student-athlete who was majoring in business.

“We met at a small school, Mayville State in North Dakota, where you know everybody, all 700 students,” said Gwen. “He knew everybody there. And he just carried that to Southwest.”

“He always wanted to do these things, but he never expected anything in return,” said Kristi. “He did whatever he could to help the university.”

Ken received many accolades and awards for his service to SMSU including being inducted into the Athletic Hall of Honor, the Honorary Alumni Lifetime Membership award, and the NSIC Noel Olson Volunteer of the Year award.

“My Dad was really committed to the success of the university. I think that’s why he wanted to help, to donate financially and contribute in any way, to give his time and talent,” said Kristi. “His example is what inspired me to be involved.”

“But seeing the growth and prosperity is one thing, knowing you are part of that success is another,” said Kristi. “It’s such a gift to know that Dad is being recognized for his life’s work, his dedication to SMSU, and its success. He was and would still be so proud.”

GOLD AWARD

Emily Jouwstra ’15

This year’s Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award recipient, Emily (Kremer) Jouwstra appreciated the ability to meet professors who would take the time to visit with students like her.

Faculty members like Dr. Denise Gochenouer and Dr. Mike Rich are two faculty members who made an impact. They spoke to her about what she was good at and what different career paths might look like.

Jouwstra came to SMSU from northeast Minneapolis and chose SMSU for the just-right class size and low faculty-to-student ratio. She graduated in 2015 with a degree in marketing.

Today, Jouwstra leads a digital marketing team at Cargill, where she has worked in a variety of roles for the past five and half years.

Jouwstra hadn’t planned on a career with Cargill. She had spent some time with the SuperValu grocery store company as their digital project manager. She was exploring new opportunities and applied for a position they ultimately didn’t fill. But her resume stood out and she was hired for a new position in global communications.

“SMSU was a huge cornerstone for my career. It gave me the tools and the exposure needed to think critically and to consider the brand that I’m building for myself and how I want to use that in the world,” she said. “I am humbled and honored to have been even considered for this award.”

Jouwstra is married to Devin, a 2015 SMSU graduate. They live with their 3-1/2-year-old twins in Hamel, Minn.