Q&A with Michael Mortenson, Director of Alumni Relations

This spring, Michael Mortenson, ’15, joined the University of Mary’s alumni development team, taking on the position of Director of Alumni Relations after serving a year and a half as a Mission Advancement officer. An avowed “UMary die-hard,” Mortenson’s enthusiasm for the university’s Christian, Catholic, and Benedictine mission brought him home to his alma mater in 2021. Hear from him about his formative days as a Marauders scholar-athlete and his relationship-centered approach to his new role.

Tell us a little about your background. What first brought you to Mary as a student?

I was born and raised in Dickinson, North Dakota. I very much love Dickinson and Western North Dakota. I went to school at Trinity High School. That was where I first met Ashley, now my wife of nine years. We both came out here to the University of Mary right after high school.

I also played football out here. Myron Schultz recruited me. At that point in my life, football was my focus, so that was primarily what brought me to Mary. Coming out here to play collegiate football was a huge blessing in my life.

What impacted you most during your time as a scholarathlete at Mary?

I consider the University of Mary to be a place where I received formation that I’m eternally grateful for to this day. The integration of academics and the faith, the integration of both with athletics, all of this happening in a Christian community of scholars — we’re a mission-oriented university where we’re doing important things that higher education isn’t doing in other places, and that had a huge effect on my life.

I first met Father Jarad Wolf here on the football team when he was just a freshman from New Salem. Good mentors had taken us under their wing because we were asking some of the deeper questions: What do we believe? Why do we believe it? That kind of stuff. We both got to take a class from Monsignor Shea and Jerome Richter our sophomore year, and that really just blew the hinges off of a lot of big, deep questions that we had about the faith and about the state of humanity. And then right after our sophomore year we went over to Rome for May term, and that trip really solidified a lot of things for me going forward. Right after college, my wife and I worked for FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) in Mankato for six years as missionaries as a result of the deep formation in the faith we received here.

What brought you back to the university after your FOCUS years?

I always knew I wanted to come back and continue my career at a place that’s missionoriented. When I first came back to Mary, I started as a mission advancement officer. Being an alumnus, I’m very proud of my alma mater. We wouldn’t be able to have some of the conversations we do here in a lot of other places. Just these basic questions: What is love? What is freedom? Is there a God? If there is, what does that mean for us? We’re a community on the cutting-edge of trying to do something for the common good and the greater glory of God. I really think that the University of Mary is a shining beacon of that in today’s confusion.

I get to teach a few classes to our scholarathletes. Certain students, when they come in, they’re apathetic towards anything. But then you ask a few good questions, and stuff starts to click and they start wrestling with the deeper questions. I’m just grateful I work for a place where we can have those conversations and form relationships with students and get them thinking about how to live a real, fulfilling life. That’s the big thing that sets us apart.

As you adjust to your new role, how are you planning to draw Mary alumni back into that culture of renewal?

I personally love connecting with alumni and telling our story. We stand as a unique institution, both geographically and in our principles, what we believe. And because of those two unique things, some people see that as a challenge, but I also see it as a great opportunity: why else would this little school up on the hill in North Dakota have national recognition? How does that happen? It’s a testament to the leadership out here and especially the pioneering spirit of the Sisters who came out here and founded the first Catholic school in the region and the first hospital between Minneapolis and Seattle. We have a very, very compelling and interesting story.

I want to help alumni understand that story and feel connected to the university. Our grads know they went to Mary, but I’m not always sure if they feel connected to the university as their alma mater, their “nourishing mother.” That’s something that I hope to bring to the forefront, that this is a place with a unique story and identity where people can continue to be nourished intellectually and spiritually in relationship with others. I want to help reengage our alumni base and provide opportunities for alumni to reconnect with the university and with people from their class. I want to be a relationship-builder as much as possible. Relationships are so key in life.