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USD routs Sycamores 38-10 in Dakota Days game
The Magic Behind Zadya Abbott’s Life
The Coyotes defeated the Indiana State Sycamores 38-10 for a Dakota Days win, picking up their third win for the season.
Born after her biological father passed away, Freshman Zadya Abbott has lead a life different from the start, she is part of a Vermillion-established coven.
NATIONAL MUSIC MUSEUM REOPENS FOR FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS
Jacob Forster | The Volante
The National Music Museum in Vermillion closed its doors for renovations in fall 2018. After three years, the museum is now letting patrons back in to see the completed west portion of the museum. Jacob Forster
Jacob.R.Forster@coyotes.usd.edu
The National Music Museum (NMM) in Vermillion closed its doors for renovations in fall 2018. After three years, the museum is now letting patrons back in to see the completed west portion of the museum, including a temporary exhibit space and a performance hall. Michael Suing, the interim director of the National Music Museum, said the renovations include a new office suite, conservation lab and photography studio. Other renovations included bringing the building—which was constructed in 1910, expanded in 1940 and renovated in 1986—into greater continuity. “Nothing really matched,” Suing said. “There were different furnishings on the floor, and it was multiple systems of climate control, temperature and humidity, that sort of thing… We got to bring the facility up to the 21st century.” Despite the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the final year of renovations, Suing said work was able to continue safely. “They were able to keep working throughout it all, which was just a marvel to me,” Suing said. “There were crew everywhere... but they were able to keep the work going even during the height of COVID19.” The museum is currently hosting its first temporary exhibit, titled “NMM goes Electric!” The exhibit features electric string instruments from the museum’s collection, including pieces that have never been on display before. Arian Sheets, the curator of the exhibit, said it includes early electric instruments and electric basses and guitars from Cold Warera Czechoslovakia, among other countries. “We have a wealth of instruments here at the museum that had never gotten their time in the spotlight,” Sheets said. “So it was really fun to pull some things out of storage, and maybe tell some stories that people hadn’t heard previously.”
Jacob Forster | The Volante Arian Sheets, the curator of the exhibit, said it includes early electric instruments, electric basses and guitars from Cold Warera Sheets said the main challenge of putting together the exhibit was the
quick timeline, including designing the exhibit and making a full catalog with writing, photography and graphic design, all of which was done in-house. “It was also the first time we worked in this space. It’s a new gallery,” Sheets said. “This is our first install, so it was kind of a learning process of how the space would look, how many things would fit in it, that kind of thing.” Suing said he’s excited for people to be able to see the museum again after a long time being closed. “It’s a pity to me that there are some students on this campus who haven’t had the opportunity to be in the museum,” Suing said. “Don’t be shy, right? Come on over. We’re glad to have you here.” As part of the exhibit, the museum worked with USD alumnus Josh Rieck, who runs J. Rieck Lutherie in Sioux Falls, to design a demonstration lap steel guitar with transparent pickups. The guitar allows patrons to get a hands-on experience and to see how electric guitars work.
Rieck’s experiences with building guitars began when he was a student at Northern State University. Rieck said during that time, he enrolled in a course in Red Wing, Minnesota for instrument repair and building. “I looked into it and thought that sounded like a lot of fun and went and got an associate’s degree in stringed instrument repair and a certificate in guitar construction,” Rieck said. Rieck’s relationship with the National Music Museum goes back to when he studied at the museum after finishing his master’s degree at USD. Rieck said Sheets and Deborah Reeves, a curator at the museum, reached out to him about building a hands-on piece for the exhibit. “It was a little different for me, because they wanted a built-in amplifier, so they needed it to be like an all-in-one unit,” Rieck said. “I’m really proud of how it turned out.” The National Music Museum’s programming is free to students. The facility is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays through December.
Mejai Avoseh builds a bridge to the Hall of Fame Marissa Brunkhorst
Marissa.Brunkhorst@coyotes.usd.edu
Mejai Avoseh, a professor and Fulbright scholar of adult and higher education at USD, has been inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame. Avoseh came to the University after working in the New York City public school system, a job he thought he would leave. After the terror attacks on September 11, he said he wasn’t sure if he wanted a collegiate job that required traveling. “That was it, I was no longer going to do any college jobs… because 9/11 was real, I experienced it in real life,” Avoseh said. After two and a half years in New York teaching, Avoseh changed his
mind. After multiple interviews with other universities, USD was the first to make him an offer. Originally from Nigeria, Avoseh said the United States was not on his radar as a place to settle down. It wasn’t until after winning the diversity visa lottery of the Bush presidency that he decided to stay. The diversity lottery, a U.S. Department of State policy established in 1996, aimed to diversify the immigrant population of the U.S. by selecting applicants from nations with low numbers of immigrants in the country. “I just did it for fun and I won,” Avoseh said. When Avoseh first arrived to Vermillion, many of his colleagues ,both in New York and Vermillion, said they didn’t expect he’d stay more than a semester.
“It was because I was used to big cities,” Avoseh said. In his 17 years of research, Avoseh focused on adult education through a concept called “active citizenship,” or “applied education.” He has combined these two concepts in his studies of western perspectives, comparing them with indigenous African perspectives. “After being here, I try to be a bridge builder,” Avoseh said. Avoseh said he wanted to connect experiences of his time being in western communities to that of what he knew growing up in his village. “In indigenous African education, it is not of consequence what degree you get… it is not of paper certification such as a bachelor’s degree or a PhD. What you use to demonstrate the quality and level
of your education is how much you invest into your community through participation,” Avoseh said. Avoseh said one should be active in their community to validate their education. He has applied these ideas outside of his research adult education too, taking active citizenship to a classroom of second graders. Avoseh has shown his research around the country and world, from presenting at the South Dakota Board of Regents to many conferences in Nigeria. “What has kept me at USD so long is the students,” Avoseh said. “Sometimes when I get low moments, I read my students’ course evaluations, saying they’re appreciative of my efforts.” Avoseh visited the IACE Hall of
Fame Museum in Oklahoma in 2015 and said he counted that experience alone as an accomplishment. “When they told me that they were going to nominate me, I was blown away,” he said. The United States Mission in Nigeria shouted out Avoseh on their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for his accomplishment, which Avoseh said was a great honor. “I feel so humbled and honored… I’m so thankful,” Avoseh said. Avoseh said that even though he cannot earn higher than being inducted to the hall, he hopes to continue to bring honor to it. “I hope to make contributions that move communities forward,” Avoseh said.