Editor's Note
As I write this, the first snowfall of the season is blanketing the landscape. It's peaceful. I slowed down driving to work and took the time long-needed to craft this note. I welcome winter. The care required to stay safe and warm means we race out the door less, savor life more.
Now, winter's naysayers might tell you we slow down because in the cold our brains, like our cars, won't start. They'd fall in with Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson who says: I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. And while it may be easy to be in a bad mood these days, I'll instead take a lesson from Shakespeare's As You Like It instead:
Blow, blow, though Winter Wind,
Thou art not so unkind, as Man's Ingratitude...
So I am grateful - grateful to be alongside my colleagues in
higher ed committed to the greater good. At BSC, we have the technology, facilities, abilities and most importantly, the students to drive the future of North Dakota and parts unknown.
Every day, we help students learn their way - online, in person, at work, in a classroom and often, all of the above. Research recently conducted by MTV, as they, like us, work to connect with gen Z (16-24 year olds), found that the most defining trait of gen Z is "its unprecedented digital connectedness - and paradoxical real-life isolation..." So MTV is working on programming that will "jump start a feeling of interpersonal connectivity."
We get that. BSC is in the connectivity business. How can students find their beyond without human connection? The following stories show how college is more than knowledge transfer - how the experience and people found here helped our former students achieve their dreams. We are focused on ensuring our current and future students can do the same.
Thanks for reading.
Marnie Piehl, Editor