Alumni in Action
Dr. Gabriela Kiesel is one of the few veterinarians that oversees a complex operation with Jennie-O in various locations across Minnesota, the nation’s top turkey-producing state. She helps yield nearly 180 million pounds of meat for consumers across the United States annually.
A Bemidji State education helped Olson discover that his two greatest passions — science and saxophone — were never meant to compete. They were destined to work in harmony.
Years after asking why Native stories seemed missing from his own education, 2026 Bemidji State University graduate Mitchell Johnson now finds himself at the front of a classroom teaching Ojibwe language and Anishinaabe Studies at Red Lake Nation College.
All four recipients, plus other honorees, will be recognized at the 2026 Honors Gala, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at the Sanford Center. Registration for the gala will open on Monday, June 29.
Bemidji State alumna Sheena Devine has been selected as a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s 2026 Hall of Fame inductees.
Anessa DeGroat rebuilt her life in recovery while developing strength and heightened self-awareness to sustain it. Now, the 2025 Bemidji State University alumna is helping others reach that same turning point.
Waller earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Bemidji State in 1981 and has gone on to become one of the world’s most influential leaders in shaping economic policy. The former resident of old Maple Hall now represents BSU as one of its most prominent national figures.
Rachel Kniss has worked her way into a career that demands both resilience and adaptability. And, as she’s discovered, it also requires a good partner.
Wheeling, a 2011 Bemidji State University graduate, was named the 2026 Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE America on March 20.
Over the past five months, Bemidji State graduate Anna Haynes has experienced life on the icy continent, living and working at McMurdo Station, a small community in a remote location on Ross Island in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.