Crossing the Finish Line Toward a Bright Future

For Michael (Mike) Desch, the finish line sometimes felt far away.  Throughout his college career, which began in 2013, Desch struggled with his mental health, which didn’t make the college experience easy. At times he failed classes and once took a...

Determined to Make Every Moment Count

As a high school senior, the idea of college seemed farfetched to first generation student Diana Tapia Alvarado.   Tapia Alvarado’s mom was a hard-working single parent working low-income jobs who dedicated every waking moment to paying bills and being a good mother....

Impacting Local Water Quality with GIS Research

Only a semester into college, Megan Otten’s talent in geoscience became strikingly obvious.   “She was nearly perfect in all of her exams and quizzes,” Geoscience Associate Professor Dylan Blumentritt said. “A student doesn’t typically earn the scores she was earning...

Using Experience to Inspire

Jose “Junior” Valtierra-Rangel’s parents immigrated from Mexico to St. Charles, Minnesota in hopes of one day giving their children the opportunity to live a better life.  They succeeded.  Valtierra-Rangel, who was born and raised in St. Charles, had a childhood of...

WSU Pre-Social Work Majors Making an Impact

Winona State University pre-social work majors are finding creativealternatives to in-person volunteer outreach, doing good in the community through their 120-hour introduction internship. WSU Professor Cathleen Faruque says that although COVID-19 has disrupted their...

A Bridge to the Community

Bridges Health Winona, a WSU student-led, faculty-guided, interprofessional and free community wellness clinic that provides holistic healthcare to populations in need throughout the Winona area, is changing things up in the battle against COVID-19.   At Bridges,...