![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/06\/mortensen.jpg\")
<\/a>Asked to list his goals for the Winona State University Foundation, Dan Mortensen \u201979<\/strong> saves for last the one that\u2019s closest to his heart.<\/p>\n\u201cI hope to firmly establish the concept that we\u2019re \u2018Warriors for life,\u2019\u201d says Mortensen, who is in his first year as WSU Foundation chair. \u201cThat students strongly identify with Winona State, and as they graduate and move on through life, they maintain their connection to the university and are proud of being Warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n
That notion is something that Mortensen has rediscovered \u2013 and treasured \u2013 in the last few years.<\/p>\n
Mortensen majored in business administration at Winona State. He considered combining law and business school after graduating, but decided to focus on business. Even as he earned his MBA at the University of South Dakota, his experiences at Winona would stay with him.<\/p>\n
A small business consulting course taught by economics professor Don Salyards, during which he worked with a company in Rochester, \u201cfueled my interest in consulting,\u201d says Mortensen. He went on to consulting positions at Arthur Andersen & Co. and later McGladrey & Pullen, two of the country\u2019s largest accounting and consulting firms.<\/p>\n
Working as a consultant afforded Mortensen a look at every facet of business management. He was drawn to the operations side, he says, because he enjoyed the challenge of \u201cprocess management and problem-solving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mortensen steadily moved up the operations ladder, mostly in the financial services industry, at some of the largest companies in America, including Citibank, Household Credit Services, GE Capital, and now, Capital One Financial Corporation, where he is a senior vice president responsible for corporate real estate.<\/p>\n
Inevitably, as his career took him to seven states and his family responsibilities grew, Mortensen\u2019s connection with Winona State waned. But it never darkened completely, and the attributes that he developed as an undergraduate \u2013 determination and perseverance, leadership, integrity \u2013 still guided him. \u201cThe traits of a Warrior,\u201d says Mortensen.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, Mortensen began thinking about strengthening his ties and the prospect of giving back to the university. Armed with the belief that he had something to contribute, he re-visited campus and was asked to join the Foundation board.<\/p>\n
\u201cInitially, I questioned how I would be able to fulfill the duties of being a board member, living 1,300 miles away,\u201d acknowledges Mortensen, who is based in Richmond, Virginia.<\/p>\n
In the Internet age, Mortensen says it\u2019s easier than ever to play an active role in the university community. Board meetings can be conducted over video conference and committee work transacted via email. He uses the Web to stay abreast of campus events, especially Warrior athletics.<\/p>\n
Mortensen says his four years at Winona State were \u201ca real transition.\u201d He paid his way through school and was the first college graduate in his family. It\u2019s been fulfilling to spend time with fellow Warriors who shared experiences similar to his, and to rekindle old friendships and craft new ones. He\u2019s even found time to re-connect with his former mentors, such as Salyards and economics professor Marvin Wolfmeyer.<\/p>\n
Despite the time, the distance, the demands of work and family, Dan Mortensen has remained a Warrior for life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May 27, 2013 Asked to list his goals for the Winona State University Foundation, Dan Mortensen \u201979 saves for last the one that\u2019s closest to his heart. \u201cI hope to firmly establish the concept that we\u2019re \u2018Warriors for life,\u2019\u201d says Mortensen, who is in his first year as WSU Foundation chair. \u201cThat students strongly identify […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[44,2],"tags":[130,457,454,455,456,156,7,8],"class_list":["post-866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-philanthropy-news","category-wsu-magazine","tag-alumni","tag-business-administration","tag-dan-morensen","tag-don-salyards","tag-marvin-wolfmeyer","tag-warriors","tag-winona-state-university","tag-wsu"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQMT-dY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":868,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866\/revisions\/868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}