The SMSU Podcast

This week, Associate Professor of Exercise Science Mostafa Hegazy will join us to discuss this year's Undergraduate Research Conference, which will be held on December 4th. This will be the university's 19th conference, and it provides students with the opportunity to showcase their impact on the world.

This week, Assistant Athletic Director Kelly Loft joins to discuss the wrapping up of the fall sports season for the Mustangs and the kickoff for the winter season.

This week, Director of Bands and Professor of Music John Ginocchio prepares for guest artist Tom Scott, who will perform with the SMSU Jazz Ensemble and area high schools. This activity is funded with a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, made possible by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund. Tom will perform with SMSU's jazz e...

This week, Director of the SMSU Center for Civic and Community Engagement Melissa Scholten, along with Student Election Engagement Fellows Ashton Ayres and Mary Newton, recap how successful the Mustangs Vote Initiative was along with the ups and downs they dealt with leading up to Tuesday's election. The initiative was created to inform SMSU students about the importance of going out to vote and t...

This week, Assistant Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Dr. Erin Kline discusses the importance of the First Generation student population across the nation and what SMSU does on its campus to make those students feel welcomed and part of a community that they are new to and have no idea how to navigate.

This week, Professor of Theatre Nadine Purvis Schmidt and Bryn Mongeau, a double major in Theatre Arts and Music, hop in the booth to discuss the upcoming performance, "46 Plays for America's First Ladies.” The production will be held October 30-November 3, 2024. Tickets are $10 and available only at the door, but admission is free for SMSU students and employees with their ID, and tickets are on...

This week, Director of Admissions Charlotte Whale joins us to discuss “Fall Discover Day.” The event is organized by the admissions team here at SMSU and allows high school students to discover SMSU. Students can expect a choose-your-own-adventure approach to the event by attending mock lectures, campus tours, and a planetarium show! Make sure you sign up and discover if SMSU is right for you! Sig...

This week, Director of Career Services Melissa Scholten discusses the importance and history behind the Day of Service - Mustangs Give during Homecoming. It’s also Homecoming, and the campus is buzzing; there are events throughout the weekend that can be found here. ⬇️ https://www.smsualumni.com/homecoming/homecoming-schedule.html

This week, our new Director of Alumni Relations and Outreach, Hannah Abel, discusses her journey here at SMSU and what she looks forward to in her new role. She also goes over all the activities that future, current, and lifelong Mustangs can look forward to next week during homecoming! 

This week, we dive into how our very own TikTok account, @smsuofficial, has become the highest-ranked D2 TikTok account based on engagement! Mitch goes over what work needs to go into achieving this and what the Marketing and Communications office plans to do to carry this momentum throughout the school year.

This week, we go over Kevin’s visit to campus on the 16th of September. Kevin is the first of many renowned authors that the SMSU English Department is bringing to campus as a part of the visiting writing series! Kevin has published his works in venues such as The New Yorker, The Georgia Review, McSweeny’s, and many others. His reading will take place Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Charter Hall 201 at...

This week, we will cover all the activities with Ag Bowl starting on Saturday, with pedal pulls and a petting zoo out in the tailgating lot from 3-5 pm, with the home opener for the Mustangs Football team following those events. The theatre department has also been busy. With the 50th anniversary of Watergate events, the program is putting on a stage reading of those events on Monday, September 9t...

This week, Angela Lee joins us to discuss the upcoming Women’s Leadership Conference presented by the SMSU Alumni Association. The event focuses on the theme, “Lead Where You Are.” The day is packed with professional development that enforces this theme, networking opportunities, and three speakers. Julia Walfoort graduated from SMSU in 2016 and works at Stackline as an Associate Director. Lori Du...

This week, SMSU is busy preparing for its 56th commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 4th. To discuss the social media and content creation surrounding commencement and for the university as a whole, we invited Mitchell Riibe, the Digital Marketing Strategist, to go over what SMSU is doing regarding content creation.

This Week is the SMSU Alumni and Foundation’s “M4L Day Of Giving”. On April 25th, M4L Day (Mustangs 4 Life Day) will bring alums, friends, students, parents, faculty, and staff for Southwest Minnesota State University's Day of Giving.  This 24-hour online fundraising event offers opportunities to show your Mustang Pride. Your support will directly impact current and future students.  Justin covers...

This week the computer science student’s have been busy this year putting together an app that they call, Calbuddy, short for “Calendar Buddy”. It allows students to fill out what type of events they would like to be notified about, it can also work for class notifications through the work they did with the SMSU IT department.

This week, Tayyaba Rahman is in the studio discussing her upcoming event, the Future Forward Speaker Series, presented by North Star Mutual School of Business. Tayyaba comes from Pakistan and is pursuing her Master of Business Administration at SMSU. The event occurs on Monday, April 15, from 3-5 pm in the SMSU Conference Center! RSVP for this free event at www.smsu.edu/go/futureforward

Next week, the SMSU Theatre Program presents “An Inspector Calls.” Director Nadine Schmidt chose this show because it's a classic detective story that fits this year's theme: Timeless and Timeliness.   Senior Theatre Major Colton Jensen plays Eric Birling, a member of the family called on by Inspector Goole. Colton touches on how he prepared for the role, as well as handling lighting design using...

This Week, Dr. Ken Murphy joins us to discuss the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. In preparation for that, the planetarium at SMSU is putting on a show this weekend. Tickets are sold at the door for five dollars, and SMSU students get free admission. Dr. Murphy discusses the significance of this solar eclipse and provides “need to know” information to stay safe and enjoy this amazing scie...

This week, Dr. John Ginocchio is preparing for guest artist Tom Scott, who will perform with the SMSU Jazz Ensemble and area high schools. This activity is funded in part with a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council made possible by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State's general fund. Tom will hold an open discussion on Tuesday, March 26, from 1...

We’re back after Spring break with SMSU Student Body President Sam Lund. Sam goes over his journey at SMSU, recapping what led him to choose SMSU, how he dealt with online learning through the pandemic, and how important it is to be involved on campus. Sam also goes over what he’s been up to the past few weeks and the great opportunities that have come his way due to his work in student government...

This week we call up SMSU alumni Wokil Bam who earned a degree in environmental science and chemistry and a minor in biology from SMSU in 2012. Since then he’s been busy studying and researching earning his master's from LSU in 2015 and his Phd in 2021. Since June 2023, Wokil has worked with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as a postdoctoral investigator, geochemist, radiochemist, and c...

On this week’s episode, Vickie Abel gives us an in-depth look into what challenges SMSU students face and how Accessibility Services helps give them the best opportunity to succeed. Vickie is also the coordinator for the Mustang Market which helps provide basic living items ranging from food to hygiene products. If you would like to donate to the Mustang Market there is a drop off location at the...

This week we are joined by Karalyn Closs and Cameron Peterson, students enrolled in the culinology program at SMSU. The on-campus restaurant, “The Mustang Kitchen”, is preparing to open its doors every Tuesday this semester with their first night of service being February 20. Service will run 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm with the last order going in at 7:30 pm. Full details on the restaurant and menu items...

On this week’s episode, Dr. Rieppel lets us in on a “grand” update for the music department at SMSU. This past fall the department gained possession of a baby grand piano through funding from the SMSU Foundation. On February 12, The Southwest Minnesota State University Music Program presents “Pairs and Doublings” a dedication recital for the new baby grand piano featuring Dr. Daniel Rieppel. The r...