President’s Column: Competitions, concerts, construction, more
Greetings from Valley City State University!
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving celebrating with friends and family. It’s truly one of the most enjoyable holidays of the year and this year’s weather was especially cooperative. The past week has included many noteworthy events, achievements and activities! There is never a dull moment on our campus.
The VCSU volleyball team concluded their historic season by competing in the pool play division of the NAIA National Volleyball Championships on Nov. 29-30 in Sioux City, Iowa. The Tyson Events Center hosted the event and was an outstanding tournament atmosphere. The team earned a berth in the tournament on the road by handing Central Methodist, Mo. a 3-1 loss in the first round of playoffs. A large contingent of fans and supporters were present – with some watching a simulcast in the student cafeteria – to cheer on the Vikings. The Vikings competed hard and gave it their all. Congratulations to the team, coaches and training staff for a tremendous season! We are already looking forward to next year!
Several concerts have taken place recently, including the Winter Choral Holiday Concert in the Center for the Arts on Saturday, Dec. 2. The group continues to grow and excel in choral performance. It’s always a pleasure to see students in a presentation of a final product reflecting hours, days, and weeks of hard work and preparation.
Additionally, the V-500 scholarship board presented “Yesterday, a Tribute to the Beatles” tribute band on Friday, Dec. 1 at the Valley City Eagles Club. This well-known and outstanding group provided a fun-filled evening of some of the most popular Beatles selections and funds raised from the event went to support V-500 scholarships. Speaking of scholarships, we are so grateful to our community and supporters for helping us exceed our goal on the VCSU Day of Giving held on Tuesday, Nov. 28. We are very pleased to report that we exceeded the $40,000 one-day goal, with the direct beneficiary of these dollars being student scholarships.
The pre-construction and design for the renovation of McCarthy Hall is also in full swing. Soil boring samples were recently collected and interior finishes are being selected this week. The renovation of this building will provide a long-lasting and outstanding new home for our School of Education and Technology Education departments. I will provide more detail on this project in the new year.
Finally, we congratulate Jasmine Barnes and Karly Just for participating in the NAIA Marathon Classic in Sacramento, Calif. on December 3. While results were not available at the time of this writing, the qualification process for this event is no easy task! Athletes qualified for this year’s marathon competition by logging at least 480 miles of training runs from Aug. 9 to Nov. 5. During that time, athletes also completed two 2-hour runs. The average pace during those two-hour runs was used to determine rankings heading into the marathon. Barnes enters the national marathon competition ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, while Just is ranked No. 12. Rankings were established based on average pace during a pair of two-hour runs conducted this fall. Barnes and Just recently wrapped up the cross country season where they both earned All-Conference after finishing Top 10 in the North Star Athletic Association. We extend our congratulations and best wishes to them and all of our winter sports athletes as they embark on the season ahead.
Go Vikings!