North Dakota State College of Science will hold its commencement ceremony on Friday, May 11 at 3 p.m. in the Ed Werre Arena located in the Clair T. Blikre Activities Center in Wahpeton, N.D. Six hundred ninety students from the Wahpeton campus, NDSCS-Fargo location and online are scheduled to graduate. Two hundred eight of these graduates will be recognized with a Scholastic Achievement Award.

Faculty Senate President Barry Frank will serve as the Grand Marshal, Vice President for Academic Affairs Harvey Link will preside as the Master of Ceremonies and NDSCS President John Richman will give remarks and recognitions as well as the presentation of degrees, diplomas and certificates. Addison Helgaas, Student Senate President, will share his remarks. The NDSCS Performing Arts department will also perform musical selections.

North Dakota State College of Science students, faculty and staff will celebrate Agawasie Day on Thursday, May 3. Events on the College’s Wahpeton campus will begin at 1:00 p.m., with competitions, inflatables, music, food and numerous attractions taking place throughout the afternoon and evening. The day-long celebration will close with an outdoor street dance for students from 9:00 p.m. until midnight in the parking lot north of Old Main, with music provided by a disc jockey.

The public is invited to participate in the Agawasie Day Car Show, which will take place from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Registration for the car show is free for all participants, including students, faculty, staff and the public. Trophies will be awarded for Best in Show and President’s Choice, as well as 1st and 2nd place Car, Truck and Motorcycle. Additional information and registration is available online at ndscs.edu/agawasie or by calling 701-671-2401.

In 1914, the College published its first yearbook called the Agawasie. The arrival of the annual became a day for celebration, hence the start of the annual Agawasie Day Picnic. While publishing an annual yearbook was discontinued in 2004, the day for celebration still lives on as Agawasie Day and is celebrated every year right before the start of finals.

April is Occupational Therapy Month, recognizing those who work in the industry that helps people perform everyday activities through therapeutic techniques. The NDSCS Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program is celebrating Occupational Therapy Month by bringing awareness to the occupation.

Occupational Therapy Assistants provide treatment under a physician’s order and are supervised by an Occupational Therapist. Occupational therapy might be required for a variety of reasons, including a traumatic accident, mental health issues, a stroke or a lifelong condition such as cerebral palsy. Occupational Therapy Assistants help patients live as independently as possible by teaching them ways to perform daily tasks and routines.

The NDSCS Occupational Therapy Assistant program offers a two-year Associate in Applied Science degree. Students complete three semesters of academic coursework and one semester of full-time clinical experience in various facilities. The program has been fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education of the American Occupational Therapy Association since 1972. Occupational Therapy Assistant students participate in a number of activities that provide hands-on experience during their time at NDSCS, including teaching handwriting to elementary school students and working with residents in nursing homes. Students also recently hosted a CarFit event, where they completed a 12-point checklist to ensure that individuals fit their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety.

According to the June 2017 U.S. News and World Report, OTAs rank number one of the 19 Best Jobs for Community College Graduates. The demand for Occupational Therapy services is great as baby boomers are aging, medical advances are prolonging life and health reform is driving more patients into the helping arms of OTAs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the profession will grow by 29 percent by 2026, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. 

Individuals interested in the NDSCS Occupational Therapy Assistant program can learn more online at ndscs.edu/ota. The program is still accepting applications for the Fall 2018 semester. To learn more about Occupational Therapy, visit aota.org or join in the conversation on social media by using #OccupationalTherapyMonth.

The NDSCS Performing Arts department will present two concerts in April, with the Concert Band and Concert Choir performing on April 19 and the Jazz Band and Wildcat Singers performing on April 30. Both concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the North Dakota State College of Science campus in Wahpeton. The concerts are free and open to the public.

The NDSCS Concert Band and Concert Choir will present their last concert of the season on Thursday, April 19. The Concert Band will perform several pieces including “Tis the Last Rose of Summer,” featuring trumpet soloist Madison Nelson-Gira. The Concert Choir will collaborate with the M State (Fergus Falls) Voice Ensemble on two pieces. “Ave Verum” and “Let Everything That Hath Breath” were featured on Minnesota Public Radio last fall, with students from both NDSCS and M State participating in the recording session. Both choirs will also perform separately at the concert.

The NDSCS Jazz Band and Wildcat Singers will conclude their North Dakota tour with a home concert on Monday, April 30. The groups will be on tour the previous week with school performances at Circle of Nations (Wahpeton), Wishek, Bismarck, Medina, Drake-Anamoose, Grand Forks, Cavalier and Thief River Falls (Minn.).

North Dakota State College of Science students now have the opportunity to receive advanced metrology training as part of their education, thanks to the installation of $1.5 million in equipment, and national training certification earned by Manufacturing department faculty.

The NDSCS Manufacturing department has installed metrology equipment that allows for automated measurement and inspection of manufactured products, as well as equipment for manual measurement training. The equipment includes:
• ZEISS DuraMax Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) with CALYPSO software and accessories
• Snap-on Starrett® NC3 precision measurement certification kit
• Haas Wireless Intuitive Probing System (WIPS)
• ZEISS, Phillips Precision and Rayco CMM tooling and metrology accessories

In addition to the new equipment, three NDSCS instructors have completed accredited coursework to earn certification through the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3). The new metrology curriculum has been incorporated into the College’s manufacturing programs including Precision Machining Technology, Welding Technology, and Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics Technology. In addition, all students in transportation-related programs take a manufacturing course that uses this equipment in the study of metrology.

This training initiative was made possible thanks to $1.297 in donated CALYPSO software and a $100,000 equipment discount from ZEISS, a $22,000 equipment discount from Snap-on Starrett, and a $183,000 Workforce Enhancement Grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce.

“A big highlight of this initiative is the equipment that provides an automated method of inspecting manufactured products. This is a method that many ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certified manufacturers use,” said NDSCS Manufacturing Department Chair Steve Johnson. “At the same time, we also added equipment that allows advanced training in manual measurement methods.”

The North Dakota State College of Science Performing Arts Department will present its spring play, Charlotte’s Web, at 7:00 p.m. on March 27 and 28 in the Bremer Bank Theatre in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the NDSCS campus in Wahpeton. Admission at the door is $5 for adults, and $1 for students.

Charlotte’s Web is based on the story by E.B. White, and dramatized by Joseph Robinette.

Second-year OTA students became trained in CarFit as part of their academic coursework and hosted their first CarFit event on November 29, 2017 in Schuett Hall. Students completed a 12-point checklist with several participants to ensure that they “fit” their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety.

CarFit is an educational program created by the American Society on Aging and developed in collaboration with AAA (American Automobile Association), AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. The CarFit program offers older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles “fit” them. The CarFit program also provides information and materials on community-specific resources that could enhance their safety as drivers, and/or increase their mobility in the community.

The bands from Wahpeton High School and Breckenridge (Minn.) High School will join the band from North Dakota State College of Science to perform a free concert on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Harry Stern and Ella Stern Cultural Center on the NDSCS campus in Wahpeton.

Throughout the day, the bands will work together with guest conductor Dr. Warren Olfert from North Dakota State University. The bands will perform a wide variety of music during the evening’s concert.

“This is a great opportunity for students to work with a different teacher than they normally do, as well as to play in a larger band,” said Dr. Adam Hollingsworth, NDSCS Director of Bands. “We invite the community to come to the concert and hear what our local students have been working on.”

Five students from North Dakota State College of Science will be performing with statewide collegiate music groups on February 3. The students are:

North Dakota Collegiate Women’s Honor Choir:
• Nicole Demars, Cavalier, N.D.
• Faith Goettle, Campbell, Minn.
• Brandi Romereim, Wahpeton, N.D.

North Dakota Intercollegiate Band:
• Dilan Kluver-Pasche, Hoffman, Minn.
• Luke Olsby, Wahpeton, N.D.

The Women’s Collegiate Honor Choir students will perform with singers from other North Dakota colleges at a concert on February 3 at 3:00 p.m. at the Reineke Fine Arts Center at North Dakota State University. The choir is an annual tradition at the North Dakota Choral Directors Association (ACDA) yearly convention. This year’s conductor is Dr. Philip A. Swan, who is Co-Director of Choral Studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc. The students will prepare music during the month of January and have two days of rehearsal with Dr. Swan prior to the concert. 

The Intercollegiate Band students will perform with instrumentalists from other North Dakota colleges at a concert on February 3 at 3:00 p.m. at the Reiland Fine Arts Center at the University of Jamestown. The band has become an annual tradition in the state. This will mark the second year of NDSCS participation in the group. This year’s conductor is Professor Emeritus Larry Gookin of Central Washington University, of Ellensburg, Wash. The students will prepare music during the month of January and have two days of rehearsal with Professor Gookin prior to the concert.