Centennial Student Union Blog
Kendra (Draeger) Youngberg was elected Student Senate Speaker during the Sept. 25 regular weekly meeting of the Student Government. Before being elected speaker, Youngberg served as the Legislative Affairs Coordinator and a Graduate Studies Senator. Youngberg of Waseca, Minn., is a May 2023 graduate of Bemidji State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in cellular and molecular biology with minors in chemistry and political science.
Whether it’s raising funds for sick and injured children or providing positive and calm leadership respected by her Greek Life community, Alyssa McCullough has experienced an “incredibility rewarding” college experience at Minnesota State Mankato. The 2024 president of the Panhellenic Council, Alyssa’s involvement as a Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority member has provided personal growth ranging from leadership and teamwork experience to an individual sense of purpose. Topping her list of accomplishments to date is the post-pandemic return of Mavathon in 2024. The daylong event raised $8,600 for the Gillette Children’s Hospital.
This October, MSU’s student volunteer leadership team, Mavs in Action, is hosting a Socktober drive to collect socks and underwear for emergency shelters and at-risk communities. Student organizations and campus departments can “adopt” boxes to collect socks, hosiery, and undergarments in all sizes and styles
Eighteen schools from eight Midwestern states will be represented as gamers gather in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom Saturday, Sept. 28, as Minnesota State Mankato hosts the Third Annual Rockstar Energy Collegiate Esports Invitational. The event is FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. with competition running from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Adam Bohanan, the Twin Cities singer-songwriter slated to help kickoff Homecoming Week on Monday, Sept. 30, is among performers auditioning during Season 26 of NBC’s reality singing competition, The Voice, premiering Monday, Sept. 23. Bohanan brings his funk, soul and R&B sounds to campus as part of the ongoing CSU Serendipity Music Series. His Sept. 30 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. performance on the Campus Mall is part of the annual Homecoming Week kickoff.
Campus bus service gets an EV presence with the addition of the new all-electric Maverick Shuttle to the fleet. Funded by 80 percent contribution from the Federal Carbon Reduction Program Act, the $95,000, 12-passenger shuttle now provides on-campus stops for customers used to the older Maverick Daytime Shuttle.
Since becoming the Social Media and Marketing Chair for the Student Events Team, Lexi Pedersen’s communication skills and tenacity helped drive a 400 percent increase in its social media reach. As social media chair, Lexi took a deep dive into social media best practices and began implementing the ideas that led to increased reach and efficiency.
The Centennial Student Union Blog was listed second globally among the best Student Union RSS Feed sites as compiled by Feedspot in its 2024 listing released Sept. 14. Feedspot’s best Student Union rss feed list is curated from thousands of rss feeds on the web and ranked by relevancy, authority, social media followers & freshness. In releasing its 2024 list, Feedspot credited the CSU Blog for news that “focuses on academic success, alumni spotlight, assistance, campus news, events, fraternity and sorority and more.” The CSU Blog placed second behind the Student Union of the University of Vaasa in Finland.
You can now watch the remainder of MSU Mavericks 2024 home football games starting Saturday, Sept. 21, following a partnership announced this week between KEYC News Now and Minnesota State Mankato. The games will be broadcast on The365, which is available over the air on channel 7-3. The365 is also available on select cable providers, including Charter Spectrum on channel 193 or 3271, Mediacom Channel 140, Comcast cable channel 228 and Midco cable channel 595.
Dr. Eric Sprankle, presents a noon Zoom lecture, “Your Brain on Porn Illiteracy: Understanding Porn Research, Misinformation, and Moral Panic,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Professor of clinical psychology and co-director of the sexuality studies program at Minnesota State University, Sprankle will offer a unique perspective when considering whether pornography can be a healthy medium to consume. His research presentation is part of a fall semester series by the Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research.
Abdalla (Abdul) Mohamed, Lead Building Assistant with the Centennial Student Union Operations Team, has gained responsibility and respect through his attention to detail, strong work ethic, positive attitude and a genuine caring nature. The high standard he sets for himself inspires others to do the same. Learn more about Abdul in the CSU Blog.
EXPLORE FREE WORKSHOPS AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Don’t miss the 12th annual U-Lead Conference: Discover. Inspire. Recruit. This three-day event, open to all students, offers valuable…
Starting Sept. 10, undergraduate faculty will be asked to share feedback with you about your progress in classes so far using an Early Alert survey tool in Navigate360. If feedback is submitted for you, you will receive an email in your University MavMail account from MavCONNECT (no-reply@gradesfirst.com). The early alert survey system is designed to give you useful, timely feedback on your performance, and to guide you to resources available to help you.
We want to hear from you! A short survey will be sent on Sept. 10 via Navigate360 (also known as MavCONNECT) to check-in on how things are going for you so far this semester. The information you submit in this survey will help the Office of Student Success learn more from your experiences and when appropriate, give us the chance to reach out to you directly to offer information/resources.
“Be grEAT,” a new mini-documentary following Maverick Basketball’s Malik Willingham premieres Friday, Sept. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in Ostrander Auditorium Directed by Ben Stelter, a recent Bethany College graduate and national award-winning videographer, the film follows Malik’s final year as a Maverick and a life’s journey culminating in the 2024 NCAA DII National Championship. MORE DETAILS AT blog.mnsu.edu/csu
In her BEST Board nomination, Sofia Melendez was recognized for strong leadership whether it was among the Fraternity & Sorority Life Community and her Sigma Sigma Sigma chapter or as a Residential Life Community Advisor. “Sofia demonstrates a great deal of charisma and works well with many different groups of people,” her nominator stated. “She is direct and to-the-point, yet always respectful. She handles her responsibilities with tact and diplomacy, even when what she is tackling is a difficult situation. She also acts with integrity and strives to do the right thing.”
This fall, Maverick Adventures introduces greater opportunities for enjoying Minnesota by launching their open rental shop for outdoor equipment. Rental equipment includes bikes, canoes, tents, sleeping bags, hammocks, yard games, and more. Visit the shop at Myers Field House, Room 130, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
For more than a decade, Minnesota State Maverick student athletes have advanced one campus awareness program–the Mental Health Green Bandana Initiative. Participating MSU students heighten mental health awareness by tying a green bandana to their backpacks.
A team of 85 student volunteers is being recruited to encourage the Mankato community to vote as the country heads for the Nov. 5 general election. Sign up at Mavericks Lead the Vote registration site on Mav Central. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, student volunteers will canvass low voter precincts and offer voter registration info at tables at Mankato businesses and the CSU.
For the fourth time in a row, Minnesota State Mankato was named “Best University” and the Mavericks were Minnesota’s “Best College Sports Team” in the annual Star Tribune Minnesota’s Best Listing. The University and Mavericks have claimed the Gold Award every year since the contest started in 2021.