Ashley Spry is a long-time advocate for mental wellness. The mother of two started her career just after graduating from high school, but is using two BSU Alumni and Foundation scholarship awards to follow her dreams.
For the 2021-2022 academic year, Spry received the $1,300 David and Diane Parnow Scholarship and the $400 Jack and Marie St. Martin American Indian Scholarship to help her pursue degrees in psychology and sociology.
“Words cannot even begin to express how thankful I am and how thankful my little family is. Times are tough and school has been so busy—exhausting but so rewarding,” she said in a thank you letter to her scholarship donors. “It was a very hard decision to return full-time to school while being a full-time mom as well. You have made a huge impact and helped me not only with school but also to pursue my dream.”
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spry saw the opportunity to earn her degree online after working in the mental health sector in Grand Rapids since 2008. The choice was easy. She enrolled for online classes at Bemidji State, the alma mater of her late grandfather Victor Williams Sr. ‘69.
“My family told me about how much he loved it when he was a student. I think that made the choice of where I would go to school clear,” she said. “I was spending a lot of time at home and as I had always wanted to go back to school. This was my opportunity.”
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Spry works full-time as a domestic violence prevention advocate in Grand Rapids, but the support system she’s found at Bemidji State, paired with the flexibility of her online curricula, has made earning her degree more achieveable, she said.
“I know that because of this support system that I have, I can do this despite any challenges that might come my way,” she said. “I hope my success can be a symbol of encouragement for my children as they grow. I want to show them that if you want something, you must go out and get it. It’s never too late to pursue your passion.”
Spry is also a member of Bemidji State’s inaugural Indigenous Students in Psychology cohort, a scholarship program tailored to psychology students with Indigenous backgrounds, and is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success Program, which trains students to be successful in leadership positions.
Michelle Anderson wants to take care of the land around her hometown and state. The transfer from Red Lake is a junior in Bemidji State University’s Indigenous sustainability studies program and is using her Anishinaabe roots to inform her 21st century scientific research.
At 18, Anderson enrolled at Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake to pursue an associate of arts in liberal education with an emphasis in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). During her time at the tribal college, she earned several science-based internships including one with the National Science Foundation, where she conducted research on how sulfate runoff from local mines impact the growth of manoomin — the Ojibwe word for wild rice.
At Bemidji State, Anderson is continuing her manoomin research. She attended the September 2021 American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where she earned second place for undergraduate research.
“At first I was thinking about majoring in environmental science with an Indigenous studies minor,” she said. “But BSU’s Indigenous sustainability studies program was perfect for me. It has both of my fields of interest wrapped into one, so I don’t need to take any extra classes.”
Anderson’s research portfolio doesn’t end in stands of wild rice. She has also conducted research on cultural burns, controlled and strategic fires that pair ecological knowledge with traditional, Indigenous practices. They promote ecosystem growth and balance so that one element does not outgrow another.
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“This is really fire-dependent land we live on,” she said. “We used to do burns in different areas every seven or eight years in order to promote the growth of the forest. My research focuses on burning for blueberries, but I think cultural burns in general are the first step in taking better care of the land around us and learning how to take care of it like we did in pre-colonial times.”
Additionally, Anderson is a student ambassador in the university’s American Indian Resource Center where she regularly connects with future students about the Indigenous student experience on campus.
“It’s important to make the AIRC known to our children coming to Bemidji State,” she said. “I always share my story with prospective students. I chose to come here for the Indigenous sustainability studies program. It’s not offered anywhere else and I won’t compromise my Indigenous background to enter the workforce.”
Tristan Heller started playing the trombone when he was in fifth grade. What started as a hobby quickly grew into passion, and by the time he was in high school Heller knew he wanted to earnestly pursue a career in music
Originally from Verndale, Heller first learned about Bemidji State when he was a high school junior after he met with Curtis Olson ‘73, alumnus and adjunct instructor of trombone at the university.
“Professor Olson is a hidden gem here. When I realized that Bemidji State has that great of a teacher, it was a clear choice,” he said. “Olson was one of the best trombone teachers in the country at his prime. He’s fantastic and only encouraging. I’ve never felt like I failed in a lesson—it’s always been a supportive and productive environment here.”
Heller is pursuing his music education degree to work with fellow musicians, he said. His dream is to become a music teacher or band director.
“I really like small ensembles and that genuine collaboration to create a musical product,” he said. “Those moments when you feel the hair stick up on the back of your neck and your arms—It’s at that moment, you just know ‘this is good.’”
Now in his senior year, Heller has established a strong repertoire of performance experience by participating in the university’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Brass Quintet and Trombone Choir.
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In Fall 2020, Heller was named principal trombone for the Heartland Symphony Orchestra, which is jointly based out of Little Falls and Brainerd. He has also starting guest conducting for ensembles across campus under the direction of Scott Guidry, associate professor and chair in the Department of Music. Heller’s conducting debut was at Commencement 2021, but he continues to practice with the university’s Symphonic Band under the director Ryan Webber, adjunct music instructor.
“Working with the Symphonic Band has been one of the best experiences I’ve had at Bemidji State,” he said. “I feel more confident in my conducting and student teaching having this experience.”
Heller will be student teaching at Brainerd High School during the Spring 2022 semester. After graduation in May 2022 he would like to teach somewhere in Minnesota, ideally in the central or northern regions.
“My general plan after graduation is to search for an instrumental music teaching position somewhere in Minnesota,” he said. “I hope we see a resurgence of music in schools. Hopefully when the dust settles with the pandemic, I hope that the great teachers who are on the front lines rebuilding these programs get recognized for their efforts.”
Heller is also considering pursuing grad school for trombone performance after graduation.
Since his interview, Tristan has competed in the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony’s Concerto Competition in January. He passed a preliminary round and performed in a public recital of the finalists. He finished second in the collegiate division against nine other contestants overall (total pool before preliminaries).