New Student Lions Club Offers Community Engagement Opportunities

February 6, 2017

Students at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College looking for community and humanitarian service opportunities have organized a student Lions Club, which will celebrate its charter night on Feb 16.

Two dozen BSU students will celebrate the club’s formation at a 6 p.m. ceremony at Bemidji’s Fraternal Order of the Eagles. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which will include dinner. Tickets are $15 per person and can be reserved by contacting Dr. Robert Weber with the Bemidji Lions Club.

During the ceremony, members of the club will be presented with their official charter by Mel Milender, district governor for Lions Club International who leads more than 40 clubs in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario, Canada. Members of the Bemidji and First City Lions Club also will participate in the ceremony, which will include a congratulatory message from guest speaker Brian Sheehan, who sponsored the club’s formation.

“I am proud to welcome these men and women into Lions,” Milender said. “Bemidji will be proud to have such a fine group serving their community.”

BSU freshman Julia Welciek, a double-major in mathematics education and environmental studies from Ham Lake, Minn., founded the club and will serve as its first president. Welciek says the club will look for a variety of ways to support projects and initiatives on campus and in the Bemidji community.

“I am excited to see what this year brings,” she said. “Amazing things are going to happen because everyone in the club has a big desire to give back to their community. I want to use that desire and passion to reach out to as many people as possible.”

The Lions Club for Bemidji State University/NTC meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month in the Hobson Memorial Union.

BSU Lions Club Members

  • Josephine Terry, a freshman from Duluth, Minn., majoring in mass communications & political science, is a founding member of the club.
  • Nathan Laeupple, a freshman from Eveleth, Minn., majoring in business administration, is a founding member of the club.
  • Julia Welciek, a freshman from Ham Lake, Minn., majoring in math education/environmental studies, is a founding member of the club.
  • Sharnea Witt, a freshman from New York Mills, Minn., majoring in elementary education/physical education/health education, is a founding member of the club.
  • Lexy Grenier, a freshman from Grand Forks, N.D., majoring in nursing, is a founding member of the club.
  • Brandon Vacek, a sophomore from Glencoe, Minn., majoring in exercise science, is a founding member of the club.
  • Kristen Petron, a sophomore from Rice, Minn., majoring in accounting, is a founding member of the club.
  • Reed Marohn, a sophomore from Elk River, Minn., majoring in exercise science, is a founding member of the club.
  • Ghaju Alisha, a freshman from Bemidji, Minn., majoring in design, is a founding member of the club.
  • William Schmieg, a freshman from Young America, Minn., majoring in accounting, is a founding member of the club.
  • Sarvika Shetty, a sophomore from Bemidji, Minn., majoring in wildlife biology, is a founding member of the club.
  • Samantha Strand, a freshman from Saginaw, Minn., majoring in wildlife biology, is a founding member of the club.
  • Andrew Hanson, a freshman from Perham, Minn., majoring in marketing communications, is a founding member of the club.
  • Sara Mendez, a freshman from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., majoring in social work, is a founding member of the club.
  • Kaleb Pelkey, a sophomore from Pengilly, Minn., majoring in general studies, is a founding member of the club.
  • Taylor Drury, a senior from Akeley, Minn., majoring in pre-medicine/biology, is a founding member of the club.
  • Shawna Lechner, a freshman from Kodiak, Alaska, majoring in music studies, is a founding member of the club.
  • Dravon Museus, a freshman from Cottage Grove, Minn., majoring in marketing communications, is a founding member of the club.
  • Daniel Lyons, a freshman from Bemidji, Minn., majoring in biology, is a founding member of the club.
  • Alysa Jonas, a sophomore from Oak Grove, Minn., majoring in nursing, is a founding member of the club.
  • Shiho Naraoka, a freshman from Bemidji, Minn., majoring in social work, is a founding member of the club.
  • Emma Worshek, a senior from Aurora, Minn., majoring in elementary education, is a founding member of the club.

About Lions Club International

Lions Clubs International is the largest service club organization in the world, with 1.4 million members participating in approximately 45,000 clubs. Lions are friends, family and neighbors who believe community is what they make it. Since it was founded in Chicago in 1917, Lions Club has provided aid to the blind and visually impaired and has committed to projects supporting communities around the world. The Lions Club is celebrating its 100th year of service in 2017.

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Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. A member of the colleges and universities of Minnesota State, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. Bemidji State has an enrollment of more than 5,100 students and a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.

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