Office of the President

Growing Potential - Southeast Celebrates Spring Achievements

Spring is finally here! In the first week of May, we have gone from barely-budding leaves to full-flung flowers and brilliant green trees. You just can't help but feel optimistic this time of year, and that's certainly true at Minnesota State College Southeast.

As the academic year comes to a close, it's a time to reflect on the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of our students. This season of growth and renewal perfectly mirrors the achievements happening across our campuses, reminding everyone who works in higher education why we love what we do so much.

Throughout our Winona and Red Wing campuses, students are completing impressive capstone projects that showcase their skills. In the Winona Mechatronics lab, a talented student team has built a working "claw machine" that demonstrates their creativity and technical competency. There's no charge to play this innovative creation, and everyone wins a prize!

Meanwhile in Red Wing, the college is celebrating a significant milestone--the 50th anniversary of the Violin and Guitar Making and Repair programs. Our dedicated students are putting the finishing touches on nearly 60 beautiful guitars, mandolins, and violins, which will be played on stage in concert by professional musicians just before Commencement.

Our students' achievements extend beyond the classroom into leadership and competitive arenas. In April, both the Red Wing and Winona Student Senates earned recognition as LeadMN Star Campuses at the LeadMN General Assembly, honoring the hard work and passion of their student senators. Congratulations to Winona Vice President Laura Scott and Red Wing Vice President Hailey Brown for spearheading the applications for this prestigious award.

In the technical fields, our students continue to excel nationally. Welding student Ian Engrav advanced to the finals of Project Manufacturing's National Welding League competition and will compete in the National Championship at Ferris State University in Michigan this June. The competition will be featured in the "Clash of Trades Welding Edition" series, bringing well-deserved attention to Ian's skills and the quality instruction provided by his teacher, Casey Mann.

Further demonstrating our technical prowess, Southeast won Gold at the State Level Auto Body Skills USA competition for the second time in three years. The event, held at the 3M Skills Development Center in St. Paul, saw student Nick Uitto emerge victorious among competitors in six different areas of Auto Body. Nick will represent Southeast at the National Competition in Atlanta this June, guided by instructor Brandon Boynton.

The first weekend of May brought another exciting opportunity as Southeast hosted Make48, a nationwide invention competition where high school teams developed ideas, created prototypes, and pitched their concepts to industry judges--all within 48 hours. Seven of our Construction Technology students served as mentors alongside career and technical faculty, offering valuable guidance on product design and development.

Speaking of Construction Technology, our students continue to gain practical experience through Southeast's partnership with Habitat for Humanity serving Winona County. This year they have advanced work on Habitat's townhouse development in St. Charles while also completing a variety of repair projects for area homeowners, directly applying their skills to benefit the community.

These accomplishments--and many others across our campuses--reflect the college's recently updated mission and vision statements. Our mission is to deliver exceptional transfer, career, and technical education that empowers learners and transforms lives. Our vision is to be the destination for generations of learners who shape thriving, resilient communities.

At Southeast, we believe college is for everyone. We believe in meeting students where they are. And we believe that every step toward reaching your educational goals should be simple and achievable, completed in the least amount of time for the least amount of debt.

The success of the Class of 2025 demonstrates how effectively we're delivering on these promises. At Commencement, we will honor more than 400 new graduates and award over 500 certificates, diplomas, and degrees. Many of these graduates will transition directly into rewarding careers, while others have earned associate degrees and will transfer to 4-year institutions to pursue bachelor's degrees.

As spring brings renewal to our landscape, our graduates embark on their own new beginnings--starting careers, pursuing further education, or embracing new personal goals and aspirations. Graduates, whatever comes next... we wish you well!