Office of the President

Winding Road Leads to Southeast 

Dr. Derrick Lindstrom, Interim President Minnesota State College Southeast 

If you had told me growing up in Benson, Minnesota, that someday I would be the Interim President for Minnesota State College Southeast, I would have given you a strange look.

Seriously, I don’t recall meeting anyone who as a kid aspired to be a college president.

Few professional careers follow a straight line. Mine has had plenty of twists and turns.

As a first-generation college student, my dad, a manual laborer with the railroad, encouraged me to go to college so I could “get a good job.”  
 
According to family lore, mom had attended some bookkeeping classes at the local “vo-tech school.” It was only years later that I discovered she had an associate’s degree in accounting, which set her up for success as a bank teller and later working in the county treasurer’s office.

When I first went to college, I recall filling out a form and selecting communication, political science, and secondary teaching as possible majors. Over the ensuing 30 years, I’ve explored each of those paths to some degree, but I kept returning to higher ed, and specifically community and technical colleges.

I’m a huge proponent of what technical and community colleges can do in terms of expanding opportunities.

Early on in my studies at St. John’s University, I realized the importance of people believing in you --even when you weren’t so confident. People like the lunch ladies at St. John’s, adults who always showed up and were concerned about me and my well-being.

People like my French professor, Father Jerome Tupa, who encouraged me to study abroad in France, even while I was failing French II. Turns out It was on that trip where I met my wife.

These early mentors saw something in me, long before I realized it myself.

That’s why the Southeast messages that we believe college is for everyone and we believe in meeting students where they are resonate with me. It’s what attracted me to this position.

Fresh out of college and as a recent newlywed, I made a foray into property management before realizing I might want to teach for a living. So, I pursued a master’s degree at Minnesota State University, Mankato, which set me on the path to teaching communication at what was then called Minneapolis Community and Technical College. It was there that I got my first experience as a higher education administrator. 

Much like my college days, someone else saw my potential and encouraged me to consider being dean. Individual success is the result of lots of people helping you out along the way.

From dean, I had the opportunity to fill other administrative roles at community and technical colleges around the greater Minneapolis area, most recently as Vice President of Academic Affairs at North Hennepin Community College. At each stop, I had the chance to examine the challenges and impediments our students encountered and tried to find ways to make their path a little easier. Another hallmark of Southeast.

Southeast’s Red Wing College Promise and College Opportunity Programs eliminate the financial burden of higher education for local youth for the first two years of college. What an amazing resource for our immediate communities.

Speaking of which, Red Wing and Winona are tight-knit communities that remind me of my youth in Benson; a place where when 11-year-old me went to see a PG-13 movie, the ticket taker asked if my parents knew I was seeing this movie. 

At Minneapolis College and North Hennepin, when I left the office, I disappeared into suburban anonymity.

In Red Wing and Winona, I realize that by virtue of my role, that won't be the case. I’m looking forward to being part of a community like the one I grew up in, one where people know who you are and look out for you.

My professional path has been far from a straight line. While I could not have predicted this outcome, I find myself moving to communities like my hometown, at an institution that shares my values and passion for education, in a role that I’m excited to step into for the next year. I’m hoping along the way, I’ll have a chance to meet many of you and continue to serve and support the amazing work that Minnesota State College Southeast does for our region.