Dakota State University

Patti Beck '84

Music Education

Patti Beck is here to help students, a motivation that has been the theme throughout her entire career.

Straight out of college with a Dakota State music education degree, she spent 10 years as a band instructor, helping students learn the joy of music.

She returned to the DSU campus to assist college students, first as Assistant Director of Financial Aid, then in Career Services, as part of the Student Affairs Department. Beck is now the Coordinator of Academic Support Services, overseeing tutoring and supplemental instruction, which is housed under Academic Affairs.

“In this role with Academic Affairs, it feels the most like ‘teaching,’” she said. Beck and her team of tutors help students with their coursework but also work to improve students’ study skills and time management.

“I really like finding students the help they need to be successful,” she said. “The Trojan Tutor team is trained to assist students in moving from thinking ‘I can’t do it’ to ‘I can’t do it yet,’ and to find ways to do that.’”

She also acts as a liaison for students. “If somebody comes in with an issue and I can’t answer it by myself, I know where to get the answer and make it happen.”

Beck has always put effort into finding new ways to make things happen for the benefit of students. She worked to create DSU’s first early alert system, a method for faculty and advisors to communicate with students who were struggling in class. It also notified the Student Success staff, who would reach out to the student. The program was homegrown and award-winning.

“In 2008, we presented our early alert program at the WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) conference and won the WOW (WCET Outstanding Work) Award for Excellence in Education programs.” The university now uses a mobile app called TrojanConnect to help students thrive, but the original program “shows we had the right idea.”

Beck was also instrumental in making sure DSU’s tutors are certified. These students are already subject matter experts, but to better learn how to communicate and work with people, they also receive training through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA), and its International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC).

“We are a certified program, so students can know that our tutors are experienced, but also approachable and friendly.”

And when COVID-19 changed the format for tutoring in Spring 2020, making all sessions virtual instead of mostly in-person, she was proactive. Beck contacted ITS, who found a free program to help them go from about 80 online tutoring sessions to over 600. This was very successful and now takes place through TrojanConnect. Now that in-person sessions are again offered, it has been surprising how many on-campus students prefer to schedule online sessions.

This reflects what she finds unique about the DSU environment. “Students are comfortable with technology because they need to be. Our students so easily move into new technology. They just are fluid with it.”

Her advice to any DSU student is simple. “Don’t be afraid to reach out for help, because on our campus, we’re here for you, no matter what help you may need.”

Digital Arts and Design: Digital Sound Design (BS)

Sascha Walker '22

Cyber Operations (BS)

DSU faculty in The Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences tell students to “Know your offense so you can know your defense. They are two sides of the same coin.”

In addition to this good advice, DSU provides students with research resources to study questions they may have about topics related to offense or defense.

Sascha Walker took advantage of this opportunity after an assignment in an advanced forensics course sparked an interest to further delve into the topic, and he applied for a Student Research Initiative (SRI) grant to research “Fileless Malware: Lessening Indicators of Compromise.”

Research is often a new experience for students, and Walker discovered it was completely different than a class project.

With research, “there are more amounts of data to collect and analyze,” he said. He spent a lot of time collecting data, analyzing data using various analysis tools, and drawing points from the data.

He was surprised to learn that “interpretation is a big part of it, too,” he said. The SRI also includes a presentation on his research results at the Dakota State Research Symposium in March 2022. This scale of a presentation will also be a new experience, but he’s enjoying the process.

“It’s pretty fun, seeing all the data and all the work you put into it,” he said.

This experience is very practical for his career, and after he graduates with his BS in Cyber Operations in Fall 2022, he will be able to market himself as a malware analyst or researcher.

“Once I know how a malware author thinks, it will better help me as a malware analyst,” said Walker. “A lot of employers might look at this research experience as a bonus.”

His faculty mentor for this project is Dr. Bramwell Brizendine, Assistant Professor of Computer & Cyber Sciences.

“This sort of research can allow Sascha to better understand some of the techniques embraced by malware authors,” Brizendine said. “This makes him much more capable of recognizing and understanding the nuances of malicious code he may encounter.”

Walker’s extra-curricular experience could be advantageous as well. A native of Estelline, SD, he is interested in working in other parts of the world, such as Germany. His experience as co-founder and President of the World Languages Club will help this, as he keeps up with German, and a little Russian and Korean.

Cyber Operations (BS)

Lisa Leuning '02

Multimedia/Web Design (BS)

Lisa Leuning learned about computer programming, design, marketing, and a lot more when she attended DSU.

Leuning, known by her maiden name Hubbell when she attended DSU, is a 2002 graduate who earned two degrees, a BS in Multimedia/Web Design, and a BS in English for Information Systems.

“I may not have been sure what I wanted to do with my degrees when I graduated, but having the variety of coursework allowed me to steer my career in the direction I wanted,” she said.

DSU’s strong reputation for being a forward-thinking, technology-focused school with great placement rates drew Leuning, a Madison native, to attending Dakota State.

The English classes she took while at DSU helped her be able to proof materials well, which resulted in employment.

“My second job out of college had an editing test during the job interview and I was the applicant that scored the highest. I’m not sure if I would’ve gotten the job if I hadn’t scored the highest – so I think you can safely say my English classes helped me get that job and move me into my marketing career.”

While Leuning started out as a technical writer, she later moved on to work marketing jobs at two companies in Sioux Falls. “I worked at Paulsen Marketing, which focuses on agricultural marketing, and then worked at Insight Marketing Design.”

She ultimately moved on to Avera Health where she works as Director of Marketing, Strategy, and Product growth.

“I’ve now been with Avera for over six years and that is where I have found my passion in health care marketing,” she said. “Using the skills I have acquired over the years and being able to market a company whose mission is truly about helping others fills my bucket every day.”

In her position she manages a team of marketing strategists, calling them “some of the most creative people in the health care industry.” Together they develop marketing strategies for several areas at Avera, such as Avera Health Plans, Avera PACE, and Avera@Home.

Some campaigns focus on branding and awareness, while others focus on driving volume and leads to our sales teams, she explained. The team recently won Best of Show award for the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association for their Avera Health Plans campaign.

“Getting to work with such talented and dedicated people makes my job very enjoyable,” Leuning said.

Her day-to-day work involves a lot of meetings that allow her to talk with the experts at Avera to really understand the goals of each department. She also meets with the internal marketing team to make sure they’re supported and able to bring forth new and innovative ideas, she said.

Leuning finds marketing to be one of the best fields to work in because nothing stays the same and it is ever-evolving.

“It can be challenging because everyone has an opinion about marketing, but in the world today you can use A/B [comparison] testing and real-time data to determine what works best for each target audience and continue to refine marketing campaigns until you get the results you are looking for,” she said. “And this industry allows you to take risks and try new things. We always ask, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ and make decisions from there.”

For current students, Leuning offers some advice: be kind to everyone, continue learning, read more books, and “enjoy and embrace your time at college – but be very cautious what you put on social media.”

Multimedia/Web Design Minor

English for New Media (BS)

Karen Hildebrand '03

’03 BS in Marketing; ’04 MS in Information Systems; ’12 PhD in Information Systems

Karen Hildebrand came to Dakota State from Canada, not quite sure what career to pursue.

She had an interested in technology, and received an academic and athletic scholarship for softball here, so for her, “DSU was an awesome fit.”

“I really loved my time at DSU,” and her three degrees prepared her well to be successful.

A fourth-generation farmer, Hildebrand is now the Worldwide Technology Leader for the Agriculture Industry at Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company recently featured her in a recruiting video in which she discusses ways technology is being used with agriculture, and how cloud technologies help industries. Hildebrand also hosts the company’s technical livestream “All in the Field.”

“Sometimes there are misperceptions about how much technology is involved in farming, and how food gets to the table, so hopefully the video addresses ways we can break down those barriers,” she said. 

It’s interesting to think about the ways technology is used, and all the diversity that makes up every industry, she stated. “People need to see the potential paths they can take, and know that if you’re really passionate, you can be a global technical leader.”

For Hildebrand, it’s important to determine the next generational skills that will sustain multi-generation farms. In addition to past skills, she references add-on skill sets with technology, such as computer vision, or robotics applications that include picking apples with robotic arms, and animal health monitoring.

There are some concerns about workforce displacement with technological advances, but she said “there is so much room for humans to be in the loop in everything that is artificial intelligence and machine learning. The only way models get better is if humans remain involved.”

She also noted that in ag there isn’t a huge growing population of people who want to become farmers, “so we’re at risk if we don’t augment the labor force that we have with jobs that are rewarding as a human.”

DSU has new degrees that address these opportunities, in Artificial Intelligence and  Artificial Intelligence for Organizations. DSU also offers a PhD in Computer Science, offered jointly with South Dakota State University, with areas of emphasis in machine learning, analytics, and precision ag.

“Everything I learned at DSU I use on an almost daily basis,” she stated. Her 2003 marketing degree gave her an understanding of digital user engagement; her 2004 master’s degree in information systems brought experience with the technology underlying purpose-built databases and SQL databases. Her 2012 PhD experience in information systems helped her gain confidence with research and expanding what’s possible in making new contributions to the field.

“I feel really confident that I can speak intelligently and be the voice in the room that explains how this works technically, and why it impacts ag.”

Hildebrand said, “that’s what I rely on most, knowing that I’m doing things that have not been done before, and I am confident that I can innovate by applying rigorous research standards to break down barriers.”

College of Business and Information Systems

Nathan Ord '23

Cyber Operations (BS)

Nathan Ord was inspired to attend Dakota State University by his high school counselor, Andrew Franklin, in Elburn, Ill.

“He first told me about DSU after he had recently visited,” Ord said. “He told me about the growing cybersecurity program and the comfortable campus size, all of which had me intrigued.”

After Ord graduated high school in 2018, he attended community college for two years to complete his general requirements. He is now earning his bachelor’s degree in Cyber Operations and master’s in Computer Science at Dakota State.

“I appreciate the growth mindset and comradery everyone seems to have,” Ord said of DSU. “This leads to a great learning environment and strong personal development in and out of the classroom.”

Since transferring to DSU, Ord has become involved on campus. He started by joining DSU Esports. He is the social media coordinator, sending out tweets and running live streams, among other things.

“Esports is a constantly evolving landscape that also has a plethora of possibilities,” he said. “It’s not just gaming as some may think, as there is management, scheduling, public relations, team building, and much more involved.”

Additionally, Ord is the president of the Student Senate, where he and fellow students look for ways to make the campus a better place.

He recommends all students get involved with something. “Barring anything else, showing that you are a good all-around person and have soft skills looks great on a résumé,” he said. “Besides that, being a college student to me means being a part of the campus and community.”

There are over 35 student-run clubs, as well as institutional organizations, academic teams, and honor societies for students to participate in. “But if one doesn’t fit, you can make your own as well,” Ord added.

Cyber Operations (BS)

Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS)

Gabe Simao '22

Computer Game Design (BS)

After the successful production of the game 3 O’clock Horror, Gabe Simao is converting the existing system designed for a keyboard and mouse to a touchscreen interface for mobile devices. He is a Game Design and Computer Science major from Brazil.

This is part of his Student Research Initiative (SRI) grant to complete the conversion to a mobile game.

“The completion of this process will allow for a direct comparison of user engagement on both platforms,” Simao wrote in his grant application. “This data will also provide insight into the performance of the game on each of the platforms.”

The game 3 O’clock Horror was created through a game design class. Simao, who had the initial idea for 3 O’clock Horror, led a team of students to produce the game over the course of the 2020-21 school year. Each member of the team had a specialty area such as programming, level design, artwork, and narrative, but students were able to gain experience with everything.

Simao’s idea for 3 O’clock Horror came from a video game called Faith. “It’s a dark, horror, minimalistic style that I really liked,” he said.

The team also took inspiration from games Resident Evil and Outlast. In addition to game style, the narrative part of the game was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, a cosmic horror writer from the early 1900s.

What results is a game that begins in the dark of night with a foreboding wind and snow. The player must gain entrance to the mansion, where they will continue their journey to solve the mystery of what happened. Depending on how players solve the puzzles they can end up with three different endings.

Throughout the school year, the students were able to workshop the game and have people test play to provide feedback. They took that feedback and worked to create a better game. “That’s the one thing that drives us to success,” Simao said.

After workshopping and completing the game, the students took the opportunity to place their game on the gaming platform STEAM. It costs $100 to add a game to STEAM, a team member agreed to pay the fee.

Last spring, Simao completed the documentation and uploading of the game to the platform. It went live on June 19, 2021. Since then, there have been several thousand downloads of the game.

This fall, he submitted the game to the Independent Games Festival (IGF) on behalf of the team to compete in the Best Student Game category. In January, they will find out if their game made it to the list of nominees.

 In the meantime, Simao will continue working with his professors on the creation of the mobile game version.

“There are some differences between the PC and mobile platforms, so there’s code that must be modified or rewritten,” said Erik Pederson, Assistant Professor of Game Design. “There’s a good amount of work to be done, it’s not a simple port.”

Simao will spend time figuring out what from the computer game works in a mobile version and adapting the gameplay as needed. Touch and scrolling will be integral parts of the mobile version.

“Having the ability to say that he’s developed the product for the PC environment, then rebuilt it for the mobile market is a huge bonus for him as he nears graduation,” Pederson said.

Simao hopes this will expand the game’s audience. “I’m hoping for more downloads than we got in the computer version.”

Computer Game Design (BS)