February 24, 2022
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Dear Bobcat parent and family members,For me, one of the best parts of living in Montana is our weather. I love all of the types of weather that we get in Bozeman, and yes, that includes the cold. I love the cold! Many of you from the Dakotas to Detroit know the kind of arctic airflow we're experiencing, while the thought of negative temps may seem unbearable for folks farther south. Your student's car may barely start (like mine), it's hard to take a deep breath outside, and everything just moves slowly. It's all a part of the MSU experience, and for many of us, it makes Montana, Montana. Speaking of cold, I hope everyone had the opportunity to watch a bit of the Winter Olympics during the past several weeks. If you did, you might have seen one of our student-athletes competing in the men's giant slalom. Louis M?hlen-Schulte is studying business and competes on MSU's alpine ski team. Originally from Melbourne, Louis represented his home country of Australia at the games. He finished an impressive 23rd in the giant slalom race, overcoming very challenging weather conditions. And on that theme of impressive achievement, MSU recognized 40 of our top seniors and their faculty and staff mentors on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the 40th annual Awards for Excellence. Honored students are nominated by faculty in their college or department. Qualified seniors must have at least a 3.5 GPA, as well as demonstrated campus leadership and community service. The honored students each select a mentor who are recognized with them at the event. See the list of 2022 Awards for Excellence recipients online, listed by their college, name, major, hometown and mentor. Congratulations to honored seniors and their faculty and staff mentors. We're so proud of all of you! Many of the programs and groups that support our students and allow them to excel in academics and athletics are funded through MSU Giving Day, a 29-hour online crowd-fundraising event that was held last week. This year, more than 1,300 donors raised $344,445, directly supporting students by opening doors and creating opportunities through programs and resources that stretch beyond the classroom. MSU Giving Day, which was designed to raise support and awareness in addition to funds, highlighted 55 MSU projects in 2022. To learn more about MSU Giving Day and see the full list of funded projects, please visit givingday.montana.edu. Finally, no issue of the MSU Parent-Family e-news would be complete without at least one deadline reminder, and this is a very important one. March 1 is the deadline for undergraduates to apply to graduate in summer or fall 2022. More information is available on the Office of the Registrar's Graduation Process and Application webpage. Stay warm!  Matthew R. Caires |
