Starting in early 1994, I worked for my first-ever newspaper, The Northern Student, the student newspaper at Bemidji State University, where I attended and received my bachelor's degree in mass communication. Over three years, I would be a staff writer, news editor, managing editor and editor. I wrote everything from news stories to feature stories to sports stories to opinion pieces. It was the greatest training ground a journalist could ever have, and I am grateful to the many talented people I worked alongside in my years at The NS.
April 13, 1994
NOTE: This was the very first professionally published newspaper piece in my journalism career.
By Devlyn Brooks
For the Northern Student
Amidst the combined atmosphere of old and new in the David Park House, the Office of the President and the Women's Studies and Services Center co-hosted a ceremony to honor BSU women of the past and present in conjunction with Women's History Month.
Certificates of Merit were given to women who have devoted 20 years of service to BSU. Awards were given to women who have worked, or are currently working, in all areas of service -- including faculty, administration or other staff.
Receiving an award for Student of the Year was Rebecca Joe Nash, a senior with a social work major and women's studies minor. Nash was chosen for the award by the women's studies teaching faculty on the basis of her academic merit.
In her welcoming speech, Interim President Lind Baer emphasized the need to establish university departments. Baer also told the crowd that she has enjoyed the past year as president, adding that, "It was an adventure.
"I believe that women are certainly [the] lifeblood of what we are about in this society," she said. "Their adaptability is ever evident."
Before introducing the names of the award recipients, Pat Rosenbrock, director of women's studies, said that she would have liked to honor all women who have contributed to BSU, but there have to be limits. Although giving awards to women who have served BSU for 20 years, Rosenbrock stressed that women who were not recognized at the ceremony were not to be forgotten.
A video entitled "A Woman's Place" was also shown before the awards ceremony. The video was a celebration of women's contributions and achievements throughout history. It was a list of highlights in American women's history.
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