Welcome  to  Beyond  the  Nest, The  University  of  Minnesota,  Rochester's  alumni  podcast. I'm  Amber  Muhlenbein, Content  Creation  Specialist,  here  at  Omar. In  today's  episode,  we  hear from  Umar  Chancellor  Lori  Carroll, joined  by  current  Rochester  Student Association  president  Heidi  Wynn. The  two  sat  down  to  connect, share  updates  on  exciting  things  happening  on  campus, including  new  academic  partnerships. And  discuss  the  importance  of  community  on the  student  experience.  Here  we  go. Well,  it's  wonderful  to  have  this  opportunity  to  have a  conversation  with our  Rochester  Student  Association  president. This  is  Lori  Carroll, the  Chancellor  of  UMR. And  we  are  coming  right up  on  our  state  of  the  campus  event, which  is  very  important  on  our  campus. And  looking  forward  to  that,  I  wonder, Miss  President,  if  you  might introduce  yourself  to  our  listeners. Thank  you  so  much,  Chancellor, for  introducing  me  and  introducing  RSA. I'm  so  thankful  to  be  here to  talk  about  just  the  state  of  the  campus, UMR,  and  the  state  of  student  body. I'm  a  second  year  here  at  UMR currently  studying  the  health  sciences  degree. I've  been  on  RSA  for  two  years  and  I'm  really thankful  that  the  student  body has  voted  me  as  the  president. Well,  I'm  grateful  for  that  too. It's  been  fun  to  work  with  you  so  far  this  year. And  I  know  there  are many  priorities  for  both  of  us  that  we  want  to  get  to. But  I  would  like  us  to  talk  a  little  bit more  about  your  passion, to  make  a  difference  in  the  world  through  a  career  in health  and  how  you  discovered  that  passion. What  was  the  catalyst? I  think  like  many  students, I  had  imposture  Syndrome  and  I was  I  was  struggling  on  what  I  wanted  to  do, but  I  will  say  that  RSA  did kind  of  give  me  skills  and  assets. And  a  realization  that  the  kind  of  work  I want  to  do  is  more  of  like  a  leadership  role, to  have  responsibility  and  to  make  an  impact. And  a  change  that  benefits not  only  me  but  the  rest  of  the  student  body. Well,  you  know,  I  have  a  secret  goal  that's  not going  to  be  secret  anymore  after  I  say  it  on  a  podcast. But  I  would  really  like  to  see UMR  graduate  become  the  CEO  of  Mayo  Clinic. And  I  know  there  are  many  other  ways  to  have an  impact  in  the  healthcare  industry. But  for  those  who  are  interested  in  the  business and  leadership  of  health  care, and  knowing  that  to  date  a  woman  has  not  held  that  role. I  have  that  as  a  now  not  so  secret  ambition. So  perhaps  we  can  talk  about  that  later. Yeah,  that  would  be  really  fun  actually. And  if  anyone's  listening  is interested  in  doing  that,  please  let  me  know. So  then  later  in  ten  more  years, I  could  be  like,  yeah,  I  know  the  CEO  of  Mayo  Clinic. Or  perhaps  you  will  be  the  CEO  of  Mayo  Clinic. You  think  so?  I  don't  know,  We  shall  see. But  I  think  if  we  could  go  back  even earlier  than  your  experience  as  a  student  here. When  you  were  a  child,  you began  to  have  an  interest  in  health  or  science, or  what  happened  to  you  as  you  move through  childhood  and  adolescence  that  led  you  to  UMR? Yeah,  for  me  I  think  it  was  funny. When  I  was  younger  I  told  myself  I was  going  to  be  first  a  ballerina, then  a  teacher,  a  singer,  a  Dr.  too. There  was  no  order. I  guess  I  really  liked  ballet  though, but  as  I  started  to go  through  middle  school  and  high  school, you  get  to  experience  or hear  more  about  other  professions. And  I  think  for  me  what  stuck  the  most or  what  ended  up  staying  not crossed  off  was  being  a  Dr.  or  Physician, or  being  involved  in  the  medical  field. How  about  you?  Did  you  have any  aspirations  when  you  were  younger? Yes.  And  one  of  them  was  not  to  be  a  chancellor. I'm  sure  that  strange  word never  entered  my  mind  as  a  child. But  when  I  was  about  six, I  wanted  to  be  a  missionary  veterinarian  to  Japan. I'm  not  quite  sure  what  that  would  even  look  like. But  the  thirst  for  adventure and  wanting  to  make  a  difference in  the  world  to  be  helpful  in  some  way. Both  of  those  drives  are  still  with  me. I  was  interested  in  psychology, in  how  people  learn  and  in  communication, and  did  a  lot  of  theater, and  eventually  found  my  way  to teaching  and  to  being  a  professor. And  then,  you  know, what  was  very  pleasant  is  that  I  discovered  that if  I  followed  my  curiosity  and  just  took the  very  next  step  on  the  thing  that  really  riveted  me, that  new  doors  would open  and  then  I  could  step  through  those. So  there  was  no  predicting. What  would  emerge. But  just  a  very  pleasurable  journey made  possible  by  education. You  know,  just  keep  learning. Keep  learning.  Keep  learning.  Take  the  next  step. What  is  your  advice  to  those,  especially  students  here, who  are  still  questioning  and  what  they  want  to  do  and what  advice  would  you  give  them  on their  path  to  finding  what  they  want  to  do? Well,  first,  just  a  reality  check that  many  of  my  friends  in the  later  decades  of  their  life  are  still exploring  what  they  want  to do  next  and  what  choices  they'll  make. So  this  is  a  lifelong  journey, and  I  think  it's  important  to  be  aware  of  that  when you're  young  and  the  decisions  seem  so  monumental. But  it  is  back  to  that  phrase  of  take  the  next  step. What  is  the  next  step? Toward  something  that  makes  you  curious? Or  toward  something  that connects  you  to  those  who  are  making  a  difference. And  once  you  find  an  interest, explore  it  as  deeply  as  you  possibly  can. I  think  it's  important  when  you pick  the  topic  of  a  project  for  a  class  where you  have  choice  in  that  topic that  you  use  that  opportunity  to  explore something  that's  making  you curious  and  just  take  the  very  next  step. And  don't  stress  about  the  steps  that  are five  feet  or  years  ahead  of  you,  just  right  now. What's  making  you  curious? What  do  you  find  fascinating? And  what  connects  you  to  those  who  are  doing  the  kinds of  things  that  you  find might  make  a  difference  or  might  be  fascinating. It's  all  about  one  little  step  at a  time  and  waiting  for  the  next  door  to  open. Yeah.  And  I  will  personally  take  that. Good.  I'm  I'm  glad because  you  are  not  only  a  leader  on  our  campus, but  you  are  also  a  student  like  everyone  else, figuring  your  way  forward. And,  you  know,  we  talk frequently  about  dream  shifting  and  I think  it's  the  absolute  norm so  that  someone  is  sick  and  knows  precisely  that they  will  be  a  ball  arena  or  a  physician  or both  would  be  rather  unusual,  right? So  it's  a  process  of self  discovery  and  it is  the  great  privilege  of  education. So  the  more  you  learn, the  more  choices  and  opportunities  you  have. And  it  also,  as  time  goes  by, becomes  the  great  responsibility  to  be  a  contributor. And  I  have  found  that  joyful. And  I  imagine  that I  wouldn't  have  said  that  when  I  was  in college  and  wondering  what I  would  do  next  and  feeling  stressed  about  it. But  looking  back  on  the  whole  of  the  life  journey, that's  joyful  and  what  privileged  people we  are  to  have  choices,  right? And  so  let's  enjoy  the  discovery  process. Yeah,  that's  So  you  are  themed.  I  love  that. I  guess  some  questions  I  have  that  aren't really  related  to  what  we  just  talked  about, but  what  are  your  future  plans  for  the  campus? Is  there  anything  in  specific  that you  have  to  talk  about? Well,  you  know,  we  have  three  principals at  UMR  for  everything  that  we  design. And  it  would  be  my  aspiration  together  with  students, faculty,  and  staff  that  we continue  designing  with  these  three  principles. And  the  first  is  that  students  are  at  the  center. So  every  decision  we  make  like  about  facilities, the  new  Student  Life  Center, and  all  that  we  make  thinking  of  students. And  in  that  case  with  the  Student  Life  Centers,  you  know, we'll  keep  the  costs  as  low  as  possible  for students  while  keeping  them  in  proximity  to  opportunity. The  internships,  faculty  themselves, the  course  work,  we  want  that  to  be walkable  for  you  so  students  are  at  the  center. And  then  the  second  principle  is that  research  informs  practice. And  this  is  really  our  distinctiveness  at  UMR  that our  faculty  all  do their  primary  research  on student  learning  and  development. And  we  want  to  use  those  results and  other  evidence  based  practice to  support  your  success in  any  way  we  possibly  can  in  and  out  of  the  classroom. That  research,  informing  practice, is  a  really  important  principle when  we  think  about  what  will  we  do  in  the  future. And  then  the  third  principle  is the  one  we're  focused  on for  our  state  of  the  campus  event. And  that  is  that  partners  make it  partners  make  it  possible. And  you  and  I  are  partners  in  leadership, and  we  have  faculty  leader  partners  as  well. And  we  have  philanthropic  partners  who  contribute to  scholarships  for  UMR  students.  And  we  have Political  partners  who  advance  policy, both  in  education  and  health  care, to  make  things  ever  better. In  those  spheres,  we  have many  kinds  of  partners,  including  facilities. I  look  forward  to  having those  conversations  at  the  state  of  the  campus  event, as  we  think  about  future  plans. So  I've  said  nothing  specific. However,  those  design  principles  really  matter. We  want  to  continue  to  live  out  our  vision,  right? We  want  to  transform  higher  education. But  we  want  to  do  that  in  a  way  that  is  based on  innovation  that  moves  you  forward and  your  classmates  and  future  students to  really  solving  the  grand  health  challenges of  the  21st  century. And  that  is  such  a  high  aspiration, but  I  believe  it  will  actually  happen. I  do,  yeah. And  honestly,  I  mean, you  really  did  say  specific  things, been  in  the  grand  scheme  of  things,  right? Like  I  bet  that there's  going  to  be  so  much  more  UMR  development. But  with  all  that  you  said  all  of  them  will  have that  core  foundation  that students  are  the  center  research  is  innovation. And  the  reason  why  we're  able  to  do  this  is  because  of all  our  partnerships  and  benefactors.  That's  right. Give  to  the  Mac  state  a  24  hour  period of  time  to  honor  the  work  and worth  of  Minnesota's  nonprofits  in schools  is  coming  up  on  Thursday, November  16,  this  year  in remembrance  of  the  beautiful  life  of UMR  student  Sara  Gassad. The  University  of  Minnesota  Rochester  is  highlighting the  Sara  GassadUMRtudent  Emergency  Fund. This  fund  supports  UMR  students  who  experience unexpected  financial  needs  that  could  impact their  ability  to  continue  their  college  education. To  learn  more  and  support  this  fund, please  visit  ZmuMRgive. Are  there  going  to  be  any  more  of  like programs  because  I  know  there's  now  the  pharmacy  program, which  I  wish  they  had  something  like  that. When  I  came,  I  was  a  year  two  early. But  is  there  any  plan  for  that? Absolutely.  We're  really  focused  on those  partnerships  that  can accelerate  the  student's  journey  toward  their  career. Again,  not  expecting  you  or your  classmates  to  know exactly  what  you  want  to  do  at  the  very  beginning, But  as  you  get  towards your  Capstone  and  in your  junior  year  planning  that  capstone, we  want  to  have  options  for  you  if  you're ready  to  get  started on  your  graduate  or  professional  degree. Pharmacy  is  one  of  those. These  kinds  of  partnerships  are sometimes  called  four  plus  two, or  three  plus  three, or  what  it  means  is  that  we  condense the  undergraduate  and  graduate  experiences and  take  a  year  off  of  that  journey. Yes,  we  are  exploring all  the  partnerships  we  can  that  could  help students  move  forward  once they're  committed  to  the  path that  they're  going  to  pursue. Yeah,  and  I  think  these  programs  are  so  cool. Like  the  fact  that  it  shows  like  a  level  of commitment  to  and  something  I definitely  would  love  to  see  if UMR  could  ever  do  like  possibly a  four  plus  three  with Mayo  Clinic  or  something  for  medical  school. But  I  hope  that's  for  the  future.  I  would  love  to  see  it. Well,  let's  talk  about  medical  school. We've  just  recently  had  approved  by  our  board  of  regents, a  new  partnership  with  a  group  Centri  Care, to  open  a  new  branch  of  a  medical  school  in  St.  ⁇  Cloud. The  focus  there  will  be  on  rural  health, which  is  similar  to  the  focus  on the  Duluth  Medical  School  campus. But  it  will  open  more  seats. We  will  be  first  in  line  for those  seats  with  our  amazing  students who  will  be  well  prepared. This  is  the  first,  will  be  the  first  time  since 1970s  that  there  were additional  medical  school  seats in  the  state  of  Minnesota. That's  a  great  development,  my  God. So  that's  great.  We're  also  expanding  the  program in  research  coordination,  clinical  research  coordinator. And  that  is  a  similar  kind  of  capstone  program  that  leads directly  to  work  and  accelerates the  journey  with  a  paid  internship  with  Mayo  Clinic. It's  similar  to  our  Next  Gen  program. And  we  will  continue  to expand  those  kinds  of  programs  as  well. We're  exploring  what  can  be  done  in  nutrition  and  health, and  hunger  and  all  of  that  connected  to  sustainability. And  that's  for  the  people  and  the  planet. So  there  are  many  things emerging  in  the  student's  perspective. What  they  want  to  study  is  central to  where  we'll  go  with  future  academic  programs. I  think  in  the  resilience well  being  and  mental  health  space, there's  a  great  deal  of  interest  and  in  the  research  in healthcare  that  has  expanded lots  of  exciting  things  ahead. I  just  wanted  to  ask one  more  question  that's relevant  to  what  we're  talking  about. I  know  we're  talking  about  a  lot  about community  building  and  new  improvements, and  a  lot  of  stuff. But  so  far,  since  the  SLC  is just  newly  built,  what  is  your  favorite  thing? So  SLC  is  our  Student  Life  Center, my  favorite  thing.  That's  really  hard. I  mean,  I'm  so  glad  we  have  an  admissions  welcome  center. We  have  needed  that,  and  for  prospective  students  and families  to  have  an  entering  space  is  really  cool. And  I  also  love  the  intercultural  center. This  has  been  an  ambition  of  ours  since  we first  crafted  our  anti  racism  plan. And  I  think  the  space  is  beautiful  and  full  of  light, and  the  furniture  is  movable. And  I  can  only  imagine the  kinds  of  interaction  that  will  happen  in  that  space. And  it  just  makes  me  really, really  satisfied  that  we  were  able  to  provide  that  space. But  then  there's  a  laundry  who  doesn't  need  a  laundry? We've  got  that  and  the  workout  room  is  so  cool. But  I'm  narrowing  in, since  you  said  favorite,  you  know, I'll  go  with  the  salad  bar  in  the  new  dining  space because  there's  everything  there that  anyone  could  ever  want  on  the  salad. And  I'm  always  trying  to  eat  salad. So  I  think  that  mini  who  would  be asked  would  say  the  soft serve  ice  cream  machine  is  the  favorite  part. Yeah,  the  dining  area  is  my  favorite. It's  because  we  have  a  place  to  gather  and  the  community that  comes  from  eating  together  and  the  sense of  belonging  that  can  be  further  enhanced. I  just  think  we've  been  missing  that  kind  of  space  and so  I'm  thrilled  and  teary  eyed  every  time  I  walk  past. A  good  way  to  learn  about  a  college  campus is  to  experience  it  in  person. Now  is  the  right  time  to  take  the  next  step and  visit  our  campus  at  UMR. We  offer  personalized  options  for a  campus  visit  to  learn more  about  the  application  process, student  life,  and  in  demand,  career  opportunities. Explore  what  it  means  to  earn a  degree  in  the  heart  of  the  medical  world. Schedule  your  visit  today  at  art  visit. Well,  I  wonder  if  you  might  share some  priorities  that  the  RSA  has  for  this  year. Yeah.  I  know  it's  been a  couple  of  years  I  guess  since  Covid  happened, but  I  know  there  was  just  a  huge  shutdown and  no  one  to  blame, but  like  a  less  community  involvement  and really  just  engagement  in  bringing  people  together. And  this  semester  I  wanted  to  plan  a  market. It's  called  Rafter  Market  and  it'll be  a  way  for  other  clubs  like student  groups  can  fund  raise  for their  own  club  and for  their  future  events  and  use  that  funds. There's  just  a  lot  of  stuff  like  RSA  will be  having  Cinnabon  in  their  evening  session. I  know  Omar  Research  Club  is selling  really  cute  healthcare  related  pins. I  know  I  would  be  definitely  interested  in  that. I  think  it's  just  a  way  to  bring  people  together  and  be more  aware  of  clubs  because  I  know  there  is also  the  involvement  fair,  which  is  good. But  I  think  seeing like  in  a  fun  environment where  it's  really  like  a  market, I  think  Rochester  also  had  like  a  night  market. But  this  year  they  didn't  open  it, so  RSA's  going  to  host  one. There  will  be  also  karaoke  photo  booth. And  at  the  photo  booth  there  will  be  Polaroid  pictures. Which  is  really  fun  because I'm  a  girl  who  hoard  stickers, which  is  bad  but  they're  really  cute,  I  promise. But  like  you  can  decorate your  polaroid  picture  with  your  friends. I  think  it's  just  a  really  important  thing to  bring  the  community  together. And  I  think  before  you  were  saying  like  at  the  SLC, the  dining  hall,  like  I  have  noticed, like  compared  to  last  year, since  I  lived  at  03:18  there's so  much  more  community  and  it's  so  much  more  lively. Absolutely.  So  I  really  appreciate  this  priority  for  RSA to  enhance  student  engagement and  it's  been  a  priority  for  me  too, for  faculty  and  staff, as  well  as  students  coming  out  of  the  pandemic. I  think  that  time  together  is  understood  to  be  more precious  and  students  are here  four  years,  maybe  three  years. And  we  know  you  at  a  very  important  part  of your  life  journey  and  it's  also  fleeting. I  mean,  maybe  when  you're  sitting  in class  on  a  Thursday  afternoon, it  feels  like  it's  taking  forever  to  get  through  college, but  it  actually  goes  so  quickly. And  so  we  have  this  time  where  we can  know  one  another  and I  think  we've  come  to  understand the  time  together  as  more  precious. So  thank  you  for  working  on that  priority  of  enhancing  engagement. Do  you  have  another  event  planned  after  the  market? Yes,  I  do.  And  we're  bringing  back  the  talent  show. My  favorite. So  it'll  be  on  December  13. It'll  be  the  last  day  of  like  lecture, so  you'll  probably  be  finished  with  your  last  exam and  then  it'll  be  before  finals  week  starts. So  then  it's  like  a  good  in between  median  where  you're  kind  of  just  like  now. I  just  want  to  break  to  chill. Oh,  this  is  so  exciting. I  love  the  talent  show. Now,  do  you  have  to  be  like  super talented  to  be  a  part  of the  talent  show?  How  do  you  have  to  be? You  don't  need  to  be  good  at  all. This  is  just  so  people  can  just  come together  and  just  I  think  it'll  bring  up  the  morale. That's  the  point  like  watching  someone perform  gives  you  like  a  lot  of adrenaline  and  excitement  to  cheer  for  them. And  then  performing  for  someone gives  you  a  lot  of  adrenaline  and  excitement. I  think  it's  just  like  that  relationship and  strengthening  that  is  very  important. Now,  how  about  faculty  and  staff, Do  they  have  the  opportunity  to perform  or  is  this  just  for  students? This  is  for  like  staff  and  students. And  I  encourage  like  if you  have  any  talent,  like  it  could  be  a  skit, like  a  comedy  stand  up  or, or  if  you  do  sing  or  dance,  that  would  be  great. And  you  could  do  with  a  group  and  it  is  called  Raptors. Got  talent,  so  no  judges  though, but  just  the  idea  that  like,  oh, you  can  literally  do  anything,  right?  Right. Oh,  that's  great.  So  two  big  new  events for  us  this  fall  thanks  to  RSA.  That's  terrific. Is  there  anything  planned  by  you  and  your  faculty? Well,  I  think  the  faculty  and  staff  have  been really  aware  of  the  student  led  events. And  appreciative  of  those  like the  Ebony  Night  and  the  Monk  New  Year. And  I  know  there's  some  additional  student  club  events have  become  all  campus  events. But  we  do  have  our  traditional  classic  Halloween, and  this  needs  to  be  ever  more  competitive, and  faculty  and  staff  have  been  very  involved  in  that. And  then  in  the  spring,  there's  the  now  famous  Pie  Day. We'll  have  it  and  contests. So  just  depends  how  you spell  pie  with  the  E  or  without  out. But  we  want  to  expand  that  celebration  campus  wide, as  well  as  Groundhog  Day. Everybody's  favorite  like  will  winter  end? You  know,  and  we  already  know  now  that the  answer  is  no  break. Celebrate  that  little  road  in  anyway. So  as  you  know, we  try  to  do  things  that  are  a  little  bit  different. Just  as  in  our  education, we're  doing  things  differently  to  do  them  better. We're  coming  up  with  quirky  ideas and  we  welcome  any  student  input  on  that. What  is  your  favorite  pie? Oh,  I  have  to  go  with  coconut  cream. Pumcinut  Cream.  Yes.  Coca. How  that  dates?  Oh  well,  pie  day. I'll  see  you  there.  Yeah. How  about  you?  I  guess  because  fall  is  coming in  and  it's  almost  Thanksgiving after  our  Halloween,  sorry. But  pumpkin  pie,  I  don't  know. I  don't  cosco  pumpkin  pie  is  very  good. Okay.  Well,  well,  I  know  with  our  capstone  week, we  always  have  the  contest  to  see what's  the  favorite  cookie  at  UMR, but  maybe  we  should  do  a  favorite  pie  as  well. Yeah,  Well,  I  appreciate  you  talking  with me  today  and  the  other  days  as  well. As  we  approach  state  of  the  campus, we  will  be  bringing  in some  partners  in  addition  to  you  and RSA  to  talk  about the  good  things  that  are  happening  now for  UMR  and  for  our  students. And  some  of  the  plans  as  we  move  into  the  future, specifically  related  to  expanding  our  facilities. And  there'll  be  a  chance  for  input  from  students, faculty  and  staff  and our  community  partners  and we're  really  looking  forward  to  that. Thanks.  Hope  you  have  a  great  afternoon  too. Thank  you  so  much  for  having  me. You've  got  five  for  now.  Hi. Thank  you  for  listening  to  Beyond  the  Nest. Umar's  alumni  podcast. Beyond  the  Nest  is  produced  by Umar  Marketing  and  Communications  in  collaboration  with UMR  Alumni  Relations  and  edited  by Dante  Fumo.  See  you  next  time.