Alumni Spotlight: Tony Kessel ‘06

Tony Kessel earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in American History from Dickinson State University in 2006. He currently serves full-time with the New Mexico Army National Guard as the Operations Officer for the 515th Regional Training Institute. He lives in Albuquerque, NM, with his wife, April, and their five children: Clinton, Tommy, Seth, Aubrey, and Avery.

Kessel chose Dickinson State for its proximity to his hometown, Belfield, North Dakota, but little did he know that DSU would become the place where some of the most formative experiences of his life would unfold. From his first romantic relationship to joining Student Senate, discovering his faith, participating in CRU and Pacesetters, attending campus events, and forming lifelong friendships, DSU offered opportunities he could never have anticipated. He also holds the unique distinction of being the second person in school history to live in all three residence halls. He began in Selke Hall as a freshman, served as a Resident Advisor in DeLong Hall through his sophomore, junior, and senior years. Later he returned as Resident Director for Woods Hall in his first professional role after graduation.

Looking back, Kessel says life would have been very different at a larger university. At DSU, opportunities were tangible, and students’ voices mattered. He recalls working with his Student Senate team and DSU administration on events and initiatives and seeing the real impact of their efforts. During his time at DSU, he was heavily involved in Student Senate, culminating in his presidency from 2005 to 2006.

Today, Kessel continues to honor DSU traditions, particularly the painting of the Hawk Rock. He explains that the Hawk Rock is a key part of campus history. Before 1972, Dickinson State’s mascot was the “Savages,” which was later changed to the “Blue Hawks” to better reflect sensitivity to the indigenous people central to North Dakota history. With the change, some traditions, such as the Homecoming Chief and Princess, were retired.

The idea for the Hawk Rock was first researched in 2002. When Kessel became Student Senate President in 2005, he and his team, alongside Senate Advisor Dr. Hal Haynes, worked to bring the tradition to life. After most of the year spent securing approval, the tradition officially launched in April 2006.

Kessel notes that the Hawk Rock was intended to promote campus events and friendly rivalries across North Dakota. Visiting Dickinson this summer, he stopped to paint the rock with his kids and explain the tradition. “My Senate and I used to joke about returning just to keep the tradition alive,” he says. “If I’m allowed a shameless promotion: paint the rock, people! You haven’t truly lived until you’ve found ways to keep aerosol cans from freezing in -20° January temperatures.”

Kessel joined the North Dakota National Guard as a sophomore in 2004. After graduating, he completed Officer Candidate School to become an engineer officer. Over the course of his career, he has applied his skills to respond to three flood activations, including the historic 2009 flooding across North Dakota, Southwest border road improvements, Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico, COVID-19 response efforts, and a deployment to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in 2011–2012.

Tony Kessel is also a published author. His first publications were on campus with DSU Impressions Magazine, where he had seven poems and short stories published after encouragement from English professor Dr. Solheim. Reflecting on his creative journey, Kessel describes himself as an author, lyricist, and musician. His book, It’s All In The Lyrics: How Music Helped Me Heal and Find My Voice, is a music memoir in which he built a personal soundtrack, one song per day for a year. He hopes to use this vulnerability to write and record music through his production company, Dualist Media. The memoir also allowed him to revisit his DSU years, reliving the experiences that shaped him and prepared him for life beyond college.

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By Alician Parks, DSU HF Student Writer