How Do They Do It? TRHLP Students in the Community and the Classroom

At Dickinson State University (DSU), there is one group of students who consistently go above and beyond for others. The students in the Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program (TRHLP) volunteer in the Dickinson community, participate in DSU campus activities, and earn a minor in Leadership all while balancing a rich student life, off-campus jobs, athletics, and of course earning their bachelor’s degree. Observers often wonder how the TRHLP members can fit everything they do into a 24-hour day, so the DSU Heritage Foundation (DSU HF) met with a few of the members to learn their secret.

Top- Left to Right: Emma Welch, Tana Duncan, Mia Handran Bottom- Left to Right: Jaydin Sabol, Emma Brantley, Benett Carlson

Many of the TRHLP students are from the area, like junior Benett Carlson, who grew up in Dickinson and learned about the program through a social media campaign, or junior Emma Welch who was considering DSU’s education program seriously before sending in her application. DSU feels like a “home away from home” immediately for sophomore Mia Handran, who visits her family in Montana regularly. Other members travel from much farther away, like Jaydin Sabol who was recruited from California onto the Blue Hawk Softball team and recommended to the TRHLP by her coaches, or freshman Tana Duncan, who first learned about DSU and the TRHLP at a college fair near her home in Canada.

“Until I moved here my freshman year, I had never been to Dickinson before, so TRHLP was a great way to meet people and get connected. TRHLP gave me opportunities to meet other students and faculty and to participate in meaningful volunteer work outside the university,” recalled senior TRHLP member Emma Brantley. From near and far, these students take the leap into higher education with confidence because they know a program full of equally dedicated students are waiting for them at DSU. 

The TRHLP serves the Dickinson community in many ways, and over the years some events have become favorites for the members. During Yuletyme Mia and Emma B. enjoy meeting scholarship sponsors face-to-face and practicing their networking skills. Benett and Emma W. are both fond of Boo Hawks, where they spend most of a Saturday creating an extravagant Halloween experience for Dickinson youth and families. When they are not at a large event, TRHLP members are still out and about in the community, either working, volunteering, or taking on other DSU-related roles. “I have never heard of a program that allows you to be this active in your community and allows you to build upon your leadership skills and who you are as a person,” said Benett Carlson, who works every afternoon at Bravera Bank and assists in an annual fundraiser and youth pheasant hunt. Mia competes for the Blue Hawk cross-country and track program, volunteers at the Southwest Art Gallery and Science Center, is a DSU Resident Assistant, and has started a custom patchwork clothing business. Emma W. is the on-campus host for DSU’s Hawk Talk and the president of the Student Education Association (SEA) while working part-time at a daycare and volunteering with Best Friends Mentoring.

While staying active in the community the TRHLP members are enrolled in a wide range of degrees at DSU and must stay on top of their courses. The courses for their minor in Leadership bring the group back under one roof to explore leadership values and tactics. These classes are where many of the TRHLP learn about leadership styles, and about programs’ namesake Theodore Roosevelt. Tana enjoys the time spent in the lectures getting to know her fellow members through lively debates, while Emma W. and Jaydin are still thinking about a guest speaker’s lecture on the representation of cowboys in leadership. Knowing it would be an important skill as a future educator, Emma B. used the encouragement from her peers in a course to overcome her nervousness about public speaking.

So, what makes the TRHLP so unique that the members are willing to accomplish a set number of volunteer hours in a year while balancing work, athletics, an education with an increased course load, and enjoying their time as a Blue Hawk? According to Emma W. it all comes down to the support received from DSU faculty and staff, the Dickinson community, and her fellow TRHLP members. Mia can’t wait to introduce future TRHLP members to the experience, advising them to “take a leap and try things. Every attempt is a step toward figuring out the person you want to be. Trying new things is the only way to truly discover the best ways to serve others. Be brave and get involved.”

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Written by Sarah Griffis – DSU HF Content Writer