At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 10: Veronica Veaux

Veronica Veaux is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration – Entrepreneurship at  Bemidji State University.  She is citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and mother to four children. She currently pursuing a PhD in the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University where she is an alumna of the MBA in American Indian Entrepreneurship program. Veronica is co-owner of DomiNative Development, LLC and serves on various boards and committees in the Bemidji Area.

At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 9: Coach Chelsea DeVille

Chelsea DeVille was hired as the 10th head coach in the history of the Bemidji State women’s basketball program June 5, 2015 and begins her fifth season in 2019-20.

DeVille guided the women’s basketball program to the second round of the NSIC Tournament for the first time since the 2003-04 season with its biggest upset in program history over No. 1 seed Concordia-St. Paul, 73-70, on the road. Sophomore center Taylor Bray finished the season 11th in the NSIC in free throw percentage while sophomore Brooklyn Bachmann also ranked 11th in steals per game. Freshman guard Trinity Myer paced BSU and ranked 21st in the NSIC with 2.4 assists per game. Five Beaver student-athletes were selected to the 2018-19 Winter NSIC All-Academic Team, the second-most for the program under DeVille.

In 2017-18, freshman Brooklyn Bachmann became the first Beaver under DeVille to earn a spot on the NSIC All-Freshman Team. Bachmann led the team and all NSIC freshmen with 12.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Three Beavers also earned a spot on the 2017-18 Winter NSIC All-Academic Team, including senior Sierra Senske, junior Haley Zerrand sophomore McKayla Scheuer. Senske finished her career under DeVille as the program’s eighth-leading scoring all-time and holds the program record in free throw attempts and free throw conversions.

DeVille saw seniors Aimee Pelzer and Tatum Sheley, and junior Sierra Senske all jump into the 1,000-point club during her second season with the Beavers. DeVille guided Pelzer to the All-NSIC First Team, the first such instance for BSU since 2008, while also helping the squad to its most conference wins since the 2013-14 season. BSU shot over 40 percent from the field for the first time since the 2009-10 season and tallied the most assists since 2007-08. Seven student-athletes were selected to the2016-17 Winter Academic All-NSIC Team.

In her first season as head coach the Beavers finished with a 7-20 overall record and a 3-19 conference record. The team finished the season with a 7-8 record at home in the Bemidji State Gymnasium. DeVille’s offense boasted the third highest three-point percentage in the conference when they shot .345 from behind the arc. One of the main contributors was juniot guard Aimee Pelzer who averaged 2.3 three-pointers per game and shot .399 from three. The women’s basketball team had four players named to the2015-16 Winter NSIC All-Academic Team.

DeVille comes to Bemidji State after serving on the University of Sioux Falls women’s basketball coaching staff since 2009. Following a year as graduate assistant under head coach Travis Traphagen, she was promoted to assistant coach beginning with the 2010-11 season and served in that capacity until she was elevated to associate head coach following the 2013-14 campaign.

While at USF, DeVille helped the Cougars to an overall record of 111-64 during a transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. A NAIA powerhouse, USF posted a school-record 27 wins en route to a trip to the NAIA Elite Eight in 2010-11. Since making the transition to the NCAA, the Cougars have made two consecutive trips to the NSIC postseason tournament, which included a 17-10 mark in 2014-15. In addition to assisting in offensive game strategies and leading the Cougars’ defense and substitutions on game day, DeVille was the driving force behind USF’s recruiting efforts, she oversaw the team’s academic progress, was responsible for scouting the opposition, film breakdown, travel and the university’s youth basketball camps.

In addition to her work with the women’s basketball program, DeVille was active on the university’s NCAA compliance review committee, was a member of USF’s education department selection committee, served as an instructor and was a leader for the Cougar’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle.

A 2009 graduate of Augustana College, DeVille was a four-year starter and letterwinner for the Vikings and earned North Central Conference Freshman of the Year laurels in 2006. DeVille earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from Augustana and a master’s degree in educational leadership from USF.

A native of Watertown, S.D., DeVille, was a Miss Basketball South Dakota finalist and two-time all-state selection as a prep.

At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 7: Rachel Munson

Bemidji native Rachel Munson, digital communications specialist at Bemidji State University, graduated cum laude from BSU in 2015 with a degree in history and the humanities. While attending BSU she primarily studied medieval Scandinavian culture with a focus on archaeology, poetry and women’s history.

Immediately after graduating, Rachel moved to North Georgia to work as an outfitter on the Appalachian Trail (AT), where she worked for renowned AT entrepreneur, Georganna (George) Seamon. In the male-dominated field of wilderness outfitting, Rachel assisted George at outdoor gear trade shows, conferences and business presentations. She launched her career in marketing when she accepted the position of marketing and outreach coordinator at Harmony Natural Foods Coop in Bemidji in the Fall of 2015.

Rachel is also the volunteer congressional district leader for the ONE Campaign, an international organization co-founded by rock-band U2’s Bono that is dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty. She works closely with other ONE volunteers encouraging state and national policy-makers to take action for the world’s poorest and has lobbied on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. with ONE’s core policy teams.

An avid outdoorswoman, medievalist and activist, Rachel has found herself fortunate to work with powerful female role-models at the local and national levels.

 

At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 6: Melissa Hunt

Melissa Hunt (#5) – BSU Women’s Hockey team captain

Melissa (Missy) Hunt has appeared in 140 games for the green and white throughout her four-year career and the captain for the 2018-19 season, Missy has totaled 14 points off of four goals and 10 assists in her career including five assists this season. Missy is a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team selection and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team her freshman season. She graduated with a degree in Nursing and plans to take the NCLEX exam in the summer and begin a nursing internship soon after.

Team Information
This past season, the Beavers Finished 5th in the WCHA with an overall record of 13-21-2 and a WCHA record of 10-12-2. The Beavers also had success in the classroom – with a league leading 14 WCHA Scholar Athletes.

 

At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 5: Coach Amber Fryklund

The 2019-20 season will be the ninth season with the Bemidji State women’s Hockey program for Amber Fryklund and her fourth season as the Associate Head Coach.

Under Fryklund’s guidance, the Bemidji State program has piled up two 20-win seasons and advanced to the WCHA Final Face-Off Championship game. Under her tutelage, BSU has produced a national team player, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, seven All-WCHA awards, and two All-American awards.

Fryklund instructs the Beavers’ forwards and penalty killing unit along with video breakdown, recruiting, team travel and academics. Fryklund knows the Bemidji State University hockey program well and is the school’s all-time leading scorer after tallying 122 points from 2000-03. Fryklund helped lay the groundwork for the Bemidji State women’s hockey program in its infancy. She became the first women’s player to surpass the 100-point milestone and remains the school’s leader in both points and goals scored and is second all-time in assists. Fryklund was also BSU’s first All-Western College Hockey Association selection with a second team nod following the 2001-02 season.

Prior to returning to Bemidji State University, Fryklund spent seven years teaching physical education to student’s grades five through eight at the Marshall School and Duluth Public Schools Academy, both in Duluth, Minn.  Fryklund received her Bachelor of Science degree in physical education teaching K-12 from Bemidji State in 2003. She received her Master’s degree in educational leadership from University of Minnesota Duluth in 2007 and will complete her Doctorate of Education degree in higher education administration in June 2019.

At the Heart of Women’s Excellence Episode 2: Dr. Debbie Guelda

Dr. Debbie Guelda became a member of Bemidji State University’s Aquatic Biology Program in 2001.  Due, in part, to her initiative and vision, Aquatic Biology has become one of the premier programs at BSU.  More recently, Dr. Guelda was awarded a second term as director of the Center for Professional Development and has quickly and efficiently increased the scope and effectiveness of this faculty-driven organization. In the past few years, Dr. Guelda has become director of the Community Engagement Council, co-director of the Teaching and Learning Center, and a peer-reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.  Dr. Guelda was very involved with Strategic Planning as a part of the steering committee, the HLC reaccreditation procedure, and the Master Academic Plan.  Dr. Guelda created the BSU Today! mini-conference, the Biology Learning Center, and initiated the Pop-up Food Shelves found across campus.  Dr. Guelda is sought after by students, faculty, and administration due to her unceasing energy and infectious enthusiasm.  Dr. Guelda has a master’s of science degree in biology and a doctorate in environmental ecology, both from the University of Louisville.