³ÉÈËÊÓƵ

feel for what it would be like to live on Mars are encouraged to participate in the South Dakota Space Design Competition at South Dakota State University March 8-9. The contest is part of an international event sponsored by Industry Simulation Education, which has been designing aerospace engineering contests since 1984, and is being hosted in South Dakota by ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ’s Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.

Three members of the South Dakota State University School of Design have completed a collaborative project with the Brookings School District. Instructor of landscape architecture Jeremiah Bergstrom and landscape architecture students Isabelle Plagge and Cerington Jones worked together to assist the Brookings schools.

Amy Verhelst, a 2013 early childhood education graduate from South Dakota State University and current Sioux Valley Elementary kindergarten teacher in Volga, was recognized as the 2025 South Dakota Teacher of the Year in September.

Two retired South Dakota State University nursing professors were honored by their college for lifetime achievements at a scholarship celebration on campus Oct. 25. Carol J. Peterson, 85, of Brookings, was the inaugural recipient of the College of Nursing's Living Legacy Award. She served as the dean of the ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ College of Nursing from 1977 to 1987, when she became the vice president for academic affairs, a position she held for 22 years. Lois Tschetter, 72, of Brookings, was honored with the College of Nursing’s annual Distinguished Service Award. Tschetter retired in 2019 after a 36-year career at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ.