In a ceremony held on Thursday evening, April 29, 2011, the University of 
Minnesota, Crookston Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) Honor Society welcomed some 30 new members. Brian Dingmann, Ph.D., the society’s faculty advisor welcomed the initiates and their guests and introduced the evening’s speaker Rand Rassmussen, Ph.D., director of the Academic Assistance Center on the campus.
Initiates for 2011 included Levi Atinda, Maple, Grove; Steffanie Berg, Crookston, Minn.; Jenna Blace, Saginaw, Minn.; Tiffany Breth, Albany, Minn.; Kourtney Brevik, Erskine, Minn.; Alex Buscher, Merrifield, Minn.; Anne Carlson, Fort Ransom, N.D.; Taryn Davis, Wahkon, Minn.; Megan Denver, Grand Rapids, Minn.; Merran Dingmann, Crookston, Minn.; Adam Drinkall, Lanesboro, Minn.; Shandy Flaagan, Aneta, N.D.; Robert Guetter, Miltona, Minn.; Kelly Gustofson, Hermantown, Minn.; Erika Haug, Duluth, Minn.; Jake Heggem, Princeton, Minn.; Mark Jackson, Delta Junction, Ark.; Lucas Kelley, Minto, N.D.; Catlin Kersting, Cloquet, Minn.; Matthew Korhnak, Earlville, Ill.; Michael Krause, Moreno Valley, Calif.; Moysey Kutsev, Winger, Minn.; Quinton Liebl, Alexandria, Minn.; Victoria Martin, Worland, Wyo.; Mariah Melin, Brookston, Minn.; Hannah Nedrud, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Katie Nenn, Wyoming, Minn.; Amanda Overman, Lindenhurst, Ill.; Trista Pepper, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Mitchell Plaehn, Spring Valley, Minn.; Madelyn Pristanski, Geraldton, Ontario, Canada; Tori Rhode, Crookston, Minn.; Alex Skeeter, Milwaukee, Wis.; Shelly Sontag, Shoreview, Minn.; Â Karly Spohnholtz, Monticello, Minn.; Andrew Steinfeldt, Green Bay, Wis.; Denise Thompson, Rochester, N.Y.; Vayla Van Dyke, Edgerton, Minn.; Kolton Walker, Crookston, Minn.; Christopher Walton, Middle River, Minn.; Chelsea Wiesner, Rochester, Minn.; and Cheng Yu, Hangzhou, China.
Along with welcoming the new members, the society announced its new executive board for the 2011-12 academic year led by President Samantha Zuck, a sophomore from Jamestown, N.D., majoring in animal science.
Senior members of ALD were awarded cords and two members of the Honors Program on the Crookston campus received medallions. They were seniors Anna Wagner, a communication major from Brandon, Minn., and Heather Donati-Lewis, an equine science major from Narcoossee, Fla.
Eligibility for membership in the national honor society for first-year students is based on a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better during the first term or year of college while a student is enrolled full-time. Less than 20% of college freshman achieve this high level of academic performance.
