NDSU alum and lifelong friends reunite on campus
Although 10 years have passed, the laughter, memories and bonds felt just as fresh as ever when a group of friends and NDSU alum reunited on campus where it all began.
Shane Gibbons, marketing and sales, and wife Megan Gibbons, social studies education and business administration; Amy Faller, zoology; Malaya Schneider, accounting; Brianna Petersen, pharmacy; Ted Kohorst, biology education, and wife Jen Kohorst, nursing; Joe Fritzjunker, industrial engineering and management; Kim Keith, finance, and husband Ryan Keith, mechanical engineering; Dalton Hanson, animal sciences, and wife Emily Hanson, radiologic sciences, along with their kids and spouses all gathered for a picture in front of the Bison statue last month to celebrate their reunion.
The friend group met while living in their dorm rooms in Pavek and Reed/Johnson Halls during their first year at NDSU. Since graduating, they have each moved on to careers and building their families, only seeing each other at occasional gatherings throughout the years.
Their recent visit to campus marked more than just a trip down memory lane, it was a celebration of the place that brought them together.
Among the most memorable moments during their time at NDSU was hanging out in West Dining Center to have “family dinners” together.
“We were just a bunch of college kids figuring out what we were doing on our own now and we’d meet every night, sit at the same big round table laughing, catching up and just being together. Those nights set the foundation for friendships that have lasted over a decade,” Jen Kohorst said.
“Snow day sledding, game nights filled with Risk and Pictionary-turned-Telephone and spontaneous late-night walks across campus were all part of the magic too. It really felt like we had built a little family of our own at NDSU.”
That tight-knit community feel is one of the things Jen Kohorst said the friend group loves most about NDSU.
“Our favorite thing about NDSU was how it felt like home. Between the Bison football games, supportive faculty and all the events happening in the union, there was always something that brought people together,” she said.
“We received a great education at a great value, but it was the relationships and opportunities that really made NDSU special. Living in nearby apartments with friends just across the hall made everything feel connected and close-knit. Now, coming back with our spouses and kids, there’s something incredibly special about walking the same paths we once did as students — this time pointing out our favorite hangouts and swapping stories. The nostalgia hits in the best way and being able to share that with our own families makes it feel full circle.”
While everyone in the friend group couldn’t make the trip back to campus this year, Jen Kohorst said they’re all looking forward to reconnecting on campus again soon.
“Once a bison, always a bison. We hope to all come back again one day.”