Andrew Kienholz ’22

Marketing graduate and role model for resiliency

Bright in spirit, confidant, approachable – this is how people describe Andrew Kienholz now, and that’s certainly how he presented himself at the podium delivering his commencement speech in December 2022.

Meeting him today, you’d never imagine he would have described himself the following way as he entered university life just a few years ago:

“I was lost, I was uncertain, but most importantly I was afraid to ask for help,” Kienholz wrote in his graduation speech in December 2022. “I convinced myself, based on my performance, that I was too dumb for college – that I must not be cut out for higher education. So, I joined the Army eager to find success somewhere else.”

Kienholz had received an academic warning due to what he described as poor performance. He had needed help and hadn’t asked for it, and the result was a somewhat meandering path through school. He attended Minnesota State Mankato for a year, which didn’t go well academically. That’s when he joined the Army National Guard and was deployed to Egypt for a year. Afterward, he went back to the University, and then he was deployed again to Africa his senior year.

“My path through college was definitely unique,” he said.

During the middle of that journey, however, Kienholz had managed to turn things around with his academic performance. About six months after he returned from his first tour, “on a cold day in December just before Christmas,” he attended a presentation by his platoon sergeant whom he described as one of the “scariest individuals that I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.” The talk changed Kienholz’s life.

“This champion of a man spoke to us on a topic that he entitled, ‘Mind Traps’: a mental state of entrapment where self-perception of our capabilities is skewed by past mistakes and failures. And he shared stories of his personal struggles with failure and selfdoubt, but he said, ‘Your failures don't define you! But what you learn from them, that does.’”

That lesson became a connective thread through the rest of his academic career and beyond. It’s OK to fall down, he told the commencement audience. Get back up and ask for help. And that’s what he did.

The faculty at Minnesota State Mankato were more than willing to offer guidance once he reached out for it. He became a mar- keting major in the College of Business and got heavily involved in activities. He was a founding member of the College of Business Student Executive Team (SET) and became chairperson the second year. He was also in the Marketing Club, Entrepreneur Club and the Professional Selling Club, and he took his coursework seriously.

“I had a lot of help and a lot of support through my entire career in college, and SET gave me the opportunity to help other students,” said Kienholz, who began working as a payer relations manager at United Health Group in Minneapolis in February. “I really loved being part of the team. There’s a lot of value being involved in extracurricular activities. You get to practice what you’re learning and set yourself up for success.”

Shane Bowyer, Ed.D., had Kienholz in the United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience (IBE) class and the Henze Ag Innovators program, which is a select group of students who are interested in developing leadership skills and exploring food and agricultural careers. Bowyer witnessed firsthand Kienholz’s personal growth.

“In IBE, he came in a little quiet, a little unsure. But by the end of the semester he was starting to become a leader, and then in the next few years he really took off from there,” Dr. Bowyer said. “Then in Henze Ag Innovators later, he just blossomed and really became a leader across campus.”

Today, the young man Kienholz described himself as in the first part of his speech is unrecognizable.

“He’s one of those guys who’s so approachable. He’s always got that smile on his face,” Dr. Bowyer said. “He’s truly engaging. He listens, he’s very curious, and he asks a lot of questions – good questions – and that invites you in to engage with him even more.”