From the Editor

After reading a story about her community leadership in response to the coronavirus pandemic, I knew I wanted to interview Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, for a potential feature in this issue.

I’d first read about Dr. Mayer back in 2017, when she testified before the United Nations on the issue of human trafficking and widespread abuse of Native American women. At the time I was working on a project with the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS), where Monica earned her medical degree. The SMHS has since introduced the world’s first Ph.D. program in Indigenous Health. More recently, the SMHS announced that, thanks in part to its INMED program, for the third-straight year it is the nation’s top producer of American Indian physicians. Dr. Mayer is a product of the premier medical education obtained right here at UND, and as you’ll read, she has put her education and experience to work in helping so many people.

I can’t help but think about Dr. Mayer’s embodiment of UND’s “brand pillars” – the building blocks that define who we are: She is a doer who is always ready to make an impact on her people and her home in North Dakota.

Those values make UND special, and I see them reflected in her and the rest of the alumni featured in this magazine. Every one of our Sioux Award and Young Alumni Achievement Award winners; author Larry Watson, ’70, ’72; critical care nurse Caleb Behm, ’17; neurologist, writer, pilot and researcher Billy Hoffman, ’15, and so many others make the University of North Dakota’s story worth telling.

Alyssa Konickson, ’06 Editor, UND Alumni Magazine

P.S. At the time of printing, many of our in-person fall events had recently been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit us at UNDalumni.org or on social media for ongoing event updates.