Dakota State Alumni Association                           Board of Directors

Jona Schmidt has been Executive Director of the Alumni Association since 1995. She is married to DSU alum Rick Schmidt, Class of 1971, and has two daughters, Dawn Semrau and Allie Shuck, and a grandson Harrison Semrau.

bachelor of business administration in marketing and an associate degree in business administration. She is currently a marketing assistant for the Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society.  While at DSU, Becky was an office assistant for DSU athletics and also worked as an assistant in the Foundation office.  She also participated in the band and jazz band programs.

Dave Geiver graduated from Dakota State College in 1982. While at Dakota State Dave played football. He is the Vice President of Technology at Premier Bankcard in Sioux Falls, SD. Dave and wife Terri and their family live in rural Brandon.

Dwayne “Jake” Jacobson is a Salem native and graduated from Dakota State in 1970 with a degree in education.  On campus Jake was a resident advisor in Higbie Hall, and president of the union board from 1967-1969.  He was also chairman of the Higbie float building committee from 1967-1969.  Jake has been with Brown and Saenger in Sioux Falls for 16 years, and in commission sales for a total of 33 years.  He served as mayor of Garretson for 2 years, was on the town council, and was president of the Garretson Land Acquisition Development Corporation.  Jake met Shirley Christensen at Dakota State and they married in 1971.  They have two children, Matt, Class of 2000, and Amanda. 

Shirley Christensen Jacobson is a native of Baltic and a 1970 graduate of Dakota State with a degree in elementary education.  She was homecoming queen in 1969, and was active in campus organizations.  Shirley taught in Adrian, MN, Montrose and Garretson, retiring in 2003 after 33 years in education.  She stays busy as a substitute teacher and with her hobbies of gardening, traveling, and antiquing.  Shirley met Dwayne Jacobson at Dakota State and they married in 1971.  They have two children, Matt, Class of 2000, and Amanda. 

Doug Jerlow graduated from Dakota State in 1970. He is the owner and president of Kundert-Williams Insurance Agency in Madison, SD. He and wife Carolyn have lived in Madison since 1970 and have a home at Lake Madison. They have two children: Jennifer and family live in Buffalo, MN; Chris lives in Madison and works at Kundert-Williams.

After serving 3 years in the Army, he attended DSU from 1975 to 1979 and graduated with a degree in business administration, and associates in accounting and small business and retail management. While a student, Mike served two years on student senate, was vice president of the student association, and served on numerous committees and was active in many clubs. In 1980 Mike was accepted in the MBA Program at USD and completed 2 semesters of study.  From 1980-84 he worked as a merchandise manager for JC Penney. From 1984-88 he was enrolled at DSU in the new Information Systems Degree Program.  He graduated with a degree in information systems, and associate degrees in application programming and business management. During that time frame he also served two years on student senate and was vice president of the student association. Again he was on numerous committees and was active in many clubs. Mike became a Citibank Executive Intern and upon graduation, accepted a management position in the Citibank Data Center. He spent 12 years at Citibank in various management positions. For the past 9 years he has been employed as an IT manager for Specialized Cards, which was bought out by Household, which was bought out by HSBC. He and his wife of 25 years, Linda, live on the golf course at Lake Madison. They have one daughter, Mindy and a granddaughter, Rylee. 

Lorin Larsen graduated from Dakota State College in 1984 with a degree in retail and small business management. He lives in Madison and has four children, Kelsi, Kristin, Logan and Jordan. Lorin is the station manager at KJAM radio in Madison.

Sarah Linneman graduated from DSU in 2004 with a degree in management information systems and minors in CIS and CEX. She is originally from Estelline, SD and is currently living in Sioux Falls, SD and works for Deloitte Consulting LLP. Sarah was the student senate vice president her senior year at DSU. She was also involved in many other clubs and organizations including Phi Beta Lambda, Delta Mu Delta, concert band, and jazz band.

Chris Thames is from Lake City, SD.  He graduated from Dakota State in 2003 with a degree in information systems and e-commerce and three minors.  He graduated from DSU in 2008 with a masters degree in information systems. Chris is currently working at DAKOTACARE as an IT Analyst in Sioux Falls, where he also lives.

Joyce Welbon graduated from General Beadle State Teachers College in 1962 with a degree in secondary education with a major in English. While on campus she was part of the band, chorus, drama club, and MSM. Joyce represented South Dakota at the MSM Christian Citizenship Seminar for Students at the U.N. in New York City and in Washington D.C.  Joyce taught in Brookings, Highmore, the Flandreau Indian School, and Madison High School. She retired in 1998 and continues to substitute at MHS. She and husband, Clair, have four grown children and three grand children. She has spent many years working with the Boy Scouts of America, Methodist Church and other volunteer organizations. She lives with her husband on the family farm in rural Madison.

Callie Wockenfuss attended DSU from 1979 to 1981.  During her years spent at Dakota State, she was a residence hall assistant in Emery Hall, third floor.  She also participated in Host Corps, Student Activities Board, and during the summer months worked in the Career Services Office with Tom Maurer and Sandy Davidson.  Callie’s undergrad degree is in elementary education with a coaching endorsement.  She received her Master’s of Business Administration Degree from the University of Sioux Falls.  After having taught in the Flandreau School District for a number of years, Callie took the position of Executive Director of East Central CASA in Brookings.  She eventually left that position to assume her current position as Marketing and Promotions Director at the Lakes Community near Lake Madison.  There, she also manages the restaurant, golf course and RV resort.  She is married to Gene Wockenfuss, DSU Athletic Director, and they have six children and four grandchildren. 

Gene Wockenfuss graduated from Dakota State University in 1983 with a degree in secondary education. On campus Gene participated in football. Gene has taught/coached at the high school and college level for 20+ years. Gene has three boys: Cory, Kyle, and Cody. Gene served as the Head Football Coach at DSU in 2002 & 2003 and presently is the Director of Athletics for Dakota State.