Sport Sciences Department -Northern State University

09/07/2026

🇺🇸 Taking a moment to celebrate and honor the hard work, dedication, and contributions that make a difference in our community every single day.

Happy Labor Day from Northern State ! 🐺

09/04/2026

🐺Student Spotlight: Matt Scepaniak

This weeks spotlight is Matt Scepaniak. Matt is currently a grad student working towards his masters degree for NSU and received his Bachelor's degree this may. Over the summer Matt competed in a powerlifting meet. The powerlifting consists on 3 different lifts bench press, deadlifts, and squats.

Matt explains that he "did the competition for fun".

Fun Fact: Matt was in the Military for 10 years.

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

09/02/2026

🐺 Alumni Spotlight: Emmahleigh Cass

Emmahleigh is from Sturgis, South Dakota and is a recent 2026 grad with her Bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Administration: Leadership along with minors in Coaching and Mathematics. She is also seeking a second Master's degree in Secondary Education

As Emmahleigh reflects on her time at Northern she says this:

"Northern has provided me opportunities I didn’t know that I needed. I have gained friends, experiences, life lessons, education, and memories from the last four years that I am humbly grateful for. It’s not lost on me how much Northern and the Aberdeen community have given me! "

09/01/2026

📊 Department Spotlight:

Minds Matters PLLC is partnering with Northern State University on an innovative project focused on improving brain health services for individuals experiencing ongoing effects from concussions and other cognitive challenges.

NSU student Grace Kuch is helping with the project while gaining hands-on experience in research, marketing, data organization, community outreach, and healthcare innovation.

From Grace:
"I really enjoyed meeting with a group of women who are so knowledgeable and passionate about the brain. It was easy to see how genuinely interested everyone is in research and in making an impact on a larger group of people. I especially thought it was really interesting that they wanted to focus on concussions in female athletes because this is still an understudied area. I love that the research is focused on something that could have a meaningful impact on female athletes and help us better understand their experiences. Overall, I’m really excited to be working with Mind Matters and getting to learn from all of the amazing women involved!"

This partnership will help expand brain health services, support student workforce development, and position Aberdeen as a leader in rural brain health innovation.

08/28/2026

🐺 Student Spotlight: Jacoby Boykins

Jacoby Boykins is from Houston, Texas and is proud to be a part of the wolf pack at Northern State University.

Jacobys major is Sports Administration/ Communication Studies and he is a member of the NSU football team. Over the summer Jacoby was selected to take part in the NCAA sport forum. The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum is a four-day program designed to help college student-athletes grow as leaders on their team/campuses. "The forum brings together hundreds of student-athletes, and administrators from across the country to dive deep into personal values, core leadership, and the broader side of collegiate athletics".

Reflecting on his experience:
"Attending the NCAA Leadership Forum was truly a blessing. Buying into this experience really gave me everything I wanted from there. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, allowing me to connect with incredible peers/athletes from all over the country, who were very much like minded and gave me a fresh perspective on what it means to lead with intention both in sports and in life."

Fun fact: Jacoby did yoga while he was there

08/27/2026

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08/26/2026

🐺Alumni Spotlight: Drew Smith

Drew was a member of the volleyball team and is a proud Northern alumni who graduated in 2016 with her Bachelor's degree in psychology. Then graduated in the accelerated nursing program at Allen college with her BSN in 2017. Drew is now a nurse at Duke University Hospital.

Drews greatest love, accomplishment, and goal is her 5 month old son, Finn. She also has two dogs (black dog is Marlo, white dog is Rye.

Reflecting on her time at northern Drew shares:

“Hard to believe it’s been ten years since I graduated from Northern. I look back with so much gratitude for the person and life it helped me build. Northern gave me the opportunity to play the sport I love, work toward my nursing degree, and build lifelong friendships. I feel privileged to continue doing what I love working as a nurse, and I’m especially proud to see Northern now offering a nursing program of its own. It’s exciting to know future students can pursue nursing at Northern while experiencing the same community, growth, and opportunities that made my time so meaningful. The lessons I learned through my time at Northern—resilience, teamwork, leadership, and commitment—have stayed with me far beyond the court. Go Wolves!”

08/24/2026

Happy First day of school Wolves! 🐺

The start of a new semester means new goals, new opportunities, and plenty of memories to make. Here's to a great year !! Go Wolves !