Kittelson stays close to family roots
By Shalom Baer
University Communication Student Assistant
publicinformation@minotstateu.edu
MINOT, N.D. – Adrianna Kittelson, a sophomore at Minot State majoring in mathematics education, has been involved in band from as far back as she can remember. She’s from a family that’s involved in music, which caused her to become interested at an early age.
“I did band since you could, I think it was fifth grade I started. I’ve always been percussion,” she said.
Kittelson plays a variety of percussion instruments including drums, mallets, bells, and chimes. She is here at Minot State on a band scholarship.
“I had the same band teacher and choir teacher (in high school), and then my last year he retired so I had a new one. She actually came from Minot State, and she asked us if we wanted to go and try out for a scholarship for band; and I got a scholarship for here,” Kittelson said.
Band, especially the marching band, has helped Kittelson make friends in a university environment.
“I’ve made lot of friends through band. That helped me a lot when I first came here. Minot State is not a big school, but it’s big for me because I came from a small school,” Kittelson said. “I graduated with 25 people. I’m pretty sure I’m related to half the school (in Velva). My best friend was related to the other half, so it felt like the whole school was my family.”
Being surrounded by family is one of the reasons that Kittelson chose Minot State.
“I do like that it’s close to home. My family lives in Velva, my brother lives here, and my other brother lives in Burlington — 15 minutes from here — so all my family is from here. I really helps when I have flat tire or anything,” she said.
Another reason that Kittelson chose to attend Minot State rather than other universities in North Dakota is the quality of the education program.
“I originally wanted to go to Bismarck,” Kittelson said. “But they didn’t have as good of an education program as Minot. My first year, I did get to go out and observe some classes. At Bishop Ryan I observed algebra and calculus, so I did learn a lot from that.”
Kittelson decided to major in math education after realizing that while she was in school, other students would often ask for her assistance with math, and she plans to take her education and pass it on to students in a small education environment similar to the one she was raised in.
“I want to teach at a small school so I can interact with students more and know their names. I’m horrible with names,” she said. “I feel like at bigger schools, I’ve never been to one, but there are some moments where you can interact but not all of them know what you’re struggling with unless you go and talk to them, but in a small school they just know what you should work on.”
In addition to her involvement in band, Kittelson, who played volleyball, basketball, and ran in track in high school, now plays intramural volleyball at Minot State for fun.
“It’s really laid back,” she said. “There’s just one referee, and everyone is pretty good about something that’s out or not.”
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through
rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.
| Published: 12/03/18 |
