By Amanda Duchsherer
Digital Communication Specialist
amanda.duchsherer@minotstateu.edu
MINOT, N.D. – Nicole Anderson didn’t take the conventional route to Minot State. Instead, after one year at university, she traveled the country, became a mom, and founded a business.
“You have one idea of what your path is in high school. I’m going to move to New York and I’m going to live in a loft and go into marketing and work for Neiman Marcus – that’s what I honestly thought,” she said. “That’s what I thought would make me happy and I did it. I moved to New York.”
While she missed the “human element” of the Midwest, Anderson continued her travels before landing back in Dickinson. It was there she got her first taste of human services, working at ABLE, Inc.
“As a single mom with a new baby, it was my first job in the field, and it was never something I saw myself doing,” she said. “Obviously, I was very wrong, and it ended up being the best job. I loved forming those relationships with the individuals. I mean, they are amazing. It was just something that I flourished in.”
It still took several years before she finally found herself pursuing her degree in human services: intellectual and development disabilities at Minot State University while working as a paraprofessional at Dickinson Public Schools.
To better support her daughter, she first had to walk away from the human services career field.
“I worked my way up in the oilfield. I actually opened up a safety training business in Dickinson, so I went out to the rigs,” she said. “I traveled all over North Dakota as a woman in the oilfield teaching OSHA and SafeLand, but there was always something missing.”
That missing piece was a career in human services.
“Life happens, and I just never finished college, so in 2017 I thought, you know what, this is the time,” she said. “I’m married, we’re more secure, this is the time to get back to what I love – and that is human services and working with individuals with disabilities,” she said. “I started the process of researching, found the program at Minot, and started that while working again in the field, and here we are.
“Minot State is the top in this field, so it was a no brainer. The fact that I could do it all online because I couldn’t stop life and go on campus, it was just perfect. I have to say, it has been an amazing experience.”
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: 05/27/20
