More Than a Mission

Ciara Houser (Class of 2019, Spanish) took the opportunities she was given at NDSU to find the perfect career that combines Spanish and dentistry. As a recipient of the John and Susan Wold International Study Scholarship, she was able to spend 17 weeks in Costa Rica, immersing herself in Spanish classes and the local culture. While there, she even completed a dental internship.

“My time in Costa Rica was breathtaking. It really opened my mind to what I could do with my life. Because I got to have this experience of providing life-changing services, I’m so excited to become a dentist and incorporate mission work into my practice.”

Ciara Houser, recipient of the John and Susan Wold International Study Scholarship

Margaret and her husband, Hugh Veit ’79, established the Eleanor S. Fitzgerald Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship to support NDSU students earning advanced degrees in the Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences or the Department of Human Development and Family Science.

Core areas of home economics remain part of current NDSU degree programs such as accounting; apparel, retail merchandising, and design; education; family and consumer science; financial planning; human development and family science; interior design; and nutrition science.

Home economics programs opened doors, particularly for women, to earn college degrees and pursue careers in education, Extension, state and federal government, business and industry, health care, and more. NDAC listed domestic economy as one of its courses in its founding year, 1890.

Established by Dr. Teresa Conner, dean of the NDSU College of Health and Human Sciences, and co-chaired by Dr. Margaret Fitzgerald ’83 and Col. Esther Meyers ’75, the Wisdom Keepers provide support and share their knowledge and expertise with students, faculty, staff, and leadership in the College.

The home management house at NDAC was the first facility built on a college campus specifically for home management practice. In 1954, it was named in honor of Alba Bales, the first female academic dean at NDAC.