Mackenzie Grubbs, a senior who is almost finished with her bachelor’s degree at Dickinson State University (DSU), grew up on a ranch in Northeast Wyoming. She calls the little town of Upton ‘home.’ The ranch, which has been passed down through her family for generations, holds a pretty special place in her heart. As a kid on a ranch, most of her time was spent helping out with chores, and the little free time she did have was spent either on the volleyball or basketball court. She also ran track. In small schools, students are typically involved in everything they can be, and she was no different! Grubbs competed in all three sports in middle and high school, and, upon graduation, she was recruited to run for Chadron State in Nebraska.
While Grubbs appreciated the opportunity to compete on the collegiate level, Nebraska just didn’t feel like home. She’d had conversations with former DSU coach Nick Walker back in high school and decided to reach out to him. Grubbs said, “When I contacted Coach Walker again to see if I could still run for him, he had me on a recruiting trip that same week, and the rest is history.”
Grubbs is now an exercise science major studying within the professional track at DSU. While a Blue Hawk, she has spent her free time giving back to her campus and community. She serves as the Student Senate treasurer and has volunteered at local physical therapy clinics to get some experience in her field. She’s a teller at Dakota Community Bank and works part-time in DSU’s athletic training room in Wienbergen Hall. At the beginning of this school year, Grubbs joined the cast of the DSU Heritage Foundation’s Hawk Talk production as a co-host alongside classmate Colter Hickok. She enjoys spending her free time with her close friends and family, and she makes it home as much as she can.
Grubbs is set to graduate in May, and while it will be hard to say goodbye, Grubbs has made a lot of great connections that have made her time here incredible and will help her succeed after graduation. “There are so many great professors at DSU,” Grubbs said. “The [Health and Physical Education] department has a lot of small classes, so I have been able to create a lot of relationships with the professors. They make sure that you are understanding the materials from class and a lot of teachers make their class hands on which has always been very helpful for me.”
After she graduates, Grubbs plans to enroll in a graduate program, and while she doesn’t have one nailed down yet, she has a few ideas rolling around in her head. Grubbs said, “I would like to move somewhere warm, or at least new to me! I like to discover new places and think it is important to try new areas.”
What will Grubbs miss most about DSU? The Blue Hawk family, of course. “The community of Dickinson is amazing and so supportive! Life on campus is great. You meet a lot of life-long friends and everyone is so nice! It is a very welcoming place, and I know that Colter mentions it often, but DSU is a family and is a place where everyone can be somebody.”
