Carissa Hopkins-Hoel 
Coming from a family of educators, 1996 Apollo High School graduate Aaron Brossoit was instead bitten by the entrepreneurial bug even before graduating from St. Cloud State University (SCSU). While at SCSU, Brossoit became interested in websites and started to “play around” with them, teaching himself how to design web pages. He loved the creativity of art … Read more
“If you can’t help someone, then don’t hurt [hinder] them,” says Ahmed Abdi, lead bilingual communication support specialist (BCSS) at St. Cloud Area School District 742. It is a motto that Abdi has lived by, a philosophy instilled in him by his father. Abdi was born in Somalia but grew up in Kenya due to … Read more
Music is in her blood. For 2014 Tech High School graduate, Jessica Backes, music is a way to connect with people. Backes just visited South Junior High School, her former middle school, to talk to students about music, but more importantly, to stop and say hello and thank you to her old band director, Anita … Read more
If there is something that needs to be done, fixed or can be seen as a potential hazard, Bob Blommer is sure to be the one who will take care of it. After working at DeZurik for 31 years, Blommer retired in the summer of 2018. However, it wasn’t long before he wanted to be … Read more
McKinley-ALC students gather in the early morning at the St. Cloud Veterans Hospital sporting their volunteer shirts and name tags. They venture to the Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) twice a month to reconnect with veterans, some whom they now call friends. Kathy Lyerly and Mike Myers-Schleif, McKinley service learning project supervisors, await the students. They laugh … Read more