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BSC honors Alumnus of the Year

Published: Apr 02 2019
BSC honors Alumnus of the Year - Photo
Bismarck State College will honor several alumni during its annual recognition event May 9 on campus.
 
The BSC National Alumni Association Board of Directors has chosen Vern Dosch ('73) as Alumnus of the Year, and Jack Golden ('17) as BSC’s Rising Star. The association chose the Francisco and Bertha Tello family as this year’s Legacy Family award recipients.
 
All recipients will be honored at a campus dinner for friends, colleagues, family and the public on Thursday, May 9 at 6 p.m. in the Bavendick Stateroom, BSC National Energy Center of Excellence.
 
2019 BSC Alumnus of the Year
Dosch is the longtime CEO of National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC), an information technology cooperative that develops and supports software and hardware solutions for utility cooperatives and telecommunications companies in 50 states. Committed to his family, the 1,200+ employees of NISC and his North Dakota roots, Dosch authentically lives and breathes the values he espouses in his book, “Wired Differently”: Do the right thing always. Serve others. Live your ethics out loud.
 
NISC is growing and looks to higher education in North Dakota to meet the organization’s needs. NISC donated $50,000 to BSC’s Cybersecurity and Information Technology Program in 2018, helping to grow the program’s capacity, NISC’s labor force, and the opportunities available in his hometown.
 
“I’ve been doing this for 44 years. If had to do it over again – if I had to start Vern’s Software Company – I’d start it here, on a windswept hill on Old Red Trail in Mandan, North Dakota.”
 
2019 BSC Rising Star
Golden enrolled at BSC in 2012 thinking he’d major in economics. He was surprised to find his calling in a theater class – discovering a passion for behind-the-scenes roles. After BSC, Golden earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from North Dakota State University, then spent more than a year working as a set designer for theater companies all over the country. Those months on the road helped his career take off. He was featured in American Theatre magazine’s “Role Call - People to Watch” in January 2018, and won the 2017 Broadway World Regional Reader’s Choice award (DC area) for “Most Creative Scenic Design (Small Professional Theatre)”.
 
Currently earning a Master of Fine Arts in Theater at the University of Maryland, Golden says his career has much to do with BSC. “I’m the poster child for someone who didn’t have direction, and found it there.”
 
2019 BSC Legacy Family
Francisco and Bertha Tello met as college students in 1943. She was a music major from Minnesota. He came from Panama on a scholarship. They fell in love and married, eventually bringing their growing family to Bismarck.
 
Higher education was an expectation for the 10 Tello children. All attended BSC, and nearly all pursued careers in healthcare. Bob, Tim, Tony, Francisco (Chico) and Ron are doctors, Kathy is a nurse, Carmen a nurse practitioner, Rick spent 42 years in laboratory management, and Judy is a retired cytotechnologist. John, an accountant, worked for a time in medical insurance. And, the tradition continues. One Tello granddaughter is a radiologist, another a dermatologist, a third is a nurse and professor for NDSU, and another is an assistant professor of biology at BSC.
 
Over the years, the Tello family has generously supported a number of healthcare-related organizations in the area, and this year Ron and Joyce became co-chairs of the BSC Foundation Health Sciences Campaign.
 
Dinner reservations will be accepted until May 1. Tickets are $30 per person. Make checks payable to the BSC Alumni Association and mail to the alumni office, P.O. Box 5587, Bismarck, N.D. 58506-5587. For more information or about credit card orders, contact Rita Nodland at 701-224-5692, 800-272-2586, or Rita.Nodland@bismarckstate.edu.
 
Award recipient bios can be found at bismarckstate.edu/alumniawards