Sport Sciences Department -Northern State University

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Sport Sciences Department -Northern State University

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located on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD. for more information visit northern.edu

10/16/2026

🐺 Student Spotlight: Zahir Favors

Zahir is 21 years old from St. Petersburg, Florida. Who is the oldest of 3 siblings and a follower of Christ. Zahir is also a member of the NSU Football team and he is a human performance major.

Zahir like to spend time with the Lord, hang out with friends and family, workout, and fish. He also likes Disney and rom coms.

Zahir's future goals is to open up a facility and have a ministry.

Quote:
Joshua 1:9: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

10/14/2026

🐺 Alumni Spotlight: Caden Robbins

Caden is from Waconia, MN and graduated from Northern in May of 2026 with his Bachelors Degree in Sports Marketing. Caden was also a Pitcher on the NSU Baseball team.

Caden currently works at Arrive Logistics where he is a carrier account representative. Besides playing baseball Caden enjoys his free time in the outdoors hunting and fishing.

Reflecting his time at Northern:
"Northern was a great place where I got a great education from professors that care to work with you, a great community, and met many friends".

10/12/2026

Today, we honor and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day by recognizing the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of Indigenous peoples. The NSU Sports Sciences Department is proud to acknowledge the Indigenous communities whose impact continues to shape our world today. ❤️💛

10/09/2026

🐺 Student Spotlight: Luke Campbell

Luke is from a small town in South Dakota called Viborg. He is a member of the NSU Track team, and is a hurdler competing in both the 110m and 400m. Luke is a Human Performance major with a minor in Psychology. He enjoys watching movies, spending time with friends and family, and staying in shape.

After graduation Luke wants to apply and be accepted into a 2-3 year DPT program somewhere in the midwest. After he graduates from that program with his PT degree he hopes to either start his own practice or work for a larger company in a sports facility. "I would like to work with young athletes and give them quality treatment that will get them back to their sport stronger than before".

Some of Lukes accomplishments include he was on the Dean's List for the Fall 2025, Spring 2025, and Spring 2026. In the Fall of 2024 Luke was on The Presidents List. He has not broken any school record yet in the hurdles but that is a goal he is working towards this year.

"My favorite part of NSU is the instructors and the small campus where I make and maintain meaningful relationships. NSU has helped me realize what I want to do and who I am as a person. I have grown significantly during my time here by growing confident, making meaningful relationships, and hopefully leaving my impact on this campus".

Best of Luck this upcoming season!!

10/07/2026

🐺Alumni Spotlight : Amanda Teter

Amanda grew up in the rural village of Bartley, NE. After high school she earned her associate's degree in Veterinary Technology from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in 2000. She worked in veterinary clinics in Sioux Falls until 2008 when she decided to return to school for an Athletic Training degree. She attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney because it was close to home. She received her Master's of Science in Education degree in Sports Performance and Leadership in 2014.

Her time at NSU was spent defending the need for athletic trainers to the graduate assistant coaches in her class. "I learned how to work with sports teams that were not successful as I had been around very successful teams during my undergrad days".

Amanda currently works in occupational health as an Early Intervention Specialist for ATI doing workplace injury prevention and ergonomics. She is contracted to GE Aerospace's Strother field site in Winfield, KS where they work on jet engines.

"Over my career as a collegiate athletic trainer I have managed teams to 3 conference championships and one national championship. This September, I was inducted in the Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame for my work with the 2016 women’s volleyball team that won the national championship. The 2016 team went 33-3 on the year, winning 7 games in 5 days in the NAIA tournament losing only 4 sets during those 5 days".

10/05/2026

📊 Department Spotlight

Northern State Sports Science Department participated in the Aberdeen Camp Med to provide middle school students with engaging, hands-on looks into careers and experiences in the medical field.

The Sport Science Department brought grip strength test, vertical jump test, and a speedometer to see how fast students could throw. Students had a blast with the vertical test and grip strength. Thank you for having us out there !!

10/02/2026

🐺 Student Spotlight: Liv Barnes

Liv is from Aberdeen, SD and is a Licensed Aesthetician at Conklin Clinics. She also teaches dance at ARCC. Liv likes to be active, lift, and hangout with her pets.

Liv is majoring in Human Performance with a minor in health. She is also part of the TRIO program at Northern. After graduation Liv hopes to be involved in the health and wellness industry.

Time at Northern
"Northern has given me opportunities that go beyond academics. I’ve built relationships and made connections that I will carry with me throughout my life."

09/30/2026

🐺Alumni Spotlight: Andy Johnson

Andy was born and raised in Aberdeen, SD and attended Northern State University from 2010-2017. He graduated in 2015 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology along with a minor in Music. Following his Bachelors, in 2017 he graduated with a Masters of Science in Education in Sports Performance and Leadership. From 2015-2017 he was lucky enough to be the NSU Track and Field Graduate Assistant coaching the sprints and jumps. Andy now lives in Sioux City, IA with his wife Katie and their four children. Andy works at Great West, an Old Republic Company as an Executive Underwriter for Captives in the commercial transportation insurance industry.

Andy started his athletic career a little non- traditionally. As a freshman, he intended to join NSU Track and Field as a walk-on, but he decided to pursue other ventures. After his sophomore year he reconsidered and decided to give it a shot. "I didn’t want to look back at my time at NSU with a “would’ve-could’ve-should’ve” attitude". To his surprise the new coach, Lynne Dingman (Nacke), decided to give him a chance as a walk-on if he was committed to sticking it out and putting in the work.

Throughout his career he achieved many NSIC Conference podium and All-Conference finishes, DII National Qualifying performances, DII National rankings, and NSU school records. Andy competed against future Olympians and National Champions in amazing venues.

Andy had great accomplishments come from his time coaching. He had the privilege to watch incredible young athletes come in and accomplish incredible things on and off the track."Seeing them put the work every day, break personal records, school records, qualifying for National’s, making the NSIC Conference podium, or even becoming DII All-American will always be what I am most proud of".

Reflecting his time at NSU:
"If you want to be successful you need to do the hard things, take responsibility for your decisions, and surround yourself with those who want to invest in you. Northern State University is filled with people who want to invest in you and see you as something greater than yourself even if you can’t see it yet.

09/28/2026

📊Department Spotlight

The University of South Dakota is launching the Governor’s Research in Aging Center of Excellence (GRACE), a statewide initiative focused on helping South Dakotans maintain mobility, independence and quality of life as they age. The center will bring together researchers, clinicians, educators, students and community partners to advance research on healthy aging.

NSU's Dr. Chelsee Shortt is part of the GRACE leadership team, helping contribute to this collaborative effort and its focus on using research to improve health and human performance. The initiative will focus on three key areas: Measure, Model and Maintain — measuring movement, mobility, strength and function; modeling changes to better understand risk and opportunities for intervention; and maintaining mobility and independence through evidence-based programs and resources.

This type of interdisciplinary research highlights how Sports Sciences can play an important role beyond athletics by using human performance research to help people stay active, healthy and independent throughout the aging process. 🏃‍♀️🧠
We’re proud to see NSU Sports Sciences faculty contributing to research that has the potential to make an impact across South Dakota!

09/25/2026

🐺 Student Spotlight: Abby Schauer

Abby is from Sioux Falls, SD and majors in Human Performance and Nursing. Abby is a Northern State Volleyball alumni, with her volleyball career ending in the fall of 2025. She is currently finishing her Nursing Degree with the first ever Nursing class at NSU.

Abby received a scholarship called the NCAA Degree Completion Award, and it is for student athletes who no longer have eligibility to continue playing their sport and receive scholarship funds from the school. "The NCAA Degree Completion Scholarship is a huge blessing in my life as it will assist me in getting to prioritize my education for one more year and help me work towards pursuing my future career. "

After graduation Abby plans to move to Ashley, ND where her husband former NSU Wrestling Alumni Nathan Schauer grew up and began his teaching job. She will work as an RN at Ashley Medical Center while helping with Jr. High and High School athletics, which allows her to use both her degrees.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to receive this scholarship, and I can't thank the NSU volleyball program and faculty who have assisted me through my entire college journey enough. " - Abby Schauer

Address

1200 S. JAY Street
Aberdeen, SD
57401

Website

http://northern.edu/, https://givingday.northern.edu/p2p/287949/nsusportsciences

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