Incoming NDSU freshman Dan Ukkelberg will address the new fall class during the Presidents’ Welcome, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 21, at 9:30 a.m. at Churchill Field. The event officially starts the university’s academic year.

Ukkelberg will share the podium with NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani, Provost Beth Ingram, student body president Mason Wenzel and student body vice president Katie Mastel.

Ukkelberg is from Clitherall, Minnesota, and graduated from Battle Lake, Minnesota, High School.

“Honestly I hope I can do it justice. I just want to get my classmates as excited about the NDSU experience as I am,” said Ukkelberg, who will major in agriculture communication, with an emphasis on broadcasting.

“A big part of my speech is that I want everyone to give 100 percent. I want my classmates to break out of their comfort zone and try things that maybe they did not know they were capable of,” he said.

Ukkelberg should feel right at home in the NDSU campus environment. He’s a third-generation NDSU student, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, John Lommel; mother, Elizabeth (Lommel) Ukkelberg; and sister, Sarah Ukkelberg, who all earned degrees from NDSU.

“I’m like everyone else. I’m excited to be independent and my own person,” he said. “But, mainly I’m excited to start classes that pertain to what I want to learn and will help me in my future profession.”

Ukkelberg received the Heritage Scholarship and First Year Textbook Scholarship from NDSU.

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