South Dakota School of Mines, Alumni Association

08/22/2026

What’s next for chemical and biological engineering, and who will help shape it?

Join us on Tuesday, August 25 at 11:30 a.m. MT for the next Engineering Tomorrow webinar as we sit down with Dr. Ken Benjamin, the new head of the Karen M. Swindler Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at South Dakota Mines.

From emerging technologies to some of society’s biggest challenges, the future of this field is full of possibilities. Hear Dr. Benjamin’s vision for the department, the opportunities ahead, and how Mines students are preparing to turn big ideas into real-world solutions.

And we want to hear from you! Bring your questions for a live Q&A and join the conversation about where chemical and biological engineering is headed next.

Whether you’re an alum, industry professional, or simply curious about the future, we’d love to have you with us.

Register here: https://sdsmt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LxUhJbPMSyOReydqyPLR6A%20 #/registration

08/20/2026

It’s officially Move-In Day, which means the Class of 2030 has arrived!

From nervous excitement and packed cars to the first trip up to their new dorm rooms, today is full of big emotions, new faces and the beginning of a brand-new adventure.

But our newest Hardrockers don’t have to do it alone.

The moment they pulled onto campus, they were greeted by an entire move-in crew ready to jump in, unload cars, carry boxes, and make those first few hours at Mines feel a little less overwhelming. And believe it or not, these aren’t professional movers; they’re current Hardrockers who volunteered their time to help welcome the freshman class into our community.

There may have even been a special appearance from a certain rogue mascot. 👀

Because that’s what being a Hardrocker is all about. Showing up for each other. Lending a hand. And making sure that from day one, every student knows they have a community behind them.

Do you remember your move in day?

Welcome home, Class of 2030. We’re so glad you’re here!

08/19/2026

Tomorrow night, we’re bringing the Hardrocker spirit to downtown Rapid City!

Before classes kick off Monday (or before you head back to the 9-to-5), come celebrate the end of summer with your fellow Hardrockers at Summer Nights in Downtown Rapid City. While you’re there, be sure to swing by the alumni tent, say hello, and grab a free drink ticket!

There will be food trucks, live music, dancing, and plenty of family fun. If you’re local to the Black Hills, come hang out, catch up, and celebrate the start of another great year at South Dakota Mines.

Let’s send summer out the Hardrocker way. We’ll see you downtown!

🎉 THIS THURSDAY — THE FINAL SUMMER NIGHTS OF 2026! 🎉

We’re sending off an AMAZING Summer Nights season with SLAMABAMA taking over the Coca-Cola Stage! 🎶🔥

📚 Back-to-School Night! Come enjoy one last summer night with your friends and family before school is back in session!

A HUGE thank you to our sponsor, South Dakota Mines, who will also be joining us and showcasing some of their awesome STEM projects! 🧪🔬🚀

Come help us celebrate and send off Summer Nights 2026 in style! ❤️

🍔 Food trucks
🥤 Cold beverages
💃 Dancing
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Friends, family & FUN!

Let’s make our final night one to remember! 🎉

08/18/2026

JayDe Jordahl grew up helping his dad pour concrete, learning what it means to show up, get your hands dirty, and build something from the ground up. He never imagined that those lessons would eventually take him from a small farm in Minnesota to mining competitions in England and Arizona, internships in Michigan and Colorado, and a future in metallurgical engineering.

But getting there started with an opportunity.

A scholarship.

As a first-generation college student, JayDe knew earning a degree would take more than hard work. It would take financial support, too. South Dakota Mines offered him the chance to pursue a world-class engineering education at a cost he could afford, and a community where he immediately felt like he belonged.

“Everyone wants you to succeed and to do your best,” JayDe says.

At Mines, he found plenty of ways to put that support to work. He's now president of the South Dakota Mining and Mucking Club, secretary of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration and a member of the university band, where he plays trombone. Through Mining and Mucking, he's traveled to England and Arizona to compete. Through SME, he's connected with professionals in the mining industry in Salt Lake City.
And he's gained hands-on experience through internships with Grede Foundry in Michigan and SSR Mining in Colorado.

For JayDe, those aren't just items on a résumé. They're experiences that are helping him figure out who he wants to be and where he wants to go.

And he says scholarships made it possible.

“Not having to work while attending school has allowed me to be involved with many clubs and activities,” he says. “The time I have spent at this school have been some of the most influential years of my life, and I have grown a tremendous amount.”

The Mines Advancement Fund helps make those opportunities possible by providing scholarships and flexible support that strengthens the student experience across campus.

When you give to the Mines Advancement Fund, you're giving students more than help paying for college. You're giving them the freedom to say yes to the opportunity, the experience, the challenge, and the dream that might change the course of their lives.

You can help students like JayDe build their future from the ground up: https://cara.sdsmt.edu/fall/

08/17/2026

We're continuing our countdown to the Heritage Awards by celebrating our Outstanding Recent Graduates, Hardrockers who are already doing extraordinary things just a few years after leaving campus.

Next up is David Langerman.

A 2017 magna cm laude graduate of South Dakota Mines, David has built an impressive career at the intersection of software engineering, machine learning, embedded systems, and advanced computing. He currently serves as a Staff Software Engineer at Stack AV, where he leads the development of several safety- and performance-critical software frameworks.

Before joining Stack AV, David served as Lead Machine Learning Engineer at Overview AI, architecting deployment frameworks for real-time computer vision models running on remote embedded devices in manufacturing facilities. He previously served as Software Architect for Adrich, leading machine learning, embedded software, and full-stack development for ultra-low-power IoT systems. He also co-founded and operated a software contracting company with fellow Mines graduates, taking on a variety of technical leadership and development projects.

David continued his education at the University of Pittsburgh, earning both a master's degree and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering. During his doctoral studies, he served as a Group Leader at the NSF Center for Space, High-Performance, and Resilient Computing (SHREC), where he led and co-authored published research focused on neural-network performance and embedded accelerator benchmarking for space and terrestrial applications.

His accomplishments extend into innovation and intellectual property as well. David is the recipient of a U.S. patent and is the lead inventor on a second patent currently pending.

From developing advanced software systems to conducting research for space and terrestrial applications, David is tackling complex problems at the forefront of technology. Please join us in congratulating David Langerman on being named an Outstanding Recent Graduate and celebrating the remarkable impact he's already making.

Stay tuned as we continue celebrating this year's Outstanding Recent Graduates and the Hardrockers who are already pushing what's possible and shaping what comes next.

08/14/2026

Then & Now 🏈

Our Hardrocker Football team is already back on the field for practice, and we can’t wait to watch them absolutely crush the competition this season (especially those pesky wasps during Black Hills Brawl). But before we look ahead to game day, let’s take a look back at where it all started.

Hardrocker football has been around since 1895. That’s more than 130 years of Mines students tackling rigorous engineering and science degrees while also taking on the competition as student-athletes. Talk about a legacy!

And that legacy is still going strong. Today’s Hardrocker student-athletes maintain an impressive 3.38 cumulative GPA while competing.
From then to now, one thing hasn’t changed: Hardrockers know how to work hard, play hard, and excel.

Here’s to 130+ years of Hardrocker football, and to all the student-athletes making their mark!

08/13/2026

Can you believe the Class of 2030 will be moving onto campus ONE WEEK from today?! We’re so excited to welcome a new class of Hardrockers to Mines!

As they get ready to move into their dorms, put on their beanies, find their classrooms, and take those first steps into college life, we want to hear from the Hardrockers who came before them.

What’s the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before your first day at Mines?

Share your best Hardrocker wisdom in the comments and help out the newest additions to the Hardrocker community!

08/12/2026

Hey, you went to school here, and this is crazy... but you never gave us your number. So call us maybe?

We'd low-key love to keep you in the loop about Hardrocker events, campus news, and all the awesome things happening at South Dakota Mines. But every time we try to reach out, we feel like we're getting straight up ghosted.

The last time we had your contact information, you were probably keeping seven Snapchat streaks alive, waiting three minutes for a YouTube video to buffer, quoting Bojack Horseman, debating the color of THAT dress, and waiting for your Vine to make you famous. Your phone still had a headphone jack, your playlist was full of songs by Twenty-One Pilots, and you were deeply contemplating, "What does the fox say?"

We're not trying to randomly slide into your DMs; we just don't want you to have FOMO when you see the Mines Community having fun without you. Before this becomes a "new phone, who dis?" situation, take a minute to update your information here:
https://cara.sdsmt.edu/update-my-information/

Don't become Somebody That We Used To Know. Hit us with that update, stay connected, and don’t break your streak with Grubby again!

08/11/2026

Sometimes the best decisions are the ones you almost didn’t make.

When Karsen Berndt was applying to colleges, South Dakota Mines was at the bottom of his list. He thought he needed to leave his home state behind and find a new adventure. Looking back, he couldn't have been more wrong.

"Choosing Mines turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made," he says.

What changed his mind wasn't just the academics.

It was the people.

At Mines, professors knew his name. Friends became family. Walking to class meant stopping to say hello half a dozen times before he reached the door.

Instead of feeling like one student in a sea of thousands, Karsen realized he belonged.

And once he found that sense of belonging, he wanted to give it back.

He became a resident advisor, joined Student Senate, helped restart the South Dakota Mines Mountain Biking Club, stepped into leadership within Triangle Fraternity and Greek Council, and dedicated himself to making campus a better place for every student who came after him.

In the process, he discovered something bigger than an engineering degree.

He discovered purpose.

"The biggest advice I would give a freshman is to keep going," Karsen says. "Don't give up on your dreams. It's easy to believe in them when life is going well. What matters is believing in them when things get hard."

Mines also made those dreams attainable.

Between affordable tuition and scholarships, Karsen was able to pursue an industrial engineering degree. Along the way, he found mentors who invested in his future, classmates who challenged him to grow, and opportunities that shaped the leader he is today.

When asked if he'd make the same decision again, his answer comes without hesitation.

"Even if I were offered a million dollars," he says, "I would still choose Mines."

Not because it was the easiest path.

Because it became the place that challenged him, believed in him, and showed him the impact one person can have on a community.
Every year, students arrive at South Dakota Mines hoping to earn a degree. Many leave having found something even more valuable: a place where they belong, people who believe in them, and the confidence to become leaders.

That kind of experience doesn't happen by accident.

The Mines Advancement Fund helps make it possible by supporting scholarships, student organizations, leadership opportunities, academic programs, and the experiences that transform students into confident, compassionate professionals.

When you give to the Mines Advancement Fund, you're doing more than helping students succeed in the classroom. You're helping them find their community, discover their purpose, and become the next generation of Hardrockers who will leave Mines better than they found it.

https://cara.sdsmt.edu/fall/