Adreianna Spear chose Winona State University because she fell in love with the beautiful campus, sense of community, and friendliness of the employees and students she encountered on her campus tour. Four years later, she is graduating with a degree in professional studies and a minor in Child Advocacy Studies. After graduation, the Waseca, Minn., native plans to enroll in a master’s program in nursing at Milliken University in Illinois.
Spear is proud of her WSU education and cherishes the friends and memories made along the way.
“Not only has WSU given me an education to advance myself as a professional,” Spear said, “but it has also given me amazing friends, volunteer and job experience, and memories to last a lifetime. WSU has made me a better individual on both a personal and professional level.”
Spear has been active on campus as the president of Warriors for Life for four years, and a member of the Winona State Ambassadors for more than three years, including terms as both president and vice president of the organization.
“Not only have I left my footprint at WSU, but it has impacted my life in return,” she said. “I know that the connections I have made will last a lifetime as I move into my future.
While Spear has many great WSU memories to choose from, her favorite evokes the strong sense of community and support she feels at Winona State.
While giving a tour to prospective students and their families, Spear was walking backward up the front steps of Krueger Library. “I tripped and fell flat on my bottom,” she recalled. One of the parents offered her a hand and helped her up, and it reminded her of the times she and her friends had “fallen” during their time at WSU. “There was always someone to help you up and you learned from it,” she said. “I learned not to try and be talented and walk backward up stairs ever again.”
Spear offers the following advice to her peers: “Wherever life may take you remember where you came from – that you are part of a community of learners and Warriors dedicated to the advancement of futures.”
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