Welcome to the #DragonFamily: Aaron Suomala Folkerds
Meet MSUM’s new Assistant Professor of Counseling, Aaron Suomala Folkerds. He is excited to work with our students and staff!
Start date: August 26, 2019
Q: What drew you to MSUM?
A: I’ve lived in Moorhead for seven years and it’s a wonderful community. I have a lot of family connections to MSUM. My wife graduated from MSUM. My mother-in-law taught in the Ed Leadership program and served as interim dean of the College of Education and Human Services. My sister-in-law graduated from MSUM, and I have a nephew here, so I have lots of ties to the university.
Q: What is the most interesting thing you’re working on right now?
A: I’m working on putting together a research trip to the School of Hope in Zambia, Africa, with my colleague Julie Swaggert in the Educational Leadership program. She’s looking at it from an educational perspective, and I’m looking at it from a psychological and counseling perspective. We’re going there to explore the trauma and resiliency within the students, as well as within the teachers and the administrators at the school.
Q: What is your go-to productivity trick?
A: I like to set my timer for 20 minutes and work for those 20 minutes, then take a break for five minutes. I’ll then set the timer again for another 20 minutes, and I keep that up to have built in the breaks because it’s easy for me to get distracted. I try to work as hard as I can for those 20 minutes, then knowing there’s a break and then go back.
Q What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
A: I received my pilot’s license when I was 19, and while doing that, I accidentally put the airplane into a spin. I was scared out of my mind. As a new pilot, I hardly had any hours, but eventually, I was able to get out of it.
Q: What do you do to turn things around when you’re having a bad day?
A: If I’m having a bad day, I just hit the pause button on that bad day. I remember to be grateful that I’m here and have a job I love.
Welcome to the #DragonFamily, Aaron. We’re delighted you chose to work at MSUM!