Dionne Trice
A Minneapolis resident has been selected a fall semester Outstanding Student at Metropolitan State University.
Dionne Trice, Minneapolis, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, was chosen Outstanding Student in the university’s College of Community Studies and Public Affairs. She was one of 1,368 students receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Metropolitan State’s 101st commencement exercises on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 in Minneapolis.
After decades of passionate service as a supervisor for the women’s support group at the Oasis of Love Center in North Minneapolis, Trice set her sights on furthering her education. “My theme was I was going to hit the ground running, and run straight through here,” she said.
Two and half years of school later, Trice reached the end of her bachelorette journey and found that she learned a lot about herself during the experience. “I appreciated the ‘difficult’ professor. It challenged me to take in the information, and really think about what I was working towards.” Trice recalls her most difficult class, Research Methods, as the class that ultimately garnered her Outstanding Student honor.
A mother and grandmother, Trice returned to school in the wake of tragedy. Losing her eldest son was a major turning point. “Trying to re-ground yourself, and relate with the rest of the world again… It was reaffirming to see the other side of something I’ve been doing whole life, counseling other people, when it was time to seek it for ourselves.” It would inspire Trice to do more.
With her husband in the hospital, and her daughter and grandkids at her home, Trice needed a quiet space to think. She found school to be an escape. “I was trying to do homework at the hospital; I was trying to sleep at the hospital, then I’d go to work… Being able to be at school and studying was a relief.”
Trice now plans to get a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. A self-proclaimed “nerd,” Trice is an avid dancer and reader of Deadpool comics, with a collection of 1,200 or so comics. “People are going to think I just like the movie, but I’ve been a huge Deadpool fan for years,” Trice says. She can also be found playing the videogame, Assassin’s Creed, with her grandson.
Metropolitan State University, a member of Minnesota State, is the Twin Cities’ public, urban, comprehensive state university providing lifelong learning and competitive academic and professional degree programs at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels.