By ABIGAIL SWANSON, CSC College Relations
CHADRON –Dr. Grant Sasse, who was recently hired to teach in Psychological Sciences as an Associate Professor, has some interesting connections to Chadron State College.
In 2007, Sasse transferred to CSC after two years at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Psychology and earned a master’s in Community Mental Health Counseling, while working as a graduate assistant for the Counseling, Psychology, and Social Work department. Through the assistantship, he gained his first teaching experience. He also competed for the Eagles’ track and field team for a year and met many people, some who are still at CSC.
For Sasse, the Chadron area is home. His father, John Sasse, was in the Air Force so his family moved every three years. However, every summer Sasse worked on a family ranch near Gordon where his father grew up, or at the family farm in Holstein, Nebraska, where his mother, Eileen, grew up.
“I love the feel of this town. It has everything I need, and yet is still small,” Sasse said.
Sasse went on to earn a doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Wyoming in 2014.
After teaching for six years at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska, and spending one year in Houston, Texas, at the University of St. Thomas, Sasse saw the position at CSC, and applied for the opportunity to return home.
“Living in Alaska was great. I liked it, but I had no family there,” Sasse said.
Though years have passed since he studied at CSC, Sasse feels right at home. He is active in the Newman House where he interned as a student, works in the same building where he was a graduate assistant, and Dr. Mary Jo Carnot, the first person he met at CSC, is just down the hall.
“I’m doing what I’m doing now because of my relationships with my professors,” he said.
He looks forward to connecting with students, training future counselors, and giving back to a program that forged his career.
“The counseling profession is growing so fast. There’s such a need for counselors in the communities. There’s a shortage. More people are needing mental health help than ever. Being a part of that kind of movement is fun and rewarding,” Sasse said.