Outstanding Young Alumnus/a Award

This award honors a young alumnus/a for outstanding accomplishments since graduation. This award will recognize professional accomplishments, service to the alma mater, and voluntary work that betters their extended community.

2023 Recipient: David Dahlstrom B'10







Growing up in Southeast Minnesota, David Dahlstrom never imagined that his personal, professional, and educational life would eventually be concentrated so close to home. Now, he cannot imagine it any other way. Hailing from Rochester, Minn., Dahlstrom attended Saint Mary’s to study business and continue playing his lifelong passion, baseball. After an on-campus interview with Hormel Foods in 2008, he interned for the company the following summer and started full-time in the accounting department after graduation. In February 2022, David assumed the role of director of investor relations for Hormel Foods. In this role, he has numerous responsibilities including, building and strengthening relationships with the investment community, leading the preparation and presentation of quarterly earnings materials, and communicating insight to executive management regarding company perception. Dahlstrom’s roots run deep at Saint Mary’s. His wife (Lindsey B’11), sister (Samantha (Dahlstrom) Callisto B’12), and brother-in-law (Samuel Callisto B’12) all attended the university, and he cares deeply about keeping the strong talent pipeline between Saint Mary’s University and Hormel Foods alive and thriving. Because of his close proximity to campus, he  is able to engage with the university multiple times a year, including career fairs, mock interviews, in-classroom presentations, fundraising events, and his favorite, judging the business department’s strategies competition each fall and spring. He and his wife Lindsey reside in SPAMtown, USA (Austin, MN), where they chase around their three young children: Augie (6), Coralie (3), and Eddie (1). 

Awardee Video:

 

Eligibility:

This award honors a degreed alumnus/a of SMUMN, who is a graduate from within the last 10 to 15 years, for outstanding accomplishments since graduation. This award will recognize professional accomplishments, service to the alma mater, and voluntary work that betters their extended community.

Past Recipients:

Georgann (Charuhas) Diderrrich B'96 - 2006

Dr. Michael Panicola B'92 - 2007

Matthew Bubala B'94 - 2009

Nathan Semsch B'04 - 2014

Jennifer (Folgers) Baertsch B'05 - 2015

Clair (Zauhar) Pennycuff B'06, M'07 - 2016

Annie Harala B'06 - 2017

Ania McNamara B'11 - 2018

Zach Cizek B’11 - 2022