Some big congratulations are in order for our latest Maximus Wolf Pack Award winner: Tina Brochtrup, Moraine Park’s assistant to the Vice President of Finance and Administration.

Wait. What is the Maximus Wolf Pack Award, you say? Glad you asked.
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As a Transition Specialist at Moraine Park Technical College, I often help GED/HSED students transition into programs, making sure students are connected with outside community resources they may require, and assisting students in navigating the many amazing resources MTPC has to offer. I encourage potential students to take the leap to being a college student, and the enormity of that decision is not lost on me.

At times we all need to be encouraged to leap into uncharted territory. It helps us to grow as humans–to gain insight about ourselves and the world, and helps us realize our untapped potential. A student’s leap into college has some similarities to my own personal journey to becoming a relay runner for the nonprofit MS Run the US.  It’s a longer story, but here’s hoping you find it interesting and relevant….

When my good friend Amy Van Dyke asked me if I’d be interested in running six consecutive marathons while sipping Starbucks in early June of 2014, I flat out told her no. It wasn’t physically possible for me, I was sure of it.

She wasn’t convinced, and kept telling me that she could see my potential. She had run many miles for the nonprofit MS Run the US, once running across the entire state of Colorado–13 consecutive marathons. It was inconceivable to me, but I had run many of her longer training miles with her, so she thought I could do it–with training. Over months, her persistence and belief won me over, and I very reluctantly agreed. I had never run a marathon before, and I was pretty injured with a SI joint sprain that was constantly aggravated because I didn’t take the necessary time to rest.
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