By Chris Mikko of Today at Minnesota State Mankato<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All it took was one visit, and Dale Wolpers was hooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1970s, Wolpers was a student at Minnesota State Mankato. Like many people his age, he was mulling over potential majors and careers. the idea of teaching and coaching had some appeal for him, so he interned at an elementary school in Mankato. As he recalls, the goal was simply to help out in the classroom and observe teachers in action. But it quickly turned into much more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realized probably from the first day that teaching was what I wanted to do,\u201d he says. \u201cI found that I really enjoyed working with the kids. But I also saw how much teamwork was involved in the profession, how all of the teachers worked together to ensure that their students would be successful. That sense of cooperation appealed to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter I was done with the internship, I got a letter from the school principal thanking me for my work and telling me I\u2019d done a good job,\u201d he adds. \u201cBut my fate was pretty much already sealed by then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolpers isn\u2019t exaggerating. That experience shaped what was to become a 35-year career in education and has continued to shape Wolpers\u2019s post-retirement projects, including a role he now plays with the Minnesota Twins baseball team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wolpers graduated from Minnesota State Mankato in 1975 with a major in Speech Communications, minors in Theatre and Social Studies and an emphasis in education and coaching. After graduation, he immediately went to work at Hastings Middle School and stayed there for 20 years. He taught communications, speech, radio, TV and theater and coached the football and baseball teams; he also coached the speech team and directed three theatrical productions each year. He returned to Minnesota State Mankato and earned a master\u2019s degree in curriculum and instruction in 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those efforts helped Wolpers earn the respect of his peers. He was named the Hastings Teacher of the Year in 1991. They also earned him a promotion and a move 10 miles north in 1995, when he was named an assistant principal at Cottage Grove Junior High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolpers credits his education for providing him with a rock-solid foundation for his career. \u201cMinnesota State Mankato prepared me very well for the rigors of teaching and all aspects of the education world,\u201d he notes. \u201cMy professors taught me that to be an educator, you needed to be a dreamer and a doer. You needed to be organized, well prepared, creative, flexible and professional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolpers brought those qualities to Cottage Grove, launching the school\u2019s in-house television station and developing its Cougar Pride program, which recognizes students for academic achievements and community service work. In 2008, the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce named him the South Washington County School District Secondary Educator of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A year after receiving that award, Wolpers retired. But he soon discovered that his teaching days weren\u2019t over. During his time at Cottage Grove, he\u2019d established a relationship with the Minnesota Twins: Cougar Pride winners were rewarded in part with game tickets and tours of the team\u2019s facility. Shortly afer retiring, he joined the Twins organization as a tour guide for the newly opened Target Field. And that led to a new opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned that the Twins were looking for someone to help develop an education program,\u201d he says. \u201cMy experience in all areas of education and my speech background provided a natural fit. Soon after, our Minnesota Twins Learning Through Baseball program was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program combines a tour of Target Field with educational instruction. The education component uses baseball and the ballpark as a launching point to explore such topics as architecture, art, environmental sustainability, history, science and sports marketing. The program can be tailored to all ages, from preschool and elementary through college students and even adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wolpers, who has played a key role in the initiative\u2019s development, is thrilled with the results. \u201c The neatest thing about the job is seeing the faces of the kids as they come to learn about baseball and also learn about math, science and more,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are not only teaching, we are creating memories. It\u2019s tremendous to see a kid hold a bat for the first time ever, sit in Joe Mauer\u2019s spot in the dugout, or even to have preschoolers come up and give you a hug because you made them laugh. I also like the fact that I get to meet people from all over the world and use my Minnesota State Mankato speech education skills to entertain and inform them on the tours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rick Olson, the Twins\u2019 coordinator of Target Field Tours, says that Wolpers is the ideal person for the role. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Dale for six years now. On one hand, he understands what teachers and principals are looking for in a productive field trip,\u201d he notes. \u201cHe knows how to schedule classes and coordinate educational events. But he\u2019s also been instrumental in teaching our other tour guides and teachers how to handle kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a sense, his work with the Twins has taken Wolpers full circle. That observation of teamwork in a Mankato elementary school 40 years ago still resonates today. \u201c The Twins have a great team on the field. But the organization also has a wonderful education department that does a great job of working together,\u201d Wolpers says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest passion has always been to serve as part of a team. at and seeing children find success. It\u2019s tremendously gratifying for me to be able to combine the two with this program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Harold J. Fitterer Service Award was given to Dale Wolpers, \u201975, for distinguished service to Minnesota State Mankato through work preserving and promoting university programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brother Wolpers earned a bachelor of science in teaching in communication studies and a master\u2019s in curriculum and instruction. During college, he was an active participant with Phi Delta and the Minnesota State Mankato Alumni Board after graduation. A career educator who has also coached and directed theater, Wolpers\u2019 passion and dedication has been recognized in teacher of the year awards as well as three National School of Excellence awards. He spent twenty years with the Hastings schools before taking on leadership roles in the South Washington County Schools, where he earned an Educator of the Year award in 2009. Upon retirement, he worked with the Minnesota Twins in developing the Target Field Learning Through Baseball program, in which students come to the stadium and, through baseball, learn principles of math, science, language, and social studies among other subjects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Mikko of Today at Minnesota State Mankato All it took was one visit, and Dale Wolpers was hooked. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pursuit-of-greatness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n