Mary Soroko ’86, Student Development Director in the Herberger Business School, and Andy Ditlevson, Associate Director for Employment Services in the Career Center, pictured together at St. Cloud State University.
Mary Soroko ‘86 and Andy Ditlevson have a lot in common, including a deep commitment to St. Cloud State University.
The couple — who have been married since 1992 — both grew up in small rural Minnesota towns, attended college as first-generation students and are both currently employed at St. Cloud State. They also have a shared vision of giving back to the next generation of college students.
That shared vision inspired Soroko and Ditlevson to look for a way to support students with similar backgrounds and interests.
Together, they recently endowed a scholarship for the Herberger Business School, an honors scholarship for highly-motivated first-generation students. The Soroko-Ditlevson Endowed Business Honors Scholarship is one of over 530 different Huskies Scholarships currently available to St. Cloud State students now through March 13.
“We hope that others will follow in our footsteps and realize that you don’t have to be rich to make a difference in a student’s life,” Soroko said. “As a young person, I didn’t have many options. St. Cloud State helped me to transform my life. In addition to other St. Cloud State employees, we hope students will also follow our example and give back whatever they can when they are able to.”
Soroko, who graduated from St. Cloud State in 1986 with a master’s degree in accounting, is currently the Student Development Director within the Herberger Business School. She has worked at the University in various roles since 1987.
Ditlevson, who graduated from St. Olaf with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication, is currently the Associate Director for Employment Services in the Career Center and has been working at St. Cloud State since 1990.
The couple, who met in the faculty staff bowling league in St. Cloud, also have a daughter who is currently attending St. Cloud State. Emma, an operations management major, is set to graduate in May 2020.
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“From our first day of employment, we decided we wanted to financially support St. Cloud State. After about 10 years of donating to the University Foundation, we decided we wanted to do something more to benefit students,” Soroko said.
The idea of endowing a scholarship for students was sparked when the Herberger Business School first created an honors program for the school. At the time, Soroko had been working to help raise money for Beta Gamma Sigma students, which is an honor society for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) schools.
When the honors program was created, Soroko thought of the idea of revising that scholarship fund to include honor students as well as Beta Gamma Sigma students. At the same time, Soroko and Ditlevson created a service scholarship of their own, but neither scholarship was going to be endow-able because of the amount, so the couple decided to combine those efforts and endow the business scholarship.
“It was kind of a combined effort. (Andy) was the guy who decided after we had been giving to the University, how can we make a meaningful difference here? We thought students need money and we know the challenges especially for first-generation students are a little bit more difficult,” Soroko said. “We wanted to do something to make a difference. I am really proud of the fact that we were able to endow a scholarship that will continue to give back even after we are gone.”
Soroko and Ditlevson take great pride in giving back to students who attend the same University they have both served at for a combined 65 years.
“Hopefully students who receiver our scholarship will look back after they are established in their careers and say it’s time for me to do the same,” Ditlevson said. “Even $500 a year can make a huge difference in a student’s ability to finish college.
“Every year, when a student receives the scholarship, we are reminded that this is making a difference. We are both delighted and proud that this will be part of our legacy.”
