A career in higher education has taken Dr. Beth Hellwig ’72 around the world. Appointed interim vice president for student affairs at the University of North Dakota in October 2021, she has a heart for students and for the higher education professionals focused on the collegiate experience.

“I had such great opportunities in college,” Hellwig said from her home in Grand Forks, N.D, in an April 2022 interview. As a student at New Mexico State University, she was deeply involved in student governance and in residence hall leadership. She also spent a year at Montana State University on the National Student Exchange program, where she gained experience in student leadership development and programming. She continued that work back at NMSU, while earning a bachelor’s degree in pre-law and political science. 

“An advisor asked if I had thought about working on a college campus; I didn’t even know it was a career,” she said. When she graduated, Montana State had a student life position open and hired her. “The rest is history,” she said. She also had the opportunity to study abroad in Europe through the University of Vienna, which sparked her love of travel.

Hellwig most recently served as interim vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at San Francisco State University. She has also served as vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, and before that as dean of students at Gonzaga University. She has held a number of positions related to student life at other universities, including the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University and Montana State University.

Hellwig earned a Ph.D. in college student personnel administration while at the University of Northern Colorado and a master’s degree in student affairs and higher education at Colorado State.

“The field has really progressed in the last 50 years,” she said. “I never dreamt I would have a career like this.”

After 45 years in higher education, Hellwig retired and took one year off to spend time with family in Colorado. She then returned with an organization called The Registry, which provides a pool of veteran executives to universities to serve in interim positions during their search for a permanent executive.

Hellwig’s positions in higher education have revolved around supporting students and helping them find success. She has been responsible for everything from campus police to residence halls to parent programs. She has deeply enjoyed the multicultural, spiritual and athletics programs she has overseen.

“These are all great areas in which I get to be engaged,” she said. 

Athletics programs fell under her watch for 12 years at Wisconsin and San Francisco. At NCAA Division 3 Wisconsin Eau Claire, her teams won national championships in hockey, softball and cross country. “I love that part of the job – for students to play a sport they love and to do well academically and on the court,” she said.

Her interest in an international experience for students has led her to direct three Semester at Sea programs, one at Gonzaga and two at Wisconsin. Through the shipboard education programs she traveled with students on 110-day voyages around the world. They experienced South Africa, Vietnam, China, Brazil and more while studying for course credit. 

She also has served as a host family for more than 20 international students, who she opened her  home to before their moves into residence halls and who she helped acclimate to their new experience over their semester.

“I’ve known more 18-year-olds than anyone else in my life,” she said with a laugh. “These experiences have kept me young at heart!”

Hellwig said her interest in international experiences was formed by her own family and at St. Pius X High School. When Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in the 1960s, her family hosted six students who fled the country. Three of the students attended St. Pius. “That fed my excitement about having more of a global perspective,” she said.

At St. Pius X, she was “in everything,” including Model United Nations, where she represented the People’s Republic of China,  researching their politics and donning their cultural dress. “That gave me a broader perspective of global issues,” she said.

She also sees St. Pius X leading her to success as a college administrator. The speech team, drama club and newspaper all helped her during her career path to represent her universities. National Honor Society and Junior Achievement also taught her much. “I have loved thinking back about how my high school experiences contributed to my success,” she said.

Another launching point from St. Pius: Coach Ron Tybor’s intramural table tennis program. She became an intercollegiate table tennis competitor, earning third place at the Association of College and University Student Unions Championship, an international affair with many competitors being students from Japan and China. “I had my picture in the paper featuring my third place win alongside one of Bjorn Borg winning at Wimbledon,” she remembered, laughing at the juxtaposition.

Other teachers who made a difference in her experience included Sister Rose, her Model UN advisor; Rita Walters, her speech and drama coach; Jeanette French, Fr. Oman and Fr. Kinski, her student council advisor who supported her as a student leader who could pass it on to the next generation. Fr. Kenski even showed up as a surprise at her wedding to co-celebrate the Mass. 

“I was very involved in high school and college and my advisors meant so much to me,” she said. “ I had great role models of teachers, nuns and priests at St. Pius. I strive to be someone who supports students in the same way. I hope they can find trust in me.

“And I was blessed with so many great classmates. We graduated 50 years ago – so hard to believe! Thank you, St. Pius!”