CEI Message for September 3, 2026

Pride this weekend!

LSC will be hosting a table at Duluth Superior Pride this Saturday, September 5! This is an amazing recruitment and retention opportunity where we get to connect with current, former and future IceHawks, as well as other community members.

We’re currently accepting candy donations! Last year we went through more than 3,000 pieces of candy! Please drop off any non-chocolate candy items to Sarah Lyons' office by this tomorrow, September 3. We’re also still accepting volunteers to join us in tabling at Pride! If you’d like to volunteer for all or part of the day, please let Sarah L. know ASAP for more details.

Show support for Kelly Peterson’s family and IceHawk’s Pantry!

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 12pm to 6pm

Location: 4388 Grouse Ridge Drive, Hermantown, MN

Fill the Tacoma food drive for Sam Peterson is on September 12 at 12pm to 6pm at 4388 Grouse Ridge Drive, Harmantown, MN.

Join us for the 3rd annual Fill the Tacoma event in honor of Sam Peterson, LSC graduate and son of former TLC Professional Tutor, Kelly Peterson. To celebrate what would have been his 29th birthday, please consider donating to IceHawk’s Pantry in honor of Sam’s heart for helping others.

Donations can be made on Saturday, September 12th between 12 and 6pm at Kelly’s house, or meet Kelly and her husband Dan to drop off the donations on Wednesday, September 16th at 9:00 at the Lot 2 doors.

Smaller, individual-sized items are the best.

Safe Zone Training

Date: Friday, October 23rd from 8:30-11:30am

Location: Zoom or in-person, depending on what the people want! Sign up: Safe Zone Fall 2026 Training – Fill out form

Lake Superior College faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Safe Zone training, aimed at creating LGBTQ+ friendly spaces through increased awareness and ally training. So far over 140 of our colleagues have participated in this training!

Belonging as a Fiscal Strategy Presentation at LSC by Dr. Alexis

Date: Tuesday, September 15th from 2-3pm

Location: LSC Room S255

Please join me on Tuesday, September 15th from 2-3pm in S255 for a presentation by Dr. Alexis Stokes-Burks on understanding belonging as a fiscal strategy that could be impactful for LSC, especially when budgets are tight.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to

  • Explain the relationship between belonging and retention, including why its impact varies across student populations.
  • Identify practices that increase belonging and apply them within existing student support structures.
  • Recognize how shifting enrollment patterns require evolving institutional practices that account for students’ social identities, cultures, and lived experience.
  • Apply a belonging framework to connect high impact practices to measurable retention outcomes.

Dr. Alexis J. Stokes-Burks is an equity and inclusion strategist and international speaker whose work centers community, belonging-centered leadership, and sustainable impact, and includes having overseen belonging and inclusion initiatives at Harvard University. Today she leads Stokes Strategy & Consulting, helping institutions build measurable systems of belonging.

Dr. Stokes-Burks will be in Duluth as a presenter for the Women in Leadership conference and is excited to share her expertise with LSC.

Fall Clothing Swap clothing collection

Date: Wednesday, September 30th on Student Success Day

Doing some fall cleaning?! Each semester the CEI hosts a clothing swap which allows students access to free clothes. Donations accepted in the CEI on September 24th, 25th and 28th from 8am-3pm. Please donate clean clothing in good shape that students would be excited to find! We kindly ask that items that are stained, ripped, dirty or in poor condition not be donated.

Current Pantry Needs

Individual-sized items are most helpful - for example, an 18oz container of dish soap instead of a bulk-sized container.

  • Rice
  • Microwaveable rice
  • Dried and canned beans
  • Fruit cups, applesauce cups/pouches
  • Fruit snacks
  • Rice crispy bars
  • Pretzels, microwave popcorn
  • Hamburger helper or similar
  • Cereal
  • Condiments: BBQ, ranch, ketchup, hot sauce, mayo
  • Instant mashed potatoes
  • Granola bars and protein bars
  • Peanut butter, jelly
  • Canned tuna, canned chicken
  • Canned soup
  • Broth (vegetable, beef, and chicken)
  • Flour, sugar, and spices
  • Pancake mix and syrup
  • Instant noodles, ramen noodles
  • Mac and cheese boxes and cups
  • Pasta sauce (red and Alfredo)
  • Tomato paste
  • Crackers
  • Graham crackers
  • Hot chocolate packets
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut butter cracker snacks
  • Cleaning supplies
  • Toilet paper, paper towels
  • Kleenex
  • Shampoo, conditioner, bar soap
  • Deodorant
  • Toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss
  • Chapstick
  • Mini dish soap
  • Laundry pods
  • Diapers (sizes 3-6), pull-ups, wipes
  • Instant coffee packets
  • Gluten-free pasta
  • Gluten-free flour