The College of Saint Benedict (CSB), a womens college, and Saint Johns University (SJU), a mens college, are private liberal arts colleges located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota. The CSB/SJU Chapter is one of the most unique Ducks Unlimited (DU) university chapters in the country. Operating between two campuses can pose some challenges, but Danny Odenthal, area chairman, uses this as an advantage to recruit a diverse committee of university volunteers.

Our committee works hard to spread awareness about our chapter over the two campuses, said Odenthal. We have a great mix of students with diverse backgrounds, and it allows us to delegate tasks based on the individuals strengths.

Arriving on campus as a freshman on the football team, Odenthal was approached by a teammate who was involved with DU and asked Odenthal to get involved. Since then, he has held many officer roles, such as; treasurer, vice president, and now serves as president for the chapter.

My sophomore year was a learning curve. Attendance was down, dollars were down, and we knew that we had to come together in the following year to be successful, said Odenthal. We decided our key to success was to delegate tasks, so the brunt of the work didnt fall on one persons shoulders. The next year we increased our attendance and income.

Through recruitment and delegation, the CSB/SJU Chapter of Ducks Unlimited has shown that even though they are spread over two campuses, they have joined together and used their experiences as motivation.

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University chapter will hold its fall event on November 12, 2019.