Troy Roness, prior instructor in the Minot State Teacher Education and Kinesiology Department, has been named mental health counselor at the university.

He will join student counselor Nancy Mickelson in providing short-term counseling services and outreach for Minot State students in the student health and development center, located in the lower level of Lura Manor.

“I am incredibly excited and looking forward to working with the students at Minot State University on a whole new level,” Roness said. “Clinical mental health and counseling have always been passions of mine, in part because of my own personal experience. I’ve always been invested in the lives of MSU’s students both in and out of the classroom; I’m just happy that I can, hopefully, help make a difference in a more integrative role.”

Roness has been on staff at Minot State since 2013. He graduated from MSU in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and again in 2012 with his master’s in education and cognitive science. He received another master’s in 2018 from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, in counseling and student affairs.

“There are so many aspects of teaching that I will miss in my new position, but there is also a significant positive in being able to work with students on a much more personal level,” he said. “Though the position descriptions are extremely different, there are valuable skilll sets from both areas that I will utilize to the best of my ability in serving MSU’s students in my new role.”

The personal counseling services at Minot State provide free confidential consultations, brief short-term interventions, and referrals, helping students develop effective solutions and decision-making abilities.