“Everyone cares about your success and pushes you to be your best.”
Lauren Mach’s passions are sports and teaching, and her education at Dakota College at Bottineau led her to a career in both fields. The Westhope native chose Dakota College at Bottineau because it allowed her to play basketball and softball and pursue a liberal arts degree, all while staying close to her family. “I took a few dual credit courses through DCB while in high school, and having a feel for what classes would be like also played a role in my decision,” said Lauren.
In addition to academics, Lauren enjoyed the social life on the small, friendly campus. “I had a great experience at DCB,” said Lauren “I was able to meet so many incredible people from various different backgrounds. To this day, I still value the friendships I made there so much. In the classroom I was able to thrive due to the small class sizes, where I was able to interact easily with my professors.”
Her love of sports led to one of her most memorable experiences. “My favorite memory from my time there was punching a ticket to the 2017 NJCAA D2 Women’s Basketball National Tournament. We were a team composed of mostly local kids, who bought into Coach Wayne Johnson’s system, and it ended up paying off for us. The trip to Harrison, Arkansas for the national tournament is one that I will never forget.”
Lauren graduated in the spring of 2017 with an Associate of Science degree in liberal arts. She went on to the University of North Dakota and graduated in the spring of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ed-Composite Social Studies Education.
Lauren knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in high school, and never considered any other career path. She now teaches 7 – 12 grade social studies in Westhope, where her curriculum includes 7th Grade Social Studies, 8th Grade Social Studies, World History, US History, ND Studies, and Problems of Democracy. “My favorite part of teaching is getting to interact with so many awesome kids each day. Seeing them connect the dots on things that we discuss in class that they can relate to their everyday life is a great feeling. The kids make this job 100% worth it.”
Sports still figures prominently in Lauren’s life. She coaches volleyball, basketball, and softball. “I love sports, and I love breaking sports down. I also had a lot of great coaches during my playing days that made me want to follow in their footsteps. The lessons my coaches taught me are often used in my daily life. I wanted to be able to share lessons like that with kids each day.
“My favorite part of coaching, just like teaching, is getting to interact with such awesome kids. Seeing kids that I care about so much use tools that I have helped them develop is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I also think that as a coach, you need to look at the game in a much different way than you do as a player and I really enjoy that process.”
Lauren is grateful that she’s able to work and live in her hometown, where she can spend time with her family and coach her younger sister. She enjoys spending time with friends, hanging out with her dog Marvin, and spending days at nearby Lake Metigoshe.
For those choosing a college, Lauren would tell them not to overlook Dakota College at Bottineau based on its size or location. “The small class sizes make it easier to receive one on one instruction from staff. Everyone cares about your success and pushes you to be your best. You develop great friendships and know almost everyone on campus. The Bottineau community is second to none; they will take you in as their own. Dakota College at Bottineau is a great place to begin your post-secondary education, or earn an associate’s degree that will translate into an immediate career.”