In December 2022, Remi Foust, ‘26, was rounding out the first semester of her freshman year: months of learning and studying, meeting new friends, trying new organizations, writing, memorizing, and now preparing for finals. That’s when the blizzard hit.

“ We got 22 inches of snow in three days,” she said. Living on campus, and with the Dining Center just a short skywalk away, meant Foust and her dorm-mates could hunker down. “ It was great. We didn't have to go anywhere,” she said. “ My whole floor basically just cuddled in the lounge together. We had blankets and watched movies and kind of studied for finals.”

Going to school in Duluth, Minnesota, offered Foust four distinct seasons, the greatest Great Lake, and incredible natural surroundings. It was a unique opportunity to experience an education in a different kind of classroom, one that was integrated into the community and environment. That would manifest not just in her freshman winter adventure, but as a deep connection with sustainability across campus, and experiences that stick with her, like those freshman (and senior year) snow days.

Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, Foust moved to Minnesota in elementary school. She later chose UMD for its access to the outdoors and flexibility to pursue her myriad interests, supported by a compelling financial aid package.

Foust would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree with a triple major in English, writing studies, and environment, sustainability and geography; with minors in digital writing, literature and design, professional writing, and deaf studies; alongside a creative writing certificate.

At UMD, Foust served as president of the Student Government Association for two years, and as sustainability director prior to that. Her deep commitment to sustainability led her to work in the Office of Sustainability on campus, and serve as a resident advisor for the UMD Sustainability Living & Learning Community, which brings together cohorts of students to live and learn together on campus.

After graduation, she will continue her studies at the University of Michigan, where she’ll pursue a Master of Science in Information, with a concentration on Libraries, Archives, and Knowledge Environments in Society.

And while she knows where the next step of her learning journey will take her, she recognizes she’s still processing her time at UMD. “What stories will I tell future friends and colleagues about my time in college? Will I talk about the 137 inches of snow Duluth got my freshman year, and how we didn’t really have a finals week? Only time will tell.”

As a commencement speaker at her graduation ceremony in May 2026, that was part of the message she wanted to share with her classmates: that their journeys are still being written, that the future remains open, even if, “like any good story, we don’t always know what comes next,” she said.

“The past four years have shaped us and prepared us for whatever lies ahead. Through the classes we’ve taken, the activities we’ve joined, and the places we’ve gathered, we’ve learned how to think, how to adapt, and how to persevere during times of uncertainty. We can turn the page with confidence.”