Jay Berglund

Personal Information

I was born and raised in South Dakota. I graduated from Rapid City Stevens High School in 1971 and started college at Colorado State University the following fall. My major was mathematics with an emphasis on secondary education. I graduated from CSU with a B.S. in mathematics during the spring of 1975. After college graduation, I accepted a teaching position at Valentine High School, Valentine, NE and taught there for two years. In 1977, I returned to Rapid City and joined my father in an institutional and restaurant wholesale business called Manor House. After holding many positions in the company, I reached the position of general manager and was responsible for the overall operation of a company with 70 employees and annual sales exceeding $15 million.

In 1989, I left Manor House and started my own retail business called Party Stuff in Rapid City. At Party Stuff, we sold party supplies, wedding supplies, cake decorating supplies, and candy making supplies. A major part of the business the business was balloon and gift basket delivery. When I lost my lease in 1994, I decided to reenter the field of teaching and accepted a position at St Francis Indian School, St Francis, SD. After six years at St Francis, I accepted a new position at Gettysburg High School, Gettysburg, SD. A highlight of my teaching career was attending a NASA Educational Workshop (NEW) for two weeks at NASA Dryden Flight Center in California.

Since graduating from Colorado State University in 1975, I have continued my education by completing courses at the following institutions: SD School of Mines and Technology, Black Hills State University, National College in Rapid City, SD (now called National American University), University of Sioux Falls, Sinte Gleska University, Dakota State University, Portland State University, University of Idaho, Augustana College, and Northern State University.

I have been happily married for 35 years and have been blessed with seven daughters, seven grandsons, and two granddaughters. Most of my spare time is spent doing things with my family including fishing, camping, biking, and church activities. I am a member of Promise Keepers (a Christian men's organization), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and South Dakota Council of Teachers of Mathematics (SDCTM.)

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