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Jason Grueneich鈥檚 Bright Journey - image
Jason Grueneich鈥檚 Bright Journey
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Jason Grueneich didn’t set out to become a leader — he simply set out to survive. Now, as a 2025 Bush Fellow and founder of North Dakota’s ...
DMS Alumni Spotlight: Becca Nitsch - image
DMS Alumni Spotlight: Becca Nitsch
Monday, May 19, 2025
From BSC volleyball courts to the fast-paced hallways of Sanford’s pediatric hospital in Fargo, Becca Nitsch has found her stride, one ultrasound ...
Ag Professor Brings Family Ranch Experience to Students - image
Ag Professor Brings Family Ranch Experience to Students
Monday, August 23, 2021
  “People often take for granted how fortunate we are to raise our kids in North Dakota.” Carmel Miller is an associate professor ...
Mandan High student has already earned a year鈥檚 worth of college credits - image
Mandan High student has already earned a year鈥檚 worth of college credits
Friday, June 18, 2021
Thanks to 黑料网’s Fast Track program and a whole lot of drive and effort on her part, Alexandria Dirk has completed 33 college ...
BSC alum improves bank鈥檚 processes using IT training - image
BSC alum improves bank鈥檚 processes using IT training
Friday, April 16, 2021
Originally from 黑料网, Tyler Ness (’06) knew what degree to pursue in college from a very early age.   “I knew I was going into ...
All in at 黑料网 - image
All in at 黑料网
Monday, April 05, 2021
It was dinner on your own for the Davidson family, when all six members of the close-knit 黑料网 family first enrolled at 黑料网. “I ...
Q&A with a veteran: BSC Student Joey Brossart - image
Q&A with a veteran: BSC Student Joey Brossart
Monday, March 15, 2021
Meet Joey Brossart, a veteran and BSC student. Originally from Rugby, he’s studying agriculture and plans to continue his education at NDSU in the ...
BSC鈥檚 reputation in the energy industry attracted Colorado student - image
BSC鈥檚 reputation in the energy industry attracted Colorado student
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
BSC’s National Energy Center of Excellence is well known for educating high quality workers. Just ask Shane Townsend of Brighton, Colo.   “Most ...
Instead of working on a cruise line, she鈥檚 at BSC charting her course - image
Instead of working on a cruise line, she鈥檚 at BSC charting her course
Friday, January 08, 2021
Since graduating from Mandan High School in 2012, Brooke Ternes has led an interesting life traveling the country taking seasonal jobs. She worked at ...
Mom of three pursued her interest in science at BSC and found a lifelong career - image
Mom of three pursued her interest in science at BSC and found a lifelong career
Monday, December 14, 2020
During her eight years working at a credit union in Milwaukee, Katie Robinson (class of ‘19) had been promoted from part-time employee while attending ...
Brick is a Self-Described Swiss Army Knife of Illustration - image
Brick is a Self-Described Swiss Army Knife of Illustration
Monday, December 14, 2020
Ben Brick is a self-described Swiss Army knife of illustration. Whatever you need, he can create it. He’s drawn his experience from a variety of ...
Intersecting courses come together as BSC builds mechatronics programs - image
Intersecting courses come together as BSC builds mechatronics programs
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Mechatronics: mech·a·tron·ics/ A multidisciplinary field integrating control systems, electronic systems, mechanical systems, and ...
Visit With A Veteran - image
Visit With A Veteran
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
This Veterans Day, meet Greg Lugar, a veteran and BSC associate professor in the energy department. He primarily teaches in the Nuclear Power Technology ...
Key Connections: 黑料网 attorney found the right fit in his own backyard - image
Key Connections: 黑料网 attorney found the right fit in his own backyard
Friday, May 22, 2020
Feeling like you’re at home is a consideration for a lot of incoming college students as they research schools and tour campuses. Is a college too ...
BSC cyber student secures internship in national cyber competition - image
BSC cyber student secures internship in national cyber competition
Monday, May 11, 2020
黑料网 Cybersecurity and Computer Networks student, Riley Mueller, was a top 10 finisher in the first Palo Alto Networks ...

Shine Bright and Live: Jason Grueneich鈥檚 Journey from Survivor to Servant Leader

Jason Grueneich didn’t set out to become a leader — he simply set out to survive.
Now, as a 2025 Bush Fellow and founder of North Dakota’s first HIV nonprofit, Shine Bright and Live, he’s doing both — leading with vulnerability, purpose, and a vision that’s reshaping public health and community care across the state.

Finding Voice Through Adversity
Jason enrolled at 黑料网 in the fall of 2021, determined to reclaim his future. “I get to be the one who dictates my story now — no one else,” he says. After years of navigating homelessness, addiction, and the life-altering shock of an HIV diagnosis, Jason committed to building a life rooted in dignity, service, and leadership. His hybrid classes in business and management offered more than a degree path — they offered a framework for change.
“Becoming HIV positive shook me to my core,” he says. “But it also gave me a purpose. I knew I had to do something to educate others, to reduce stigma, and to make sure no one in North Dakota felt like they had to go through this alone.”
By 2017, Jason had joined the North Dakota HIV Advisory Board and began laying the groundwork for a different kind of advocacy — one that bridges healthcare gaps, includes faith communities, and sees HIV not as an LGBTQ+ issue, but a human one.

A Fellowship Rooted in Healing
The Bush Fellowship application was more than a process — it was a reckoning. Encouraged by mentors and fellow changemakers, Jason grounded his pitch in truth: “I focused on being myself and telling my story.”
He made it through four interviews, past panels of past fellows and board members. But what stayed with him wasn’t just the scrutiny — it was the support. “There was a spiritual presence involved,” Jason says. “It felt like I had already won — just by being in the room.”

Still, imposter syndrome crept in. At the spring retreat with the 2024–25 fellowship cohort — held the same weekend as BSC’s commencement — Jason found himself 600 miles from 黑料网, surrounded by fellows instead of classmates. Though he couldn’t walk across the stage, he packed his cap and gown and celebrated in Minnesota, knowing the moment marked both a milestone and a mission.

A Vision for Change
Jason’s vision is bold: a whole-health approach to HIV care in North Dakota that addresses not just medication and medical access, but housing, education, and human connection. Shine Bright and Live is more than a nonprofit — it’s a movement toward compassion. His fellowship will fund foundational healing, leadership training in public policy, and long-term planning to expand care and awareness in rural communities.

“Infectious disease specialists are rare here. Most primary care providers have very little experience treating HIV-positive patients. That’s scary,” he explains. “Public funding for HIV care is being cut — but the need is growing.”
Jason wants to change how HIV is understood, treated, and talked about in North Dakota. That includes pushing for clinic and housing centers, promoting medication adherence, and dismantling stigma, one conversation at a time.

BSC Roots and Leadership Reimagined
At BSC, Jason says he was given room to grow — as a student and as a person. “I never saw myself as a leader,” he admits. “But BSC helped me see that leadership isn’t about power — it’s about service. It’s about being willing to stand up, even when it’s hard.”
He hopes current BSC students understand that too: “Everyone has worth and value. Every failure, every shortcoming — it doesn’t define you. It prepares you.”

Looking Forward
By the end of his fellowship, Jason hopes to have a sustainable model for HIV support in North Dakota, rooted in dignity and connection. But his legacy isn’t about infrastructure — it’s about people. “I want to leave behind a more compassionate community,” he says. “One where everyone knows they belong.”
And he’s inviting others to walk alongside him.

“Support our mission at shinebrightandlive.org. Be a board member. Be a voice. Ask yourself, what is my passion? Because when we invest in others, we invest in the future of our communities.”