Increasing rate of SDSU grads staying in Brookings

BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) — A new study from the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce shows a number of South Dakota State students who stay in the city after they graduate is increasing.

Ainsley Bennett is from Belle Plaine, Minnesota and graduated from SDSU this spring. Instead of going back home to find work, she took a job in Brookings and says that was always the plan.

“I met a lot of people outside and that’s kind of what really drove me home and wanting to stay longer,” Bennet said. “Just being able to be around people and feeling supported and having the resources that kind of made it easier to transition from post-grad life to currently.”

Back in 2022, the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce decided to take a closer look at how many SDSU graduates planned to start their careers in Brookings.

“We wanted to learn what SDSU students experiences were happening in Brookings,” Brookings Area Chamber President & CEO Kelsey Doom said. “So we found in our first year that right around 7% of students were planning to stay in Brookings after graduation, which is an extremely low number.”

This year, more than 14 percent of SDSU graduates planned to stay in Brookings.

Doom said the school’s goal is to retain students not just in Brookings, but also the state.

“We implemented things like a work-ready boot camp where we brought business people on campus,” Doom said. “We have around 20 or 30 students that in our first class go through that program and it just gave them a little exposure to the business community.”

“Everybody kind of just made me feel like a person rather than a number, so it just felt very home base and I could tell they genuinely cared about me and wanted me to be there,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t just about gaining admission. It was about actually starting a life and having you feel included within the area.”

Doom says their initial goal was 12.5 percent by Spring 20-25, which they’ve already beaten.

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