Why choose Saint Paul College, and why that program? These are questions you may be asking yourself as you plan your future and the education you’ll need.

Saint Paul College (SPC) offers a strong location, history, cost, and program length, but education is about more than efficiency. SPC thrives thanks to passionate faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community. We want everyone to find their place and stand out as they advance their education and careers.

SPC helps every student find their passion and develop practical skills to launch a career shortly after graduation. Trades and healthcare students train hands-on with real tools, while students like Dede Baltus in the Biology Transfer Pathway focus on research and academic skills.

How Dede’s Research Turned Batty

Dede Baltus at Research Showcase explain her project to a woman demonstrating student success.
Dede Baltus at Research Showcase explain her project to an older man demonstrating student success.

In Spring 2026, Dede presented at the Science Research Showcase. Her research compiled ten years of local data on bats in the US-FWS Midwest region, which includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. She worked with her mentor, Jill Utrup, a local fish and wildlife biologist with the US-FWS, whom she met at a lecture.

We inhabit more than animals (nature) inhabit us.

Dede Baltus

Biology Transfer Student

Dede’s research provides important foundational data for biologists. Some of whom are researching white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease found in bats across North America, and the effects of wind turbines, including changes in air pressure that can disorient bats.

Dede found her passion at SPC. While she may not pursue bat biology after transferring, her love for wildlife biology grew through her research. (For her full project, download the poster.)

Research poster titled “Good Evening, Evening Bats!” showing maps and data visualizations of Nycticeius humeralis (evening bat) detections across the Midwest from 2016–2025, with sections on introduction, methods, monitoring, background, and discussion explaining bat conservation, acoustic detection methods, and range expansion into Minnesota and surrounding states.

Why Saint Paul College

Dede’s time at SPC highlights:

  • Faculty connect students with careers and help them flourish in the next phase.
  • Hands-on learning made the experience worthwhile.
  • Learning from other students’ projects deepened everyone’s research skills.

If biology isn’t your passion, but Dede’s story resonated, SPC could be a great fit. We offer 54 programs, 72 certificates and degrees, and several transfer pathways. Find your fit and see how SPC can help you stand out.