Rasmussen College’s new president, a 16-year Plymouth resident, calls the college her “sweet spot.” After a need to get back into the workforce jump-started her career in higher education, Trenda Boyum-Breen now devotes herself to serving “traditionally underserved” and primarily women, she says.
It’s a mission she personally connects with as a first-generation female college graduate from a low-income family. “It’s a college that is deeply committed to transforming not just students’ lives, but the communities in which they live,” Boyum-Breen says.
The college has 24 campuses in six states, five of which are in the Twin Cities area. Rasmussen is one of the first colleges in the country to take on a Public Benefit Corp. status, a point of pride for Boyum-Breen. A PBC status means that the “board is accountable to both the returns of the college, as well as its commitment to public good,” she says.
Outside her office, Boyum-Breen enjoys running and spending time with family. “I’ve been taking my daughters to Parkers Lake since they were in elementary school,” she says. “And it still remains almost a sacred place for me … to refresh, regroup and stay grounded in where I live and who I am.”
