Southwest Minnesota State University has been recognized by The College Database as one of a dozen Minnesota colleges and universities with the highest return on investment.

The College Database created a “Minnesota 20-30 Club” which recognizes 12 colleges and universities that have an annual tuition rate below $20,000 and new graduates who earn more than $30,000 per year, on average.

The list of colleges and universities includes nine public institutions, two private for-profit universities, and one private not-for-profit university.

According to the criteria used by The College Database, SMSU has a tuition rate of $6,679, and its recent graduates earn an average starting salary of $36,000 per year.

“It was just a great week of Boys State,” said Director Mike Bredeck. “Southwest Minnesota State has proven over the years to be a wonderful host. Our staff really enjoys coming to Marshall to put on Boys State.”

The week-long Boys State concluded Friday with the election of Simeon Toronto as the 2013 Boys State governor. Toronto is from Andover, Minn., and represented the Boys State city of Duluth.

A total of 364 boys from across the state experienced a week of activities geared toward teaching them more about the democratic process. And while their days were packed from sun up to past sun down, the Boys State participants seemed to embrace the experience.

It was the seventh year that SMSU has hosted Boys State. Its contract with Boys State runs another three years, and Bredeck said last week that he hopes to extend the contract and have Boys State at SMSU indefinitely.

 Elise Kazmerzak, a 2013 SMSU alumna, has joined the Office of Admission at Southwest Minnesota State University as a counselor.

Kazmerzak’s recruiting territory includes Iowa and southeast Minnesota.

Kazmerzak is from Lake Preston, S.D., and graduated with a degree in Speech Communication: Public Relations.

While at SMSU, Kazmerzak was a four-year Mentor Scholarship recipient and worked with Assistant Director of Admission Matt Suby. She created a video blog for two-and-a-half years, in which she chronicled her SMSU experience. She was also an admission ambassador for four years, and an orientation leader for three years.