Alumni Award: Jordan Schuft '16 to Receive GOLD Award
Published Saturday, September 12, 2026
When Jordan Schuft ’16 thinks back on his time at Southwest Minnesota State University, he remembers a place that felt personal, practical, and full of opportunity. From the first campus visit to the relationships he built with faculty, staff, and classmates, SMSU gave him room to explore, lead, and prepare for a career defined by initiative.
That same drive and commitment to SMSU are among the reasons Schuft has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the G.O.L.D. Award, which stands for Graduate of the Last Decade. Presented by the SMSU Alumni Association, the award recognizes recent graduates who have demonstrated exceptional achievement and significant contribution to their profession, community, society, or the university.
Schuft graduated from SMSU in 2016 with a degree in Accounting and Finance. He continued his education at Hamline University, earning both a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Administration in 2018. Today, he owns his own consulting business, providing fractional consulting and contract work primarily in accounting and finance. Depending on client needs, his work can also touch human resources, payroll, legal, operations, audit readiness, bookkeeping, controller-level support, and financial leadership.
“It’s allowed me to become a better professional and, I think, become a better entrepreneur, which I’ve always wanted to do,” Schuft said. “I get to work with a bunch of different industries, different companies, different roles.”
That variety suits him. In traditional accounting roles, Schuft said, he quickly recognized that the work could become repetitive. Consulting has given him the opportunity to solve new problems, learn across industries, and keep growing. “With this, it’s ever changing, and it’s rewarding,” he said.
Long before he was advising clients, Schuft was a transfer student looking for the right fit. Born in Hutchinson, Minnesota, he grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Glencoe, Minnesota. He completed many college credits through PSEO at Ridgewater College before choosing SMSU. He wanted a Minnesota school that was close enough to home but still offered independence.
His campus visit helped make the decision clear. Unlike some of the larger group visits he attended elsewhere, SMSU offered a more personal experience. “The SMSU visit was a personal visit,” Schuft said. “I think that also helped in the deciding factors. It was personalized.”
That sense of comfort continued once he became a student. “It just felt comfortable,” he said. “It was very relatable to where I’m from. There’s community based, farm based, small-town based, etc. You’re kind of far away from everything, but you’re still close enough to large cities where you can do other activities if you want to.”
Schuft made the most of his time on campus, describing his involvement with a mix of humor and accuracy as “everything and nothing.” He was connected to several student organizations and committees, sometimes helping groups with financial processes or advising them as they worked to become more active. He served as chair of the Student Activity Fee Funding Allocation Committee and was involved in student technology efforts and campus planning conversations.
Those experiences gave him a broad view of campus life and a chance to work closely with faculty and staff members who treated him as a capable adult. Scott Ewing, Dan Baun, Will Thomas, and Susan Jones are among those he remembered as part of his SMSU experience. “It was very nice because, again, I’m 18, 19, 20, 21 years old, and they’re respecting me as adults,” Schuft said.
For Schuft, SMSU’s size and culture mattered. He valued being known by faculty and staff and being able to interact with people across campus in a way that felt human and approachable. “Just the community aspect within the college itself,” he said. “Being able to talk with professors as a human, rather than just some guy that speaks at 300 people and then they don’t know who you are.”
He also appreciated the range of perspectives found on campus. SMSU students were not all the same age or from the same background, and that diversity of life experience helped shape how he viewed the world. “You learn different perspectives,” he said. “They’ve been provided life experiences that you might not get until later down the road.”
The education he received at SMSU prepared him not only through accounting and finance coursework, but through exposure to many disciplines, people, and ideas. “What I really enjoyed at SMSU was I was able to take a wide array, a diverse type of classes,” Schuft said. “A lot of the staff members were very experienced in what they were teaching.”
Schuft carried that appetite for learning into graduate school while working full-time. At Hamline, he pursued the MBA and MPA through programs designed for working professionals, taking classes at night and continuing to build real-world experience. The pace was demanding, but it fit his approach: learn broadly, work hard, and keep moving forward.
Even early in his career, Schuft chose to give back to SMSU in a meaningful way. He established two annual scholarships and two endowed scholarships, including support tied to student involvement and hardship. When asked what inspired him to start scholarships so soon after graduating, his answer was simple: “Why wait?”
“It was just something I wanted to do,” Schuft said. “When I have conviction of wanting to do something, I’m just going to do it.”
Part of that conviction came from gratitude. Schuft said SMSU had given him a great deal, and creating scholarships was one way to return that support to future students. “I’m not in so much from SMSU,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to do it, just give back into that college.”
He hopes scholarship recipients embrace the full SMSU experience, especially by getting involved. “Basically, just get involved, right? Why not?” he said. “Try to put yourself out there, learn more about things you want to do or things you’re interested in. It doesn’t hurt.”
The hardship scholarship also reflects Schuft’s belief that difficult circumstances do not have to define a person’s future. His family faced significant challenges when he was young after his father suffered a major heart attack and later received a heart transplant. Schuft said that experience shaped his gratitude and his desire to help others through difficult moments. “Just because you have had issues in the past or currently, doesn’t mean that’s defining you at the moment or in the future,” he said.
For current students, Schuft’s advice is to take advantage of the short time they have on campus. “The one thing I hated when I went to college was when people said that it goes fast,” he said. “So when you’re doing it, number one is it goes fast.”
His encouragement is practical and personal: build relationships, stay connected, and experience as much as possible. That might mean joining a student organization, volunteering, working in the community, or simply getting to know someone whose background is different from your own. “Try to get the most out of it,” Schuft said.
As he looks toward the future of SMSU, Schuft hopes the university continues to grow its academic strengths, deepen connections with alumni, and create more pathways between graduates and employers. He sees opportunity in mentorship, stronger alumni pipelines, and programs that continue to meet regional and workforce needs.
For Schuft, giving back is not reserved for later in life or limited to a single kind of contribution. It can include scholarships, mentoring, recommending SMSU to a future student, serving on an advisory board, or simply staying connected. “I benefited here, so why wouldn’t I give back?” he said.
Ten years after graduating, Schuft remains a strong example of what the G.O.L.D. Award is designed to recognize: early professional achievement, meaningful service, and a lasting connection to the university that helped shape his path. His story is one of initiative, gratitude, and a belief that impact does not have to wait.
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Alumni and friends are also invited to attend The Southwest Celebration on Friday, Oct. 2. The event will honor all of the 2026 Alumni Award recipients, showcase exciting projects taking place across campus, and officially kick off Homecoming Weekend. This year’s award recipients include Sandy Culhane ’78, Jordan Schuft ’16, Rolly Muller ’85, and Jenna Kruse. [Read article] To attend the Southwest Celebration, register by September 25. Tickets are $50: https://www.smsualumni.com/homecoming/the-southwest-celebration-registration.html
For the full lineup of events, visit: https://www.smsualumni.com/homecoming/
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