RAPID CITY, S.D. --- South Dakota Mines Athletics looks to interact with the Hardrocker student-athletes to bring their stories to the Rapid City community. With that goal in the forefront, the first student-athlete spotlight focuses on Senior Women's Basketball player Melissa Johnstone.
 
Melissa grew up in Texas in a sports family prior to making the transition to Rapid City, South Dakota. She was a great fit as she comes from a family of engineers and knew that South Dakota Mines would be a great place for her.
 
In addition to being a part of the basketball teams she played a big part in the organization and creation of the Women's Hardrocker Organization with roommate and volleyball player Shyann Bastian. The organization has the goal of creating connections with other student-athletes and developing leadership skills for women.
 
Johnstone is  a senior on the women's basketball team and hails from Flower Mound, Texas. She has been a significant part of the women's basketball teams in her years with the program.
 
In addition to this, Melissa has already secured a job post-graduation.
 
Student-athlete spotlight is a production of South Dakota Mines athletics and will be a regular addition to the growing Hardrocker Podcast Network and multimedia provided by the Athletic Communications department.
 
Here is the full audio interview with Melissa.


 
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.