Charging Ahead: Bison to the Bakken Meets the Heart of Innovation at Steffes

Steffes had the pleasure of welcoming 37 students and 7 faculty members from North Dakota State University (NDSU) as part of the Bison to the Bakken summer program in Dickinson. This program aims for students to create deeper connections between NDSU, energy-sector firms and cities in the area.

This 12-day journey, which kicked off on May 18, is designed to help students build stronger connections with energy-sector employers and communities across western North Dakota. The program is funded by the Economic Diversification Research Funds, established during the 2023 legislative session by the North Dakota Legislature.

While at Steffes, students enjoyed a warm welcome and insightful presentations from our Founder, Paul Steffes, and Co-President, Todd Mayer, who shared the story of who we are and what we do.

They then took a tour of our facilities to see our products come to life and participated in breakout sessions tailored to their majors. Students rotated through three small-group sessions, where they had the chance to hear from Steffes team members across departments about their career paths and day-to-day work.

More than 50 Steffes employees from across the organization—including Accounting, Continuous Improvement, Energy Services, Engineering, Human Resources, IT, Maintenance, Marketing, Quality, Supply Chain, Safety and Tech Support—came together to share their knowledge and experience.

We’re grateful for opportunities like this to inspire future talent, foster meaningful connections, and highlight what makes Steffes—and western North Dakota—so special.