Professor Donald Lovejoy, director of bands and coordinator of brass studies, began playing music as a kid and turned it into a career. Now, Lovejoy is retiring from Winona State University with open possibilities.

Lovejoy came to Winona State in 2000, but music has been in his life since his father taught him to play baritone horn when he was eight years old.

In the middle of sixth grade, Lovejoy switched to trumpet, which he still plays. In seventh grade, Lovejoy was put into the ninth grade band.

“Since I could play so well, they put me in the cadet band,” Lovejoy said. “And that was the last encouragement I needed to continue playing. I’ve loved music ever since.”

Lovejoy currently directs the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the Pep Band, and teaches courses in music education, theory and conducting.

“It fulfills me everyday when I help my students become good musicians,” Lovejoy said. “Inside I feel like I didn’t get to my students who don’t succeed, but for the most part, my students are successful.”

Senior individualized studies and academic advising major Ashlea Dhein met Lovejoy in 2013 when she played flute for the Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

“He has done a lot for the band program. He cares about music [and] he cares about his students,” Dhein said. “I have never been this close with a professor before. He helped create a sense of family.”

Aileen Rude, a senior majoring in I-Design and studio art, has played the euphonium for over 10 years and participated in the Winona State band with Lovejoy.

“He is so full of life, energetic [and] he is so fun to work with,” Rude said. “He always wants me to do a good job. He really helped me with my solo [when] I played in a piece with the band.”

In fall of 2001, Lovejoy started the Holiday Concert for the Hungry by teaming up with Winona Volunteer Services and Merchants Bank for their 10 Days of Giving to put together a concert for the audience to bring nonperishable foods and money donations. The Winona State band and orchestra play at the concert with a sing-along at the end.

“So many people here have a great need during this time of year. I was raised to do something like this every Christmas,” Lovejoy said. “I also wanted the university band program to do community service.”

Merchants Bank was concerned that the concert may not continue when they found out Lovejoy was retiring.

“It would be an honor if it continued,” Lovejoy said. “It is so important.”

Lovejoy said his upcoming retirement seems closer than ever.

“I wanted to have some health when I retired and if I figure out what I want to do, at least I will have health,” Lovejoy said. “It is still pretty vague though. I look out there and it is all blurry and I am not comfortable with that, being a control freak. It is a huge experiment for me.”

Lovejoy will continue with music after retirement and plans to move to the Twin Cities with his wife and possibly work with an orchestra, but he said he will miss working with students the most.

“The hardest part for me right now is that I am looking at not working with students, and that is getting to me,” Lovejoy said. “I still have to face that fact that by the middle of May, I won’t be working with students anymore. The employment factor isn’t that part that gets to me. It is ‘What about my relationship with my students?’ because that matters incredibly to me.”

Dhein said Lovejoy will be missed at Winona State after he retires.

“I will miss his smile and his sense of caring. It is great knowing someone on campus cares,” Dhein said. “It won’t be the same without him.”

Each semester, Dream Closet has a storage space on campus for donations. Volunteers are assigned to each donation box on-and-off campus to check them weekly, grab all of the clothes inside of it and bring them to the storage space.

The white donation boxes are set up around different areas of campus, including the Student Activity Center in Kryzsko Commons, Phelps Hall, Kirkland Hall, Maxwell Hall, Somsen Hall, Krueger Library, Minné Hall, the Integrated Wellness Complex, the Quad and West Campus. There are also donation boxes outside of campus at Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, Kwik Trip, Bluff County Co-op and Midtown Foods.

Chloe Healy, a junior human resources major, is preparing to take over Dream Closet in the spring.

“We will have weekly meetings to organize everything,” Healy said. “We will go in and separate [donations] by men’s and women’s. Then youth, junior and adults before separating by size and pant, shorts, long sleeve and sweaters.”

All the donations collected are given away at Dream Closet’s free shopping event, which will take place on Nov. 19 in the Business Engagement Center in Somsen Hall and is open to the public.

The event is primarily run by volunteers, who man the dressing rooms and greet people as they step into the Engagement Center, as well as help people look for sizes and pull out options for them.

“We wouldn’t be possible without the community as well. Places like Wal-Mart and Hy-Vee have donated in the past and without those donations we wouldn’t be here. Student Senate also provides us the money to do certain things,” Ingebrand said. “It just a takes a big group of people to make it happen.”

Dream Closet provides a table at the event with food that shoppers can have while shopping or take home with them, including water bottles, juice boxes and fresh fruit donated from different grocery stores in the Winona area.

“Something that has really stuck with me was when a mom asked me if she could have a clementine for her kids and she had four kids,” Ingebrand said. “I told her she could take as many as she wanted. She then told me that her kids had never had these because she couldn’t afford them. I literally went to the back and grabbed a whole bag for her and her kids. What we do does have an impact on people.”

Though Dream Closet collects donations for disadvantaged and low-income community members, Ingebrand said the organization encourages anyone to come to the event.

“We do not turn anyone away. If you could benefit from it, please come,” Ingebrand said.

Healy said Dream Closet tries to reach out to as many people as possible.

“We really want to touch more lives and help out as many people as we can because it is such an awesome event because it is free and you do not really hear that very often,” Healy said. “Anyone can really benefit from it and we want to help out as many people as we can.”