Mercede Odegaard began as a graduate assistant in the sports information department in the summer of 2022 and accepted a full-time position within the office in the summer of 2023. She serves as the main contact for the Coyotes' volleyball and men's basketball teams.
Odegaard hails from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and attended West Central High School in Hartford, South Dakota, where she competed in basketball and volleyball. She is a 2022 graduate of University of Sioux Falls where she majored in media studies with concentrations in social media marketing and multi-media production. She also earned a minor in art. Odegaard is working towards a master's degree in communications from USD.
Odegaard served in the SID office at USF where she assisted the department in writing stories, interviewing student-athletes, shooting and editing videos, taking pictures and posting content on various social media platforms.
For more than two years, Odegaard worked for USF Vessel Magazine, a monthly campus-wide publication. She began as a student writer in 2020 and was a co-editor as a senior during the 2021-22 academic year. As an editor, Odegaard uploaded articles, photos and media, used Adobe InDesign to arrange and distribute material, and delegated responsibilities to student writers while keeping track of all magazine related content.
Odegaard led the publicity efforts of Coach Leanne Williamson’s volleyball program in the fall of 2022 which went 29-4, swept the Summit League regular season and tournament crowns, and competed in the NCAA tournament. She highlighted major award winners in all-American outside hitter Elizabeth Juhnke, defensive player of the year Lolo Weideman and all-Summit middle blocker Madison Harms. Odegaard also assisted in the publicity of Coach Kayla Karius’ first year at the helm of Coyote women’s basketball.
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