GradTalk podcast: The making of a principal

January 22, 2026

Published in: College of Education & Human Development, Learning, School of Graduate Studies

Thanks to the Aspiring Principals Pipeline program, Dave Muhonen earned a rigorous UND graduate degree online and then stepped directly into a K-12 leadership role

Editor’s note: In the second episode of the UND GradTalk podcast, Dave Muhonen, Pembina Elementary and High School principal for the North Border School District in Pembina, N.D., talks with GradTalk Podcast Hose Lincoln Retzlaff and shares insights about his work.

Muhonen is a graduate of the Aspiring Principals Pipeline Grant program, UND’s innovative, online-plus-residency master’s degree program that is reshaping how North Dakota prepares its school leaders.

During the conversation, Muhonen talks about his experiences in undergraduate and graduate school, the reasons why he went into teaching, the reasons why he chose to become a principal and how UND’s Aspiring Principals program helped him achieve that latter goal.

The podcast is above. It also has been posted at UND’s YouTube page, which is where all of the GradTalk podcasts that follow will be posted, too.

Closed captioning is available with the podcast. Enjoy!