SigMT

Text by Holly Matkin • Photography by Eric Visocan URBAN AFFAIRS Introducing SiG MT 18 Coach Obunaga's team is also her Havre family, she says. Montana State University-Northern's head volleyball coach may be new to the Havre area, but that hasn't stopped her from delving into the local scene – both as a coach and as a member of the community. "It is an easy place to live," Rose Obunaga says. "It's easy to make friendships here. I grew up in places where everyone knew each other, too." Originally from Kenya, Rose competed in both the Sidney and Athens Summer Olympic Games as a member of Kenya's National Volleyball team. She was inducted into the Missouri State-West Plains Hall of Fame in 2009, and was named as a First-Team NAIA All-American at both Central Methodist University and Columbia College. Needless to say, Rose brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her coaching position at Northern, where she soon settled in as a leader, mentor, and friend. "I like being at a college where students are few and they are close with their professors," Rose says. "My colleagues are awesome, and we do a lot of fundraising for the community." Fostering that sense of community is one of Rose's goals as she works with the college athletes on her team. "They just jump right in and help!" she says happily. Teaching is a way of life for Rose and her family members, even if their jobs have them scattered around the country at the moment. Her husband, Philip Omunga, is a professor of environmental planning at Savannah State University, and her daughter, Yonne Nasimiyu, is a biology teacher in Virginia. "My only family here is the volleyball team!" she says. Rose has also built strong relationships through her church and by playing on the local adult volleyball team. "I am a Christian with a normal lifestyle – nothing fancy," she says. Olympian Finds Familiar Small-Town Feel as MSUN Coach S MT

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