Augie Alumni Spotlight

     Kristin Schmidt Larson ('94) grew up in Sioux Falls during the school year and spent her summers traveling across Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota with her family's business, the Minn-No-So-Dak Carnival. From May to September, the Schmidt family performed in as many small towns as they could reach, hauling tents, animals, and equipment form one fairground to the next. Kristin still loves to travel. Her business, Simple Kindness (simplekindness.co), and visiting family give her opportunities to drive these familiar roads. 
      Her memoir, Traveling Caravan: Growing Up Under the Big Top recounts her childhood on the road. These short, anecdotal chapters tell us of her experience roaming rural backroads. She encountered prejudice and kindness in unexpected places, learned the value of hard work and resiliency, and performed countless shows in the big tent with her close-knit family. The animals of the carnival were as much a part of the family as the people themselves. 
     Her children's book, Rosalita Spreads Kindness, celebrates those beloved animals. Rosalita the elephant was a gift to Kristin's father, Harold Schmidt, when he was a boy. Rosalita quickly became a favorite among both the carnival performers and the fairgoers. Told from the perspective of eager children arriving at the circus, the book introduces readers to the trained animals of the Minn-No-So-Dak Carnival and the delight of performance under the big top.