Aug. 13, 2019

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Alasdair Selmes, rental coordinator and job skills program coordinator at the Multi-Cultural Center of Sioux Falls.

Name: Alasdair Selmes

Age: 32

Hometown: Rutland, United Kingdom

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

My wife’s family live in and around Sioux Falls, so when we both decided to leave our jobs in Washington, D.C., in search of a change of scenery, it was an easy choice to make the move to South Dakota.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

The great entertainment and arts scene, strong sense of community, easy access to the outdoors, the family farm, our two dogs.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Having the opportunity to meet and help so many people from such a variety of backgrounds on a daily basis and hear their stories. 

How did you get connected to your role?

I volunteered on the after-school program at the Multi-Cultural Center when I first moved to Sioux Falls. I built some great relationships during my time volunteering, and after a few months, I was lucky enough to be offered a job. 

Describe the Multi-Cultural Center in three words.

Welcoming. Diverse. Respectful.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community? 

I try to participate as much as I can in my local neighborhood association as they do such great work for our community, although I wish I could do so more often.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

I would like to see a zero-waste or package-free grocery store in Sioux Falls. Plastic pollution is such a big global issue, yet it is very difficult here to buy food and products that don’t come wrapped in lots of unnecessary packaging, most of which goes straight to landfill.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In a management or leadership position at a nonprofit organization, hopefully having completed a master’s degree. But whether in Sioux Falls, back home in the UK or somewhere else in the world — who knows?