When Nicole Monanian spent her first Thanksgiving in South Dakota, she took lasagna to the potluck Friendsgiving. “They definitely thought it was pretty weird,” said Monanian, head coach of the Northern State University swimming team. She has spent the last two Thanksgivings with a local family, and while they weren’t so sure about it in 2016, they were looking forward to it last year, she said. 

Monanian grew up in New Jersey in an Italian family, and a lasagna course was always a part of the holiday for all of the families in the area. The majority of her life up until her move to Aberdeen for grad school at Northern was spent on the East Coast, so it was much easier to make it home for Thanksgiving.