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The students’ voice since 1901 • Vol. 111 No. 24 • Thursday, April 26, 2012 • Check us out online.
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Vogts bids fond farewell to ESU, heads for KU R ocky R obinson robinson@esubulletin.com As the school year comes to an end, Emporia State prepares to lose another group of bright minds. As for senior occupational therapy major and Associated Student Government President Ashley Vogts, she will say goodbye to the school she has called home for the last four years. “For the past 30-plus years, I have worked with many student government and campus leaders, and without a doubt, Ashley is one the most talented peer leaders I have had the pleasure of working with at universities in both Kansas and Texas,” said President Michael Shonrock. After graduation Vogts plans to go to the University of Kansas to get her graduate degree in occupational therapy, a step for which she says ESU has prepared her. “It is going to be interesting and
fun,” Vogts said. “It is a three year program and is going to be a whole new chapter of my life.” Vogts said she has made lasting friendships and still stays in touch with the girls she met in her first year while living in the Towers Residential Complex. “I lived on an all girls floor, and we became super fast friends,” Vogts said. “We still get together a couple times a month because
else, it just felt right,” Vogts said. “I have had so many opportunities and experiences here, and I know I couldn’t have done it if I wouldn’t have come to Emporia State.” With all the added responsibilities of being a senior, Vogts still managed to take on the task of ASG president, a position that ASG vice president and senior marketing major Jennifer Cheray talked her into. “She was supposed to go to KU this year, so her plans were kind of up in the air for a long time,” Cheray said. “We didn’t think it was going to happen, but we just rolled with it and it came together.” Vogts said she is not worried about finding a job after finishing college with the education she has received from ESU and the career she has chosen. “She is exceptional and will continue to excel in her graduate studies at the University of Kansas,” Shonrock said.
“I didn’t even look anywhere else, it just felt right.” -Ashley Vogts, senior occupational therapy major
VOGTS
Seniors remain optimistic for job prospects R ocky R obinson robinson@esubulletin.com About the time America entered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, this year’s seniors were just starting college. Now unemployment remains around 8.2 percent, but assistant professor of economics Rob Catlett said there is still hope. “Employment and unemployment tend to lag behind the rest of the economy,” he said. “Employers are reluctant to hire new workers after a recession because they are not sure when we are out of it.” While the job market declines, the qualifications needed for the remaining jobs increases. Now students need masters and doctorates to compete for jobs that previously only required associates and bachelors degrees. They also must compete
with experienced workers who lost jobs in the recession. “One of the biggest advantages a college graduate has is that employers are looking for new ideas,” Catlett said. “Fresh, creative ideas are always an advantage. A student doesn’t need to know exactly what they want to do, but the worst thing they can tell an employer is ‘I don’t know.’” With more school comes more costs. The average undergraduate owes about $25,000 dollars after graduation and generally only has more school and more debt to look forward to. The Obama administration said that students should expect to see an increase in Stafford loan interest rates, which will double July 1, raising them to around 6.8 percent. If the tuition and budget committee’s proposal goes through, Emporia
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Tullis Stands Out
President Michael Shonrock presents senior English major Eden Tullis with the Outstanding Senior Award. The Dwight and Ida Curry Newberg Outstanding Senior Banquet was held Monday in Webb Hall. Yohan Kim/The Bulletin
Seniors reflect, make post-graduation plans L uke B ohannon bohannon@esubulletin.com With only a few weeks left in the semester, seniors have already begun to say goodbye to their school and prepare for the next chapter in their lives while reflecting on their time in college. Kyle Farmer, senior secondary education and social sciences major, said that his college life has been full of ups and downs. “I’ve learned how to be an adult (and) I’ve learned more about being responsible,” Farmer said. “I’ve joined an excellent fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and they’ve helped me become more responsible, work hard, get out there more and care more about things outside myself.” Farmer said that he’d miss late night talks with friends the most, but wouldn’t miss finals. After graduation, Farmer said he’s planning on finding a job teaching high school history or world geography. Many other seniors also have
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we all kind of split into different departments. It has just been a great four years, and I tell people all the time if I could make a career out of staying at Emporia State I would.” Vogts, a second-generation Hornet, said her mother’s stories about ESU helped make the decision to come here an easy one. “I didn’t even look anywhere
Graduates find ways to stay connected L uke B ohannon bohannon@esubulletin.com
Photo Illustration by Julie Thephachan
In the digital age, keeping in touch with people has become as simple as turning on a computer, and this fact weighs heavily on alumni relations at Emporia State. However, some students aren’t planning on just using digital means to keep in touch. Nikki Metz, alumni programs coordinator at the Sauder Alumni Center, detailed some of the university’s methods for keeping alumni up-to-date on events at ESU. Metz said they use an e-newsletter called the Hornet Blast, which can be signed up for online. There are also alumni chapters for the university in several cities, including Kansas City, Wichita, Salina, Topeka and Lawrence, among oth-
ers. The Emporia Connection chapter is the African American chapter, which is a national chapter that meets once a year. “It’s a two way street. If our students have good experiences, fond experiences and a great life changing experience as an undergraduate or a graduate, they’re going to be prone to keep their contact information up,” said Roger Heineken, administrative officer for the Memorial Union and ESU alumnus. Greek alumni also have a wide variety of ways they can keep in contact with their chapters. Luke Drury, junior political science major and president of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, said that the fraternity uses both a monthly and a quarterly newsletter to keep in touch with
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