Summer 2012
TODAY
SAB
K-State Student Alumni Board alumni newsletter
Nate Spriggs (left), senior in agricultural economics, Riverton, Kan., was re-elected student body president. Grant Hill, junior in accounting, Whitewater, Kan., is student body vice president.
By Eli Schooley, SAB member This year’s Student Governing Association elections at K-State involved many members of Student Alumni Board. Three members — Nate Spriggs, Grant Hill and Allison Penner — were vying for the position of student body president or vice president, and they worked hard during the four-month campaign to promote their ideas to the K-State student body. Primary elections took place Feb. 28 and 29, and general elections took place March 6 and 7. In all, three tickets ran for student body president and vice president for the 2012-2013 SGA term. Nate Spriggs, a junior from Riverton, Kan. (and the incumbent student body president), paired with Grant Hill, a junior from Whitewater, Kan., to run on a platform centered on “People You Know. Leadership You Know. Results You Know.” Spriggs and Hill had three key platform ideas: the creation of a student design center available for free to student
GRAD BASH Brett Seidl (left) and other Student Alumni Board members scoop ice cream for seniors attending Grad Bash on May 3. Grad Bash took place at the K-State Alumni Center on the Johnson Terrace. The event was for all K-State students graduating in May, August or December 2012. An official K-State watch, diploma display, plus football and basketball tickets were just a few of the items graduating students had a chance to win at the event.
organizations, the improvement of the student enrollment experience, and the maintenance of an affordable, quality undergraduate experience. Allison Penner, a junior from Clay Center, Kan., paired with running mate Garret Lister to seek the office of student body vice president. Lister and Penner focused on academic advising, campus parking and classroom equipment with their three-part platform, running on behalf of “KSYou.” On Feb. 29, it was announced that Spriggs/ Hill and Lister/Penner would be advancing to the general election, guaranteeing yet another year of student government leadership from a member of SAB. On March 7, Spriggs and Hill were elected student body president and vice president, and they were sworn into office April 12 at Student Senate. SAB is proud of its continued student government presence and would like to congratulate all the candidates on a hard-fought election season.
David Mayes ‘96, K-State Alumni Association
Martin Cram
Student body elections involve several SAB members
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President’s goodbye [ FROM THE PRESIDENT ] By Mindy Highberger, President
As I geared up for graduation, I thought of the many exciting events I was looking forward to in the upcoming months. One event I was not looking forward to was leaving Student Alumni Board. In the past four years of SAB, I have met my dearest K-State friends and my most esteemed role models, and I have learned from alumni leadership what it means to give back to my university. I know SAB will always be a bright memory of my K-State years. As I leave SAB, I am so excited for what lies ahead for our organization. In the past month, we restructured our executive officer team, wrote a new mission statement and began laying the framework for a new alumni event for the spring. Executive-team changes included restructuring the role of vice president of Wildcats Forever to vice president of campus programming. Besides handling
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In the past four years of SAB, I have met my dearest K-State friends and my most esteemed role models, and I have learned from alumni leadership what it means to give back to my university.”
Wildcats Forever decisions, the VP of campus programming also is head of the new campus event. We see this addition to the role as a greater development opportunity for the student holding the position, and an excellent opportunity for growth in Student Alumni Board’s outreach. Before this year, SAB never had its own proper mission statement. We have always gone by the Alumni Association’s mission statement and strategic objectives. With a new event, a new officer position and a highly visionary new executive team coming on board,
we decided to take some time during spring retreat to put together our own mission statement. Here is what we as a board came up with: Student Alumni Board is a professional group comprising passionate students enhancing the K-State experience by creating a link between the Alumni Association and past, present and future students. We achieve our mission through: • Introducing prospective students to University life; • Representing the Alumni Association through peer leadership on campus; and • Communicating student experience to alumni. We believe our new mission statement captures the board’s past but also provides room for potential growth and expansion in the future. Stay tuned for more information on our new alumni event coming in the spring. Signing off for the last time as Student Alumni Board president, I want to welcome the 2012-2013 executive team. I am greatly anticipating all the successes you will have in the upcoming year.
Wildcats Forever team hosts successful spring events By Kristin McCormick, VP of Wildcats Forever Wildcats Forever has seen another successful semester, and it’s not done yet. In February, members visited the Alumni Center to pick up this year’s “beat” shirts, featuring Willie the Wildcat making a slam dunk. This year, members who had signed up a friend at the Bring-A-Friend Social were able to redeem a fast pass for a guaranteed shirt without waiting in line. All of the “beat” shirts were handed out, and members shared photos via Twitter and Facebook of themselves in their new shirt for a chance to win an additional prize. [2]
In honor of March Madness and the NCAA tournament, Wildcats Forever hosted a bracket challenge, offering prizes for the top three entries. These prizes included an autographed basketball and a Varney’s gift certificate. In spite of the many upsets in this year’s tournament, three lucky members walked away with prizes. As the spring semester drew to a close, members of the Wildcats Forever committee gave input to finalize next year’s membership T-shirt design. The new
design will feature a tribute to K-State’s 150th anniversary celebration, and they are sure to be a hit. Rounding out this semester were a root beer float social and a baseball day event at Tointon Family Stadium. Members who attended the game were able to redeem a coupon for a concession item and cheer on the Bat Cats. This summer, a student worker will be set up in the Union during orientation and enrollment, promoting Wildcats Forever to incoming students. Students are still able to enroll on iSIS or in person at the Alumni Center during office hours. We are excited for the fall 2012 semester so we can give out Big 12 prizes and host more events for members on campus.
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By Katy Zapletal, VP of membership The spring semester started with a plethora of selection processes for different student organizations, and Student Alumni Board always has an exciting one. SAB begins the recruitment process in January when it releases its application on the K-State Alumni Association website and sends SAB members to speak to greek houses and different student groups on campus to encourage a diverse application pool. Once the application deadline arrives, the SAB president, vice president of membership and membership committee review the applications and select 75 percent of those applicants for a firstround interview. During the first-round interview, applicants are interviewed by eight K-State faculty and staff members, who then select the top 30 percent of interviewees. These top 30 percent receive a second-round interview, where they give a three- to four-minute presentation about a specific prompt related to K-State to the entire Student Alumni Board. The applicants are then asked a series of questions following their presentation. This year, SAB accepted 17 new members with majors ranging from engineering to agriculture. In addition to a diverse mix of majors, these new members bring their experiences from different organizations and involvement on campus, which makes for a well-rounded group. The new members started their membership with a bang by attending a new member night and then their first SAB retreat. During the retreat, their SAB mentors were revealed and they got a taste of what a typical SAB meeting is like. In the final weeks of the semester, the new members interacted with potential K-State students through For Sophomores Only and with K-State graduates during Grad Bash. The board welcomes these 17 new members and looks forward to the outstanding work they will do for SAB in the coming years.
interested? For more about Student Alumni Board, visit www.k-state.com/SAB
Megan Sherlock ’06, K-State Alumni Association
Spring semester brings 17 new members
Student Alumni Board recently welcomed 17 new members:
Ross Allen, Soldier, Kan. freshman in philosophy/economics
Kaitlin Beeman, Lenexa, Kan. freshman in architectural engineering (minor in Spanish)
Heidi Hurtig, Wichita, Kan. sophomore in marketing Kevin Kleine, Prairie Village, Kan. freshman in computer engineering Jordan Marquess, Olathe, Kan. freshman in biology
Ellen Bergkamp, Kechi, Kan. sophomore in agricultural economics
Jordan Pieschl, Brookville, Kan. freshman in animal sciences and industry/pre-vet
Aaron Bisch, St. Louis, Mo. sophomore in interior architecture and product design
Kathryn Silva, Olathe, Kan. freshman in advertising and English
Canaan Coker, Shawnee, Kan. freshman in biology/pre-medicine
Mollie Stephens, Pittsburg, Kan. sophomore in hotel and restaurant management
Hope Faflick, Wichita, Kan. freshman in political science/ international studies/pre-law
Jake Unruh, Manhattan, Kan. sophomore in finance
Suhani Gandhi, Olathe, Kan. freshman in business administration/ pre-professions
Elizabeth Harner, St. George, Kan. freshman in agribusiness
Adam Wilkerson, Columbia, Mo. freshman in civil engineering
Abby Works, Iola, Kan. freshman in food science/nutrition/ chemistry
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By Katie Kozacek, SAB member The royal purple hue washed over me as I walked into the large ballroom at the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel. It was almost overwhelming to see the K-State pride woven through every element in the room, from the lighting to the tableware. Over my past four years on Student Alumni Board, I had heard stories about the Wabash CannonBall, but now the time had come for me to experience this grand event. The group of SAB seniors headed to Kansas City early Friday, arriving at the location just in time to get settled into our rooms and help set up for the event. We helped arrange the large banquet tables and set up name tags at registration, all the while getting a behind-the-scenes look of what was to come that evening. Alumni can purchase tickets to the annual Wabash CannonBall and enjoy a night of food, music, dancing and, most importantly, purple pride. Some of our most well-known alumni attend the event in their finest purple attire. As students, we all marveled as the people kept rolling in, each one with more K-State enthusiasm than the one before. These men and women have made our university a priority, and their attendance showed their commitment to providing educational opportunities to future K-Staters. Throughout the night, we frequently commented that we hoped to someday attend the Wabash CannonBall but next
Scott Weaver
A senior’s rite of passage: Wabash CannonBall
Senior SAB members attended the sixth annual Wabash CannonBall in Overland Park, Kan., on March 2.
time as alumni. As the night continued, the SAB students picked up the donations made at each table and passed out prizes to some of the most generous donors. The highlight of the evening for me was the dancing. A live band blared in the ballroom as we joined the attendees on the dance floor. Determined to be the last ones remaining on the dance floor, we brought out all of our finest moves.
This was a moment I will never forget, the moment of being surrounded by K-State celebrities and my fellow SAB members in an entirely purple room, dancing the night away to big-band classics. All in all, it was a fabulous event that exceeded all of my expectations. I felt so privileged to be a part of it. The KStaters at this event truly help K-State to stand for what it is today — a family we all claim to be our own.
SAB wins several district CASE ASAP awards By Taylor Veh, SAB secretary This year at the annual District VI Case ASAP Awards, K-State’s Student Alumni Board was able to yet again come out with multiple district awards. An SAB member again was recognized as Outstanding Student Leader. Grant Hill, a junior from Whitewater, Kan., was nominated to represent our organization. Now that Grant was chosen by the district, he will move on to the national competition this summer in Indianapolis. Some of Grant’s involvements and achievements include being vice president of Beta Theta Pi, serving on the K-State PROUD Advisory Board, being president of Greeks Going Green and serving as student [4]
body vice president. SAB found success in the Outstanding Adviser category as well. Andrea Bryant Gladin ’02 was nominated without her knowledge and was very excited when SAB notified her that she, too, had won at the district level and would be entered into the national competition. Andrea moved up in Andrea Bryant the Alumni Association Gladin ’02 to serve as director of programs and has passed her duties onto Megan Sherlock ’06, who took over as SAB adviser last fall.
In addition, SAB won the Outstanding Internal Program award for its New Member Training Program. The board’s vice president of membership, Katy Zapletal, led these sessions Wednesday mornings, and the new members were exposed to all aspects of the university, including meeting most of the deans of the colleges on campus. All the award winners will move on to the national competition, and the winners will be announced at the annual Case ASAP National Conference in August in Indianapolis. SAB will send several members to represent the board and hopes to present one of the breakout sessions during the conference.
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STUDENT ambassador update [ FROM THE AMBASSADORS ]
As we begin to transition into our roles as Student Ambassadors, we are continually impressed by the incredible students, faculty and alumni we are so honored to meet. This semester, we had the pleasure of representing the student body at alumni events in Larned, Kan., as well as at Just for Juniors events in Wichita, Kan., and Kansas City, Kan. Never before have we had the opportunity to be surrounded by such enthusiastic and motivated potential K-Staters and alumni. Just for Juniors is an event hosted by the K-State Student Alumni Board geared specifically toward high school juniors in Kansas. It allows juniors to learn more about K-State
in a small setting close to home and helps them get acclimated to the unique family atmosphere through personal interactions with current SAB students. It also allows them to meet their admissions representatives and other faculty members such as Pat Bosco, vice president of student life, and Larry Moeder, director of student financial aid. During the event for juniors, our presentation titled “Real World: KState” exposed high school students to what it really means to be a K-Stater. With the help of the videos and other interactive activities, we hope these juniors will be inspired to join our K-State family when they graduate high school. To learn more about K-State Just for Juniors, visit www.k-state.com/justforjuniors.
We also are looking forward to the multiple Alumni/Student events this summer. We will have the opportunity to speak with students who will be attending Wildcat Warm-up this summer as well. We are excited to update everyone next fall about our experiences as K-State ambassadors! K-State PROUD,
Phillicia Thomas
Andrew Waldman
2012 K-State Student Ambassadors
Tradition Founders Taylor Veh
FOR SOPHOMORES ONLY
Thanks for all your support of the Tradition Founders Telefund! SAB members raised more than $55,000 for the K-State Alumni Association. It’s a recordbreaking amount!
stay updated!
From left: SAB members Abby Works, Sam Kellerman and Jake Unruh attend the For Sophomores Only event in April at K-State. For Sophomores Only gives high school sophomores a chance to learn about college life. This event is held in conjunction with the All-University Open House.
Don’t miss out on SAB updates! Make sure we have your current information, including a current email address, so we can keep you up to date on all SAB news. Go to:
www.K-State.com/ updateyourinfo [5]