Winter 2013
TODAY
SAB
K-State Student Alumni Board alumni newsletter
By Mollie Stephens, SAB secretary As the ’Cats rushed into the locker room Oct. 26 at the end of the first half of the 2013 Homecoming football game against the West Virginia Mountaineers, the six K-State Student Ambassador finalists took to the field. Two Student Alumni Board members then were announced as the 2014 Student Ambassadors. Chance Berndt, a junior in marketing and international studies from Herington, Kan., and Ava Clark, a sophomore in industrial engineering from Overland Park, Kan., will team up to serve a one-year term. Since the establishment of the Student Ambassador program in 1977, K-State students have selected one male and one female student each year to represent the university at K-State Alumni Association recruitment and alumni events. Both Berndt and Clark are highly qualified to represent the student body, as they excel academically and show passion and dedication to their campus and living organizations as well as toward the community. — Gavin Hargrave ’08, ’10, Berndt serves as the director of associate director of alumni executive initiatives for the Student programs, K-State Alumni Governing Association and is a Association member of Theta Xi fraternity, a Wildcat Warm-up counselor and a School of Leadership Studies peer instructor. Clark is a member of Engineers Without Borders, the Women in Engineering coordinator for the College of Engineering, the director of public relations for Student Governing Association and a member of Chi Omega sorority. In addition to their current responsibilities as members of the Student Alumni Board, Berndt and Clark will serve on the AllUniversity Homecoming Committee, attend prospective student recruitment events, and assist the President’s Office and the Alumni Association with various programming such as events for alumni and prospective students. Through a rigorous process of applications and interviews, Berndt and Clark were elected by the student body during Homecoming Week. The two will complete their responsibilities of the Ambassador program and, in turn, receive a $1,500 scholarship, clothing from Manhattan clothing store Borck Bros. and an
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Chance and Ava will be great additions to the Alumni Association’s Student Ambassador program.
David Mayes ’96, K-State Alumni Association
Berndt, Clark named 2014 Student Ambassadors
The 2014 K-State Student Ambassadors, Ava Clark (left) and Chance Berndt, sport their official K-State rings on the north end zone of Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
official K-State ring from the Alumni Association. “Being named Ambassador means that I have the wonderful opportunity to show alumni and prospective students why I fell in love with this university, and why they should, too,” Berndt said. “In my mind, there isn’t a bigger honor at this university than being able to bring others into the K-State family. I’m incredibly grateful for my selection and excited for the year to come.” Clark added, “Being named Student Ambassador is an incredible honor. It’s an outlet for my passion about my school and an exciting opportunity to tell prospective students about what a great place K-State is.” Gavin Hargrave ’08, ’10, associate director of alumni programs for the Alumni Association, coordinates the Ambassador selection process and serves as an adviser to the Ambassadors. “Chance and Ava will be great additions to the Alumni Association’s Student Ambassador program,” Hargrave said. “I believe they will be outstanding representatives of the K-State student body in the upcoming year.” [1]
[ SABTODAY ]
SAB MEMBERS
President’s CORNER [ FROM THE PRESIDENT ] By Sam Kellerman, President
Wrenn Bird Photography
If there is one thing my time on Student Alumni Board has taught me, it is that in order to be successful you have to learn how to “roll with the punches.” Whether we are working on developing a new program such as the Distinguished Young Alumni award, collaborating on a team project, or facilitating a workshop with prospective students, we must always expect the unexpected and be willing to adapt at the last minute. On a weekly basis, I am faced with new challenges in SAB, and while I often seek the advice of our SAB adviser, Megan Sherlock Brooker ’06, who also serves as the associate director of student programs for the K-State Alumni Association, I have come to expect the same response every time, “You just have to roll with it.” Adaptability is the mark of a true professional, and over the past year, Megan has instilled this trait in SAB members time and time again. From creating DYA from the ground up to revamping our promotional strategies for Wildcats Forever, conducting internal membership reviews to modifying the activities and layout of For Sophomores Only, SAB is constantly striving to advance itself as an organization and adapt according to the changing needs of the university.
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And our biggest challenge this year will be saying goodbye to the one person who has pushed us to adapt and grow through each milestone we’ve encountered as a group. This past September, SAB members watched as Megan married her fiance, Jeff Brooker, and then helped them celebrate at a wedding reception hosted at the K-State Alumni Center. While Megan is finishing the semester in Manhattan, Kan., she will move to Olathe, Kan., to be with her husband in mid-December. In a tearful announcement to SAB, she explained that while she has loved serving as our adviser, she has full confidence that we will continue to adapt and grow as an organization once she is gone. While we will be sad to see her go, SAB is thankful for the time we have spent under her leadership and guidance. SAB is looking forward to welcoming a new adviser in January, and together we will embrace all the changes that the upcoming semester will bring. As we honor our recently selected DYA recipients, select another new member class, strengthen our prospective student programming, and look to engage with the current student body, we will continue to evolve as an organization. While the upcoming semester is sure to hold its fair share of challenges, I have confidence that we will know exactly how to handle them. In classic Megan fashion, SAB will practice the adaptability we’ve been taught and “simply roll with it.” Members of Student Alumni Board and SAB alumni celebrate with adviser Megan Sherlock Brooker ’06 at her wedding reception. Megan married Jeff Brooker in September.
speak up
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Some Student Alumni Board members tell us what they’re doing for winter break.
I am very excited to spend some time back home is St. Louis! I will also be in Dallas for two weeks working at an architecture firm downtown. All before I leave for my study abroad program on Jan. 21! I will be in Orvieto, Italy, all next semester! — Aaron Bisch, senior in interior architecture and product design
I’m looking forward to being at home, reading as many books as possible, finally mastering the art of making an apple pie, and spending time with friends. Having an extended break gives me time to re-energize and rejuvenate so that when I come back in the spring I am ready for another great semester at K-State! — Elizabeth Harner, junior in agribusiness
This holiday break I will be enjoying some down time with family and preparing to leave Jan. 22 for my semester abroad in Prague. — Kevin Kleine, junior in computer engineering
I will be interning at the Kansas Department of Agriculture throughout break and spending a week on a service trip to Haiti. — Jordan Pieschl, junior in agricultural economics/agricultural communications
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SAB to honor Distinguished Young Alumni recipients By Jordan Pieschl, VP of campus programming In February, the Student Alumni Board will host three Kansas State University alumni as recipients of the second annual Distinguished Young Alumni award. The 2014 recipients are Molly Hamm ’10 and Matt Wolters ’03. SAB also will honor 2013 award recipient Nick Piper ’08. The Distinguished Young Alumni Award recognizes two K-State graduates annually who are excelling in their professions and contributing to their communities. The award recipients will return to campus Feb. 24-26 to interact with students and will each present a keynote speech to the K-State community. Piper, a 2013 DYA award recipient of Xiamen, China, was unable to return to campus in 2013 and will join the activities in 2014. Piper, a 2008 graduate and native of Shawnee, Kan., is the founder and CEO of Phoria Energy Solutions. This China-based company promotes clean and efficient energy use in developing Nick Piper ’08 economies. Piper also is working with K-State’s College of Business Administration to create international degree programs with the university and several China-based universities. He travels K-State to speak with business classes and is involved with several philanthropic organizations, such as those that help children with special needs and organizations that promote clean energy.
Hamm, a 2010 graduate, lives in the Dominican Republic and was the first monitoring, evaluation and learning coordinator of The DREAM Project, a nonprofit that provides educational opportunities to more than 3,500 at-risk youth through 13 programs in the country. Hamm also Molly Hamm ’10 serves as a member of the Brookings Institution’s Learning Metrics Task Force, a global initiative that defines educational learning standards that focus on improving learning outcomes for students worldwide. She also has been actively involved with the Inter-American Development Bank’s office in Jamaica, DREAM’s HIV/AIDS prevention program, Grassroot Soccer, the American Evaluation Association, the Comparative and International Education Society, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), International Rescue Committee
and writes a popular blog called Learning Culture that focuses on evaluation in international development. Wolters graduated from K-State in 2003. Since then, he has returned to his rural home community of Atwood, Kan., to run the company he cofounded, SureFire Ag Systems Inc. His company designs and manufactures solutions to apply fertilizer and chemicals to crops in 45 states, Australia, Europe and Asia and has creMatt Wolters ’03 ated more than 35 jobs in Rawlins County. In addition to SureFire Ag Systems, Wolters and his partners have founded SureFire Electronics and FirstWater Ag Systems. Recently, SureFire founded the Dream Big Foundation, which promotes and provides resources to enhance STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Math) education in the school district. Wolters also has been actively involved with the Kansas FFA Association, the Kansas HomeTown Prosperity Initiative, the Kansas Agriculture Research and Technology Association, the Rawlins County Hospital Board and Atwood’s annual Smokin’ on the Beaver Barbeque Festival. The DYA program has changed slightly since its inaugural year, and nominees up to age 35 are now eligible. Justine Sterling, a 2007 K-State graduate and native of Hardtner, Kan., also was a recipient of the 2013 award.
This summer, six Student Alumni Board members and one adviser attended the CASE ASAP Network Convention in New Orleans, La. The annual event, hosted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in partnership with Tulane University and the University of Florida, allowed student advancement groups to share their best practices while learning from others. Almost 800 students and advisers attended the conference, according to the CASE website. Jessica Elmore ’06, adviser for Student Alumni Board, was joined by members Chance Berndt, Aaron Bisch, Heidi Hurtig, Landon Leiker, Mackenzie Mong and Brett Seidl.
Mindy Wiexlman
SAB members attend CASE ASAP conference
From left: Brett Seidl, Mackenzie Mong, Aaron Bisch, Heidi Hurtig, Chance Berndt and adviser Jessica Elmore ’06 wait for the dinner reception to start at CASE ASAP conference in New Orleans, La., this summer.
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[ SABTODAY ]
A year in review: 2013 student ambassadors
It’s been a wonderful year – beginning with the thrill of hearing an announcer say our names while standing in the middle of a football field, to ending the year where we started: at a presentation in St. Joseph, Mo. Tyler Johnson and I have had the amazing opportunity to represent Kansas State University at events for alumni and prospective students this year. We could not have been more blessed by the people we met, the presentations we had the privilege of giving or on our many road trips (where we often got lost). At the beginning of our term, Tyler and I created the presentations that would (we hoped) make the K-State family come to life for alumni who have been a part of the university and for high school students who were looking for the perfect fit for their college experience. These presentations have been given more than 20 times to audiences of six to crowds of 200. Regardless of the venue or the audience, we were welcomed by the K-State pride wherever we went. The support of K-State alumni all across the state – nay, the country – was what made these events so successful. It has inspired Tyler and me to consider our time at K-State as the beginning of our lifelong journey as Wildcats. The K-State Alumni Center has become a second home for us. Gavin Hargrave ’08, ’10, our adviser and the associate director of alumni programs for the K-State Alumni Association, has become the dad of this Ambassador family we’ve joined. Student Alumni Board has been a support system like no other through events such as Just For
David Mayes ‘96, K-State Alumni Association
Outgoing Ambassadors reflect on ‘year to remember’
Jordan Priddle (left) and Tyler Johnson served as the 2013 K-State Student Ambassadors.
Juniors, For Sophomores Only, Wildcats Forever and more. We’ve been blessed by all the support and encouragement this past year. We could go on with hilarious road trip stories and our own inside jokes, but the common theme to them all is that we’ve had a tremendous year. Our last event as Student Ambassadors took place in November in St. Joseph, Mo. This alumni club dinner was the first event we attended at the beginning of our term last year. I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t tear up a bit when I realized that my time as Ambassador had concluded and that presentation would be the last we would give. As we began the presentation, I noted the importance of the
event but didn’t have the words to say what I will now. Thank you for allowing us to represent the university we love. Thank you for showing us the passion you hold for K-State and the love you have for this family. Thank you for making this year one to remember. To our successors, Chance Berndt and Ava Clark, prepare yourselves for one amazing year. We know that it will be one for the books. We suggest plenty of pictures, tweets and road-trip jamsessions with “Dad.” Enjoy the moments you have earned and yet are so blessed to have. Go ’Cats! Jordan Priddle and Tyler Johnson
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