Meet the new K-State student body leaders: Brady Kappelmann and Zoey Pudenz
Through his experiences as a K-State student and a member of the Student Governing
Association, Brady Kappelmann has had the opportunity to attend a number of different
conferences and meet with students from other schools and hear about their universities.
And because of that, he’s gained a deeper appreciation for just how unique K-State
is.
“I think every time I come back, I realize how good we have it here, whether it be
our relationship with administration, and how willing they are to collaborate with
us on things and listen to students, which is honestly kind of unheard of,” he said.
“I also think the people — like you could walk on campus and meet a stranger, and
they could end up becoming your best friend, or help you out if you have a flat tire.
People are just really bought into the K-State family idea. And I think that's what
makes it so special.”
Kappelmann is so grateful for his K-State experience that he decided to run for student
body president, recruiting a fellow passionate Wildcat, Zoey Pudenz, as his running
mate. Kappelmann and Pudenz view this opportunity to serve as a way to pay it forward
and help other students succeed.
“Through my various involvements across campus, I feel like I've gotten a strong sense
of the K-State community and the culture,” Pudenz said. “I think for me, this is kind
of a natural next step. Brady approached me about running with him, and I could just
tell he was extremely passionate about it. And I felt this was a direct way for me
to give back to the university that had made such an impact and a lasting legacy on
me.”
Opportunity and community
During Kappelmann’s freshman year at K-State, he joined SGA’s Emerging Leaders Program as a way to quickly get connected on campus and to hone his leadership skills.
“It was always something that I was interested in being involved in, student government,
and always kind of had the goal of student body president in the end,” he said. “I
think what's really special about it, is that it's the most direct way to give back
to the student body. And I think as my time at K-State progressed, it was very clear
to me that K-State had given me such a great opportunity, and I really wanted to be
able to give back to the university that had given me so much.”
When Pudenz came to K-State, she knew right away that she wanted to get involved in
student organizations on campus. She joined the K-State Alumni Association’s Student Alumni Board and started working in the university’s admissions and recruitment office. As she
was originally looking at universities, she wanted a school that was large enough
to offer Division 1 amenities, but also felt personal with a sense of a tight-knit
community.
“When I came on my campus visit, you could tell that was the vibe here immediately,”
she said. “Not even just the students — the faculty, the administration, everyone
here just wants to help you succeed. You really are reshaped when you come here to
K-State.”
Setting students up for success
One of the projects Kappelmann and Pudenz are most passionate about is implementing
four-year plans across every major. As students in K-State’s College of Business Administration,
they met with an adviser their freshman year to create a four-year plan outlining
their college experience, and they’ve found this to be a very helpful guide.
“Obviously, we're able to change it over time as our interests change and things like
that, but at the end of the day, having that plan helps a lot to set students on the
right path, to know what they need to do to graduate, and could potentially help with
keeping students here,” Kappelmann said. “They can see their plan ahead of them, whereas
Zoey and I meeting with students throughout our campaign, heard from students that
just have a lot of uncertainty with their classes. If you're a freshman, you have
no idea how long maybe even college will take. I think it's important every student
has that access to be aware of what their college experience is going to look like,
and basically take more initiative of their own.”
“It also comes with a level of transparency between the student, the college, the
university,” Pudenz echoed. “Even if you are unsure of your major, I feel like it's
going to help you [determine] the different classes that you know you'll be taking.”
Pudenz said another area they’d like to highlight is the importance of enrollment
and recruitment to the health of a university. One idea is to host a student council
summit, where high schoolers interested in student government are invited to campus
to learn more about how they can get involved in SGA if they enroll at K-State.
“That way, if this is something they want to be a part of, they can start hitting
the ground running immediately when they get to K-State,” Pudenz said.
Kapplemann and Pudenz believe it’s also important for prospective students to have
an opportunity to connect one-on-one with current students.
“Last March, I was able to go on one of those Connected ’Cats visits, which is really
probably one of my favorite K-State experiences,” Kapplemann said. “I got to go back
to my hometown and talk about K-State with people. There's still a moment that I remember
really well of getting to talk to a student from my high school that I didn't even
know before. She was talking about how she didn't think K-State was a possibility
for her, but she heard from me and the friend that I did it with, and now she is planning
on going. I don't think that's anything really that I did, but I think it's more like
being able to take people from your community that are doing things at K-State and
be able to share that value, I think it makes it a lot more tangible. Just making
that more personal connection shows how good K-State can be.”
Becoming leaders on campus
Pudenz said it was important for her and Kappelmann to meet with as many students
as possible and listen to a variety of voices, not just the ones in their immediate
circles.
“Really understanding that it's not just one person that’s able to formulate and create
change here on campus,” she said. “It really is the family that we've built here at
K-State, being able to do that together.”
That’s a perspective both Kappelmann and Pudenz hope to keep in mind as they continue
to serve.
“I think having the heart for the people that you're working for is the most important
thing to me, being able to understand the needs and concerns that students have, and
being able to really understand where they're at,” Kappelmann said. “In this role,
our job is to advocate on behalf of them.”