As they visited campus for Orientation and Enrollment, Kansas State University’s newest group of incoming students shared several reasons why they chose K-State. Some came because of K-State’s strong reputation for academic programs. Others were drawn to the beautiful campus. But perhaps the most important reason was K-State’s sense of family, and the welcoming atmosphere and belief that every student matters.

 

The K-State Alumni Association helped welcome these incoming students to the K-State family by serving Call Hall ice cream during Orientation and Enrollment in June. Below, meet four of these new students and their families, and learn why they decided to come to K-State. (Photos by Ashley Pauls)

 

 

Incoming students don’t have to wait until they graduate to get connected to the K-State Alumni Association. The Association’s student program, Wildcats Forever, is one of the largest organizations on campus. For only $20, students receive a membership T-shirt, a collectible glass and discounts to places such as Call Hall Dairy Bar, Acme Gift, Colbert Hills and more. There also are opportunities throughout the year to participate in events, contests and giveaways for items such as snacks during finals week, pizza and K-State apparel. Learn more.

While they were students at Kansas State University, Bailey Elliott ’15 and Emily Ewert ’16 had a lot in common. They had similar majors, took some of the same classes, and pledged to the same sorority — Alpha Delta Pi — where they shared fun memories such as spontaneous food runs or goofy, late-night study breaks.

 

However, the two friends now share something even more precious, and their K-State connection led to a lifesaving gift. When Bailey developed a serious illness affecting her kidneys and learned she would need a transplant, Emily stepped up and volunteered to donate one of her own kidneys.

 

“I could not thank her enough and I don’t know how I’ll ever thank her,” Bailey said of her K-State sorority sister. “I get goosebumps thinking about it because she’s definitely changed my life.”

 

After their graduation from K-State, Bailey started physical therapy school in Leavenworth, Kansas, while Emily returned home to Overland Park, Kansas, to start prepping for physician assistant school. Then, last August, Bailey went to the doctor for what she thought was a minor infection but was actually stage five kidney failure.

 

At age 23, Bailey learned she was born with a condition that was slowly scarring her kidneys. Doctors immediately put her on the transplant list. Doctors were amazed Bailey never felt any symptoms, so they had her drastically change her diet in hopes she could avoid dialysis while they searched for a donor.

 

Bailey’s family shared the news with a Go Fund Me page, which Emily saw flood her Facebook feed. Emily decided that maybe she could be the one to help Bailey.

 

“I reached out to be tested because I felt it was a way I could help Bailey in a time of need,” Emily said. “There are several steps to find out if you are a match. I did not tell Bailey I was being tested until it was determined I was eligible for surgery. I did not want her to get her hopes up or be disappointed if something went wrong during my testing.”

 

Bailey had no idea Emily was being tested, until the night Emily knocked on the door of Bailey’s apartment.

 

“She walks in and had a sign that says, ‘No, I’m not kidney-ing you, we’re a match,’ because that was the slogan for my Go Fund Me page,” Bailey said. “I was in shock. She just came and hugged me and I started crying!”

 

In mid-May, the two Wildcats found themselves at University of Kansas Health, where doctors took one of Emily’s kidneys and transplanted it in Bailey. The new kidney will keep Bailey from dialysis and will prolong her life over the long term.

 

The women spent just four days in the hospital, and now they plan to spend a lifetime celebrating a bond beyond sisterhood, their story one of the many inspiring examples of K-Staters helping K-Staters.

 

“Bailey and I are doing very well,” Emily said in a recent update. “While Bailey still has regular appointments to ensure she is not rejecting my kidney, I only had a two-week appointment and will have a six-month appointment. We are both healthy and back to school and work!”

 

Story originally published by WIBW-TV, reposted with permission. Additional reporting by the K-State Alumni Association.

Kansas State University’s track and field team maintained its national prominence in several events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.

 

Christoff Bryan added to K-State’s storied high jump history, claiming the program’s fifth outdoor men’s high jump title in the last 11 years, while Shadae Lawrence won K-State’s first-ever discus title. She was one of eight Wildcat women to contribute toward the team’s 25 points to place ninth, K-State’s third-straight top-10 finish at the outdoor meet.

 

“The girls finished what has been a very good year on an even higher note,” Cliff Rovelto, director of track and field and cross country, said about the team’s effort.

 

Including national indoor meets, Bryan, Kingston, Jamaica, had finished fifth, second and third in his last three NCAA Championships, respectively. The junior out of Jamaica cleared 2.21m/7-03 to join an elite group of K-State men’s high jumpers to win outdoor national titles: Erik Kynard Jr., Nathan Leeper and Scott Sellers — two Olympians and an eight-time All-American, respectively.

 

“I am really happy for this win. It has been a tough outdoor season for me so far. I’ve been working really hard for this,” Bryan said. “Once you are mentally tough, you can achieve anything.”

 

Lawrence, St. Catherine, Jamaica, has been on fire all season, placing first at every meet, winning a Big 12 title, breaking her own school record and the Jamaican national record. The sophomore’s last attempt landed at 61.37m/201-04, more than four feet farther than the second-place finisher.

 

“During my last throw, I knew I had to have a big mark,” Lawrence said. “I had to get in a good position and throw with more intensity, and that is what I did. All I was thinking was that I had to get over the 60-meter line. When I saw that it went over the line, I went crazy.”

 

Bryan and Lawrence’s pair of titles mark the fourth time in five years that at least one K-State track and field athlete won an outdoor national title. It’s only the third time in school history that multiple Wildcats claimed individual championships at the national outdoor meet, the last time being in 2011.

For the third year in row, a national study finds Kansas State University is the best education value in Kansas.

 

K-State again tops SmartAsset’s study of which schools provide the best bang for the educational buck in the Sunflower State. The study measures tuition, living costs, average scholarships and grants, starting salary upon graduation and retention rates at 10 Kansas schools to determine its best value schools. SmartAsset is a financial data and technology company.

 

Among the factors keeping K-State at the top of the list include having the highest average starting salary for new graduates and the highest student retention rate in the state — both by wide margins over other Kansas schools.

 

“K-State students and our graduates are directly benefiting from a remarkable return on their investment,” said Pat Bosco ’71, ’73, vice president for student life and dean of students. “A high-paying job in your area of interest — and most often in the state of Kansas — is the immediate goal of many of the students we serve. Students, family members and employers — everybody wins by choosing to attend K-State and by hiring K-Staters. This index value is huge and no one is even close to matching the return in investment K-Staters have enjoyed for the past three years.”

 

The average starting salary for a new K-State graduate is $48,300, which is up $400 from last year’s study and is $1,400 higher than the average for a new graduate of the University of Kansas, the second-place school in this category. K-State’s student retention rate of 83 percent was 3 percent higher than second-place KU’s.

 

The good news, Bosco said, is that K-State’s retention rate is continuing to climb, with the freshman-to-sophomore rate at 85.11 percent. He credits K-State’s first-year retention programs, called K-State First, for increasing student retention. The university also is ensuring college is affordable by awarding $230 million in financial aid, including $29 million in scholarships, each year. With more than 250 degrees and options and student services such as free tutoring, financial counseling and career placement, Bosco said the university is committed to helping students graduate and find good jobs.

 

“Progress toward graduation, jobs and affordability are K-State priorities because they are so important to our students and prospective students,” Bosco said. “This study shows we are succeeding.”

 

A welcoming place: K-State on list of 50 best colleges for inclusiveness

K-State has earned another recognition for being among the nation’s most inclusive universities.

 

College Choice, an online publication that provides free resources to help students in their college search, includes K-State on its list of the 50 best colleges for LGBTQ students. At No. 45, K-State is the only university from Kansas and one of just four schools from the Great Plains to be ranked. Only one other university from the Big 12 Conference — University of Texas, Austin — made the list.

 

For its rankings, College Choice looked for schools that protect their LGBTQ students through policy inclusion, that offer a number of resources and services for LGBTQ students, and that intentionally promote LGBTQ perspectives in their curriculum.

 

In selecting K-State, College Choice called the university “a safe haven among the plains, and an affordable one to boot.” The university garnered praise for its nondiscrimination statement that includes both sexual orientation and gender identity, and for providing training to faculty, staff and administrators on inclusivity. University events and celebrations especially for LGBTQ students, Sexuality and Gender Alliance Progressive Dinner, and World AIDS Day events, also were cited by the online publication.

Every summer, the K-State Alumni Association helps spread purple pride as it travels across the state for the annual Catbacker Tour and Alumni Club events.

 

K-Staters of all ages gather for food and fun in a variety of cities, where they have an opportunity to connect with other Wildcat fans, learn updates about the university and athletics, and support future K-Staters by awarding scholarships.

 

Alumni Clubs bring K-State alumni and friends together for social gatherings, promote K-State and connect alumni to their alma mater. Many clubs host a summer gathering that includes special guests from the university leadership, presentations by the K-State Student Ambassadors and scholarships to help students attend K-State.

 

The Alumni Association annually awards more than $500,000 in student scholarships with funding provided by local K-State alumni and friends and Alumni Association programming.

 

“The Alumni Association board of directors is committed to helping prospective students attend K-State, and the alumni club scholarship program is a vital component in assisting those efforts,” said Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. “We greatly appreciate local alumni and friends who have helped make these awards possible through their loyal support.”

 

Locate an ALUMNI CLUB near you or find an UPCOMING EVENT.

 

Catbacker Clubs are co-sponsored by K-State Athletics and the Alumni Association and help increase awareness of and support for K-State Athletics programs. This year, the Alumni Association and K-State Athletics rolled out some new features at the Catbacker events, including inflatable games and T-shirts for all kids in attendance, unique ticket packages and exclusive auction items and giveaways.  

 

“The new pep-rally style setting was created to target families and Wildcat fans of all ages,” said Matt Giller ’11, ’14, assistant director of development for K-State Athletics and Catbacker Club liaison. “Our fans across the state make the trip to Manhattan multiple times a year, and for us to spend one day in their communities is something we look forward to.”

 

Although the 2017 Catbacker Tour concluded June 16 with an event in Manhattan, Kansas, keep an eye out for next year’s schedule.

 

View photos from some of these events below (lead photo of Southwest Catbackers at their luncheon in Liberal, Kansas, on May 17).

 

Through partnerships with the K-State Student Union and the K-State Campus Store, the K-State Alumni Association is able to offer discounts to its members at several locations in the Student Union.

 

Members of the Junior Wildcats Club are now eligible to receive discounts at the K-State Student Union’s bowling alley. Additionally, Alumni Association members receive a discount at the K-State Campus Store, which is located in the K-State Student Union.

 

“So many K-Staters have wonderful memories spending time in the K-State Student Union, and we are incredibly excited to offer these discounts to our members,” said Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. “The K-State Campus Store and Student Union are both tied closely to our Wildcat Community. These discounts strengthen that connectedness and add to the value of membership in the Alumni Association.”

 

Starting in July, Junior Wildcats Club members receive a 10 percent discount when bowling at the Student Union and a 10 percent discount for renting the birthday party venue at the bowling alley.

 

The discount comes as part of a larger agreement reached by the Student Union and the K-State Alumni Association to work together on various partnerships.

 

Junior Wildcats Club is a group for children ages 2 to 12 sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and K-State Athletics. For more information about Junior Wildcats Club or to sign your child up, visit www.JuniorWildcatsClub.com.

 

K-State Alumni Association membership also includes a discount at the K-State Campus Store.

 

The K-State Campus Store is Kansas State University’s official university bookstore and offers a wide selection of K-State apparel and gifts. As the official merchandise partner of the K-State Alumni Association, the K-State Campus Store now offers a 10 percent discount to members. To use the discount, members simply need to show their membership card at store locations in the K-State Student Union on the Manhattan campus and the College Center on the Polytechnic campus. The discount applies to apparel and gift items only.

 

The Alumni Association offers many other benefits, exclusive to members, throughout the year, such as the K-Stater magazine, annual wall calendar, McCain Performance Series discounts and more. Membership in the Association is open to anyone, not just K-State graduates. Learn more.

This summer, the United States will experience a historical event — a total eclipse of the sun. On Aug. 21, the moon will completely block out the sun, turning daylight to twilight, and revealing the sun’s shimmering corona.

 

It will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. According to NASA, this total eclipse will cross the entire country, coast-to-coast, for the first time since 1918. The total eclipse will take a little over an hour and a half to cross the U.S.

 

The K-State Alumni Association will be hosting a Total Solar Eclipse Watch Party on Aug. 21 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Visibility of the eclipse varies based on location, and St. Joseph is an ideal spot to view the celestial phenomenon. The eclipse process will begin at approximately 11:40 a.m. and end at 1:08 p.m.

 

The family-friendly watch party takes place at East Hills Mall, 3702 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, Missouri. East Hills Mall is an official watch site with a free indoor planetarium; restaurants and food trucks; children’s play areas; and special customer discounts with K-State exclusive solar eclipse glasses (K-State solar eclipse glasses will be available at the K-State Alumni Association location while supplies last). Parking will be on a first-come, first-served basis, or there will be limited reserved parking available. Watch our Facebook event page for more information on the location.

 

If you’re not able to join us for the watch party, retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak — or “Mr. Eclipse” — offers these tips to watch safely at home. Espenak visited K-State in April to present an astrophotography workshop and a public lecture.

 

Espenak said using a pair of special eclipse glasses for watching the partial phases is a must to prevent eye damage. If you are in the path of totality (the moon completely covers the sun’s face; not all locations will experience this), you can take the eclipse glasses off and it’s safe to look at the sun. Learn more about how to safely photograph a solar eclipse, including the use of special solar filters to protect your eyes and the camera.

 

Kansas State University is planning several events to coincide with the total solar eclipse, including an astronomy viewing night and a total solar eclipse bus trip. We hope to see you at one of these events!

We’re celebrating 90 years of the K-State Fight Song in 2017, and we need your help! Share videos of you and your friends or family singing along for a chance to be featured in our 90th anniversary video, to be released in August. Don’t forget to wear purple! Submit a video. 

 

 

Kansas State University junior Tori Burkhart, Strong City, Kansas, is the winner of a Wildcats Forever scholarship sponsored by AT&T.

 

Wildcats Forever is the K-State Alumni Association’s student organization. The AT&T scholarship is given to one student per semester.

 

Burkhart is majoring in mass communications with a minor in leadership studies, and she said she loves being a student at K-State because of the family atmosphere and the way the campus feels like “home.” For her, Wildcats Forever is a part of that sense of family.

 

“I decided to join the organization as an incoming freshman to become instantly involved in something on campus that is so widespread and known,” she said. “This organization will allow you to be involved and be part of something special at K-State. You also receive a cool membership T-shirt, special discounts and a Wildcats Forever glass for joining, so that’s definitely a plus! The giveaways throughout the year are an added bonus to everything. There’s really no reason not to join this fantastic organization.”

 

If you know a new or returning K-State student who would like to get more engaged on campus, why not encourage them to join Wildcats Forever, one of the largest organizations at the university? For only $20, students receive a membership T-shirt, a collectible glass and discounts to their favorite places in town, such as Call Hall Dairy Bar, Acme Gift, Colbert Hills and much more. There also are opportunities throughout the year to participate in events, contests and giveaways. Wildcats Forever gives away items such as snacks during finals week, pizza, K-State apparel and more. All you have to do to get these great benefits is verify your membership through our K-State Alumni Link for Life app!  

 

To join Wildcats Forever, students can sign up anytime online through their KSIS account. You can also gift a membership to a student. Learn more about Wildcats Forever or download the K-State Alumni Link for Life app to stay connected.

Kansas State University recently named six Keystone Research Faculty Scholars in the College of Engineering and three Faculty Stars in the College of Arts and Sciences as part of an initiative to recruit and retain top faculty members.

 

Funded and supported by a gift from 1996 K-State graduate and Aspera CEO and co-founder Michelle Munson, and her husband, Serban Simu, the Keystone Research Faculty Scholars and Faculty Stars programs reflect Aspera’s success through difficulties and the rigors of academic research. Munson, a Junction City, Kansas, native and graduate of Chapman High School, and Simu now live in Berkeley, California.

 

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Selling success: K-State couple and Edward Jones invest in National Strategic Selling Institute

Doug ’68 and Vicki Hill, St. Louis, Missouri, and financial services firm Edward Jones have collectively contributed $2 million to the National Strategic Selling Institute (NSSI) in the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University. The funds will be used to invest in faculty, enabling growth of the program.

 

“We want to contribute to the evolution of the NSSI program into a full-fledged sales major,” said Doug Hill, a senior partner and former managing partner at Edward Jones. “Those who choose this major will be able to take the courses necessary to decide whether they want to pursue a career in sales. Through NSSI, students get the opportunity to experience sales as a profession. Edward Jones hires a lot of individuals and provides extensive training before they begin building their practices. Students coming out of the NSSI program at K-State already have strong sales skills, which gives them a leg up on the competition and enables them to be more successful right out of college.”

 

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