Michelle Anderson and Darrell Reese Jr. are already familiar faces on the Kansas State University campus, thanks to their involvement in multiple student organizations. K-State alumni and friends will soon be getting to know them better as well, as they take on their duties as the new K-State Student Ambassadors and travel to various Alumni Association events.

 

Anderson, sophomore in finance and accounting from Topeka, Kansas, and Reese, junior in mechanical engineering, Dallas, were announced as the ambassadors Oct. 21 during halftime of K-State’s Homecoming football game against the University of Oklahoma.

 

Established by the K-State Alumni Association in 1977, the Student Ambassador program elects one male and one female student each year to represent the student body at Alumni Association events throughout the state and at university activities. Anderson and Reese will visit with prospective students and alumni; attend Student Alumni Board meetings and activities; assist with programming on campus such as the Alumni Fellows program, Homecoming Committee and other special events; and assist the President’s Office as needed.

 

“Darrell and Michelle have a passion for our university that rivals the most loyal K-Staters,” said Gavin Hargrave ’08, ’10, associate director of alumni programs and adviser to the ambassadors. “The Alumni Association is excited to host them at our upcoming events for the year.”

 

Anderson is a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority and the K-State Student Alumni Board. She also serves as a College of Business Administration ambassador.

 

She said she sees serving as a K-State Student Ambassador as a way to give back to the K-State community.

 

“K-State has become such a critical part of my identity, and I am so grateful for the impact this has had on me,” she said. “I found a home here where I can be myself and the opportunities are limitless. Being an Ambassador [will] allow me to pay it forward and share my love for K-State with others.”

 

Reese is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and serves as the president of the Kansas State University Black Student Union.

 

He said he is looking forward to sharing his passion for K-State with others as a Student Ambassador.

 

“K-State is important to me because it has allowed me to grow as a student and person,” he said. “It has allowed me to be in a community that is devoted to helping students like myself grow and be successful in school and prepare for life outside of college. I decided to run for Student Ambassador because I saw it as a huge opportunity to represent K-State, and to tell many students and alumni about the joy, passion and love that I have for being a student at K-State.”

 

Anderson and Reese were elected during Homecoming week by a student vote from a group of six semifinalists. The ambassadors serve a one-year term, and each receives a $1,500 scholarship, clothing from Manhattan clothing store Borck Bros. and an official K-State ring from the Alumni Association.

 

Celebrating 40 years of Student Ambassador history

As K-State welcomed its new 2018 Student Ambassadors, the K-State Alumni Association also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the program. The Alumni Association invited all former Student Ambassadors back to Manhattan, Kansas, for a special celebration during Homecoming weekend. Events included a 40th reunion social (pictured at right) and a Homecoming pregame buffet.

 

The Ambassador program was created by the Alumni Association in partnership with Blue Key as a way to involve student representatives at alumni events. Blue Key was in charge of coordinating Homecoming until 1991, when the Alumni Association took over those responsibilities.

Fifteen NCAA Tournament appearances. Five retired jerseys. Forty players with career point totals of 1,000 or more.

 

The Kansas State University women’s basketball program has a proud history of athletic achievement, and this year the team is celebrating a special milestone: 50 seasons.

 

The women will open their 50th season against Emporia State on Nov. 3 at home, while the men faced Fort Hays State at home Oct. 29.

 

K-State women’s basketball 

The women’s team is starting their 50th season on a strong note, returning from a 12-day, four-game European tour that added experience and prepped them to play as a team this fall.

 

“The opportunity for the younger players to play extended minutes, play through fatigue, adversity in terms of their own personal play and in terms of how to help the team play better, to get that in August against another opponent is a great opportunity for them,” said head coach Jeff Mittie. “Team-wise, I thought we played harder as the trip progressed, played faster. I thought from a team perspective, offensively we had more assists as the games progressed. I felt like early it was a lot of individual plays but as the trip continued, I think we understood how to play together better.”

 

For the 2017-18 season, K-State returns six letter winners from the 2016-17 squad that reached the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament and secured 23 wins. K-State will honor the 50th season throughout the year, ending with a final celebration game Feb. 24 against KU. Fans can purchase a throwback jersey ticket package, which includes a replica jersey and chairback seat, for only $20. Find tickets for K-State women’s basketball, and read more about the 50 season milestone in the winter issue of K-Stater magazine.

 

K-State men’s basketball  

After a summer of training that emphasized hard work and teamwork, the men’s basketball team is also ready to hit the court for their 2017-18 season. Another training emphasis was winning more close games — last season, 17 of K-State’s 35 games were decided by single digits.

 

“We’ve talked about it a lot, actually, as a team and as a staff, that we lost a lot of close games last year and that is something we’re determined to change this year,” senior Mason Schoen, Overland Park, Kansas, said. “I would say that we competed very heavily this summer and spring. The coaches incorporated a lot of competition with us because when you walk in the Big 12, you can’t just expect wins. You have to go work for it.”

 

Head coach Bruce Weber said he has seen the returners take their work ethic to a new level that the Wildcats’ seven newcomers have embraced as well.

 

“I know it has helped push them to a new gear and another level of intensity from the spring, into the summer and to the fall,” Weber said. “Our whole summer theme has been about character, being accountable, being responsible and tough, toughness to win those close games, character to make the right play, and to do the right thing for your teammates. We have talked a lot about competitiveness. I think that is going to be one of our strengths.”

 

Find men’s basketball tickets.

 

Check out our Ultimate Basketball Guide 

Looking for more K-State basketball content? Be sure to check out the K-State Alumni Association’s Ultimate Basketball Guide, which contains all the information you need to get ready for gameday, including directions, parking, watch parties and more.

As a chief official White House photographer, Pete Souza ’06 has witnessed world-changing events from a perspective that few people get to see. Working tirelessly behind the scenes, this K-State alumnus has captured iconic images that not only document history but also make it personal, highlighting the people and stories that drive these events.

 

In recognition of his contributions to photography and photojournalism, Souza has received the inaugural Alumni Excellence Award from the K-State Alumni Association. As a master of visual storytelling, he is one of K-State’s most distinguished graduates and serves as an honored ambassador of the spirit, values and excellence of the university.

 

“He has provided a window to the world for all of us,” said Alan Fankhauser ’82, chair of the K-State Alumni Association board of directors. “He’s captured the personal side of our presidents. He’s documented the historical moments of world-changing decisions. He’s gone into the field to document and share the reality of those decisions. Pete Souza is the epitome of excellence, and we thank [him] for representing the values and spirit of Kansas State University on the world stage.”

 

Souza’s journey began at Boston University, where he studied public communication. He discovered a passion for capturing images through a photography class, and in order to build his portfolio he decided to look for a graduate school that could provide him with further education and experience. That search led him across the country to K-State. There, he also worked for the Kansas State Collegian and the Royal Purple.

 

Although he’d never been west of the Mississippi, he quickly found a home in Kansas. From 1977-79, he documented events at K-State ranging from former President Gerald Ford’s Landon Lecture to famous entertainers like Billy Joel. Jobs at newspapers like the Hutchinson News and the Chicago Sun-Times eventually led to a job as an official White House photographer for former President Ronald Reagan. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he was among the first journalists to cover the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan, after crossing the Hindu Kush mountains by horseback in three feet of snow. He later returned to the White House as the chief official White House photographer for former President Barack Obama and director of the White House Photo Office.

 

“When I look back at all these different roads I took in my career, the path, every single time, leads back to K-State, and especially the K-State Collegian,” Souza said. “I think that is where I really learned my craft. It was really the beginning of my life as a photographer and a photojournalist. I’ve had some great opportunities in my life.”

 

View some of Souza’s career highlights in the 2017 Alumni Excellence Award video: 

 

 

The Alumni Excellence Award program is made possible by the generosity of the Curt ’73 and Sherry ’73 Frasier family of Beloit, Kansas, whose support will allow the K-State Alumni Association to continue recognizing distinguished alumni for many years to come.

 

“We knew we wanted to give back to Kansas State and felt like this was a way we could do that,” Sherry Frasier said.

 

“We felt like it was a real opportunity to be able to highlight those individuals that have had a special part in our world today and are recognized by others,” Curt Frasier added.

 

Learn more about the Alumni Excellence Award, and read more about Pete Souza in the upcoming winter issue of K-Stater magazine. View the 2017 award ceremony below.

 

The K-State Alumni Center was a busy place in October, welcoming visitors for a variety of events, including Homecoming, the Black Alumni/Greek Reunion and a special showcase for the 15th anniversary of the Alumni Center. View photos from these events below, and be sure to check out our calendar for more upcoming K-State Alumni Association events. We hope to see you soon!

 

Wildcats show their loyalty to Kansas State University with Alumni Association membership — a way to share purple pride, connect with other K-Staters, support student recruitment and scholarships, and receive great discounts and benefits! Check out some of these benefits below, and learn how you can become a member or give the gift of membership. 

 

Do you know a new little K-Stater who was “born to be a Wildcat”?

 

The K-State Alumni Association has a special program for the littlest Wildcats in your life. The Born to Be a Wildcat program gives children ages 0 to 24 months their first official introduction to K-State.

 

The program is free for all K-Staters, and parents, grandparents, family members and friends are invited to sign up any little Wildcats they know.

 

As a member of Born to Be a Wildcat, your child will receive:

 

 

For more information on the Born to Be a Wildcat program, contact Morgan Biles ’13, awards and special events coordinator. 

With a K-State legacy that traces back to the 1930s — and includes the university’s very first football Homecoming queen — the Robinson family members have been proud Wildcats for four generations. Kansas State University honored their history of purple pride with the 2017 Family of the Year Award as part of Family Day activities during the football game on Saturday, Oct. 14.

 

Chimes Junior Honorary selects the university’s annual Family of the Year based on three criteria: how the family is affiliated with the university; the way family members show loyalty and pride in the university; and how they define family.

 

The family’s history at K-State began when Jean Underwood Robinson ’39 (pictured above) attended the university in the 1930s after her father, Grover Cleveland “Cleve” Underwood, paid for her tuition by quarrying limestone for fencing around campus. Underwood Robinson also was the university’s first football Homecoming queen in 1936.

 

“The Robinson family had a very hands-on experience with the university, which really stuck out to the members of Chimes Junior Honorary,” said Tessa Davids, junior in construction science and management, and Chimes vice president of event planning. “The fact that the great-grandfather paid for his daughter’s tuition by actually helping to build the campus as we know it today gave the family a unique connection to the university.”

 

Mike Robinson ’67 was a contributor and sports editor for the K-State student newspaper, the Collegian. Several other members of the Robinson family also have attended or graduated from K-State over the past 40 years. 

BETSOL, a Denver-based company specializing in product engineering and managed IT services, has given a $40,000 gift to Kansas State University’s Computer Science (CS) Scholars Program in the College of Engineering to help develop the program and strategically recruit prospective students.

 

K-State’s unique CS Scholars Program was created to equip students with academic and professional advantages to prepare them to lead in the competitive computer science and information technology industries. The CS Scholars Program offers students smaller class sizes, academic enrichment, professional development opportunities, industry networking, mentoring with faculty and industry representatives and an advanced application of computer science theory through research and internships.

 

Ashok Reddy ’01, BETSOL’s founder and vice president, is a graduate of the College of Engineering with a degree in computer science.

 

“K-State gave me the skills, confidence and self-belief to succeed, which is all a student can ask for,” Reddy said. “We want to support K-State so they can continue to do the same for a new generation of students. The faculty at K-State bring out the best in the students, and students of K-State showcase the potential of the next generation.”

 

“The Computer Science Scholars Program competes with top schools around the nation to attract and retain high-achieving students,” said Scott DeLoach, computer science department head. “BETSOL’s gift will provide $10,000 in scholarships per year for CS Scholars students over the next four years, which will enhance our recruitment of these high-achieving students to K-State.”

 

Read more

 

You can read about other alumni giving back in this month’s College of Arts and Sciences section. Carl ’79 and Mary ’80, ’88 Ice have given a gift to support Kansas State University’s Chapman Center for Rural Studies and Kansas History: Journal of the Central Plains to advance the study and understanding of Kansas rural history.