Campus News

My SSP - Mental Health App

With the new school year starting, Allen rolled out a new mental health app called My SSP (Student Support Program) which is available to all non high school students on our Iola and Burlingame campuses as well as online students. This app allows an individual to recieve conseling sessions, crisis sessions, regular tele-med services with state license practioners. My SSP also has several creative guides and resources that are available in the app. Including workouts, referrals to area specialists and other tips and tricks.

The only service that this app does not provide students is medication. Should a student need this, their practioner can prescribe them some. Another advantage of My SSP is that is has several languages available 24/7, which enables our international or bilingual students to feel comfrotable and safe using it. However, the best part is there is no cost to our students to use this app.

Entrepreneurship Series

Allen hosted the first ever entrepreneurship series this fall. This new iniative was focused on students giving an elevator pitch. There was a good turn out of students that particpated in this event. The 3 winners, Jenni Armstrong and Paulia Ard are from Moran and Brett Hawkesworth from Burlington. Feedback from students about how this event went was overwhelmingly positive. The next part of this series is where students write an executive summary for a business idea, which is due at the end of January.

“It was challenging to see what details and steps were needed to get that perfect pitch down. But it was very rewarding in the end!” - Jenny Armstrong

Trail Opening

On May 6th, 2022 Allen Community College and Thrive Allen County unveiled a new one-mile walking trail. This walking trail was completed due to a grant awarded by The Health Forward Foundation. It took several hours to finish this project, from writing the grant, designing the trail path and ultimately building it. This trail will help provide a healthy initative for students, faculty and the community to use during the year.

Food Pantry Grant

Allen Community College Endowment was successfully awarded a Health Forward Foundation grant in August. The grant was for $15,000 and would directly be applied to the Food Pantry on campus. The Food Pantry is an internal service that Allen provides to all students enrolled. Focused on providing necessary hygiene and nutritional products to students when they request them.

Hundreds of students already use this service to help them survive college and assiting them enables them to continue their educaiton without the financial burden of basic living needs. With this grant, our college can now provide healthier options of food, help those with dietary restrictions and provide supplemental hygiene products.

Former Allen Alum ‘15, Chase Terrell has turned his friendly hobby of drinking a cold one and fishing into a career. He launched a new company, Chill N Reel with his dad, Jake Rutledge, his uncle, Chris Diede and lifelong best friend and are based out of Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Chill N Reel is a drink insulator that doubles as a fishing pole. This way you don’t have to set your drink down to fish.

We talked with Chase on where the idea came originally from and he mentioned it was his Dad, Jake, who thought of it while on a family trip in Destin, Florida. Jake wanted to have the best of both worlds, enjoying a drink while fishing at the same time but in a crowded ocean it was hard to do. He caught a fish with a bottle hook on the end of his can and realized that even though he was close to pulling it off, he couldn’t complete it without spilling some of his drink. That spurred the idea of Chill N Reel. Which gave Jake a insulator for his drink to keep it cold and a better stabilizer for the reel itself.

After the idea became an actual product, building with a manufacturer posed some difficulty. However, Terrell and his team didn’t waiver, finally finding a supplier with Royal Vista Plastics in Tulsa who could create their plastic mold. The injection molded plastic used in the Chill N Reel products is a hard shell with no moving pieces which gives it such a solid ability to catch fish and hold the drink.

Terrell’s dream is so close to taking off. While popular now and experiencing success, Terrell and the team are looking for some major investors. On May 13th, Chill N Reel will air on Shark Tank to be taken to the next level of expansion.

Coming off of Shark Tank, unfortnately Terrell and Chill N Reel, were unable to strike a deal with a Shark. They were close to finalizing a deal with Shark Robert Herjavec after all of the other Sharks withdrew their interest in investing. Mr. Herjavec offered a deal of $300,000 investment for 10% equity and a perpetual $2 royalty on each unit sold. This was close to Chill N Reel’s inital investment offer, only difference was the added royalty clause. Chill N Reel counter offered with a 15% equity stake with no royalty. Ultimately Mr. Herjacvec bowed out of investing due to no agreeance on a higher equity if given no royalty on the units. While Terrell and Chill N Reel didn’t get a Shark on the hook, they have seen an increase in business after the airing.

Look for more updates on Terrell and Chill-N-Reel by following their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages below. We love to see our Allen Alum succeed after their time with us. If you are or know someone that you think would be an amazing Alumni Spotlight story, contact us today! Email endowment@allencc.edu or call us at 620-901-6218.

@chillnreel @chillnreel @chillnreel

In the past year, we have experienced the generosity of several individuals and families that established endowed scholarships through the Endowment. Check out the details below.

Gary Hawk Scholarship for the Visual Arts

Gary Hawk was a renowned watercolor artist all over the US and aroud the world. Gary grew up in Carlyle and attended Iola High School, graduating in 1950. After high school Gary joined the US Navy and served during the Korean War. After his time in the Navy he attended Kansas State University and the Kansas City Art Institute. After graduating, he pursued a career in art but within the coporate sector. After several years in the corporate workforce Gary found his way back to his true passion, painting. He continued to create materpieces we all know and love. Gary’s brother Bob Hawk established the endowed scholarship to honor Gary and inspire other Allen students to follow their love of the arts.

M. Lee Brown Family Scholarship

Lee Brown grew up in Iola and graduated from Iola High School in 1960. After high school, Lee joined the United States Marine Corps. He served from 1960-1965 as a combat air photographer. Upon completing his service he enrolled at Allen County Community Junior College and later went on to recieve his Bachelors in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University in 1968. His career involved being the Head Start Director of SE Kansas and working in real estate until he retired in 1995. Lee’s family is a large part of his life. Lee has several family members who attended Allen, this scholarship was established to honor all family members that has passed through Allen over the years.

St. Timothy’s Episcopal Scholarship

For a number of years, the members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church have supported Allen Athletics in providing food to the athletic teams during school breaks. In doing so, many valuable and meaningful connections were made that prompted this everlasting gift.Thank you to all who helped make this happen.

Eugene & Naomi Clounch Scholarship

Eugene & Naomi Clounch were longtime members of the Iola community. Eugene, a native Iolan himself attended Allen Community College when it was on the third floor of the High School. Both daughters, Gena ‘85 and Teresa ‘88 were actively involved during their time at Allen. From the tennis team, theatre, dance and student senate they both had a lot to juggle. Eugene and Naomi always encouraged their children to continue their education however they saw it fit. To strive to reach the next level of education and in life. By creating this scholarship, that legacy to strive for a higher education can continue.