SABToday Summer 2016

Summer 2016

TODAY

Photos by Jessica Elmore ’06, ’15, K-State Alumni Association

SAB

K-State Student Alumni Board alumni newsletter

SAB’s spring retreat: A true bonding experience

By Mandy Marchesini, SAB vice president of development s vice president of development this year, I had the incredibly fun task of planning the annual SAB spring retreat. Spring retreat is always a great time, and it’s the new members’ first look at what it’s like to be a part of Student Alumni Board. The retreat took place March 6 in the Tadtman Board Room at the K-State Alumni Center.

This year, the retreat was pajamathemed. SAB members came in full PJ attire, ranging from robes to onesies, matching pajama sets with eye masks, and many members even wore slippers.

To keep the theme going, there was breakfast for everyone to enjoy.

The 2015 new members kicked it off with their new-member presentation, which was about their experience volunteering with the Campus Mobile Food Pantry. The food pantry is a way for people with food insecurity in the Manhattan community to receive free food. The food pantry is a drive-through,

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so recipients don’t even need to leave their cars. The new members helped distribute the food into vehicles. With this experience, they learned a lot about hunger in the Manhattan area, and enjoyed spending time together helping the community.

K-State President Kirk Schulz spoke afterward. He gave us insight about what he wishes he had done differently in college, as well as conducted a Q-and-A session. Members asked him questions about K-State 2025, the university’s visionary plan, and his role as president of the university. SAB enjoyed seeing a more candid side of the president, and we wish him the best of luck as he moves to Pullman, Washington, to become the president of Washington State University.

The main event of the retreat was playing Minute to Win It games, coordinated by SAB member Luke Garrison. We split up into four teams and played against each other in five different tasks. One of the games, Dizzy Mummy, required one SAB member to

wrap another member in an entire roll of toilet paper in less than a minute without ripping the toilet paper. Another game required members to blow bubbles across the room and through a Hula-Hoop. The room was constantly filled with laughter as we watched each other try, fail and try again to complete each task. In the end, Team Baby Lee won, receiving all of the glory (and candy bars).

All and all, spring retreat was a huge success! We had a ton of fun welcoming the new members, and it was a fun way to recharge our SAB batteries for the rest of the semester.

At top: SAB’s spring retreat, which was pajamathemed, included games such as Dizzy Mummy, which required members to wrap each other in toilet paper (demonstrated by Christa McKittrick, left, and Emily Zwick).

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Christa McKittrick, SAB vice president of campus programming n February, Student Alumni Board welcomed back to Kansas State University the two 2016 Distinguished Young Alumni award recipients.

The Student Alumni Board’s Distinguished Young Alumni, or DYA, program was started in 2013 through the K-State Alumni Association and each year recognizes two outstanding K-State alumni under the age of 35 who are excelling in their professions and contributing to their communities.

This year’s recipients were Dr. Kourtney Bettinger ’06 and Clemente Jaquez ’08.

Bettinger and Jaquez arrived on campus Feb. 22 and spent three days interacting with students through organizational meetings, informal classroom presentations and formal keynotes.

Bettinger is a physician and pediatric resident at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. While at K-State, Bettinger was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Mortar Board Senior Honor Society and served as president of Student Alumni Board and president of the K-State Rotaract Club, among other roles. Bettinger was also a 2006 Truman Scholar. She graduated from K-State in 2006 with a degree in modern languages and also earned a master’s degree in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

Jaquez is the design director for Hoefer Wysocki Architecture in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from K-State in 2008 with a master’s degree in architecture and has been recognized as an outstanding practitioner and community advocate. While at K-State, Jaquez was an active member of Mortar

David Mayes ‘96, K-State Alumni Association

SAB honors 2016 Distinguished Young Alumni

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Members of K-State Alumni Association’s Student Alumni Board honor 2016 Distinguished Young Alumni award recipients Dr. Kourtney Bettinger ’06 and Clemente Jaquez ’08 (front row with plaques) at the Feb. 23 award ceremony.

For more information on the Distinguished Young Alumni program or to nominate a graduate for the 2017 award, visit www.K-State.com/DYA. Nominations will be accepted online.

Board Senior Honor Society, National Organization of Minority Architecture Students and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, among other roles. He was also a Rhodes Scholar national finalist, K-State Alumni Association Anderson Senior Award and Multicultural Leadership Award recipient, president of Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity and the Sigma Tau Delta Architecture student of the year.

Bettinger spent her time on campus visiting with students in advanced Spanish language classes, leadership studies organizations and pre-health students.

Jaquez spent much of his time on campus

with architecture students, the Developing Scholars seminar and several campus minority groups.

In addition to visiting with students, Bettinger and Jaquez joined Amy Button Renz ’76, ’86, president and CEO of the Alumni Association, for dinner before attending a K-State basketball game.

The honorees also had breakfast at the President’s Residence with President Kirk Schulz and first lady Noel Schulz.

The capstone of Bettinger and Jaquez’s visit was their keynote lectures Feb. 23. Bettinger spoke about how her trip to Mexico through K-State’s International Service Teams sparked her passion for medical services in Latin America. Jaquez presented on his dedication to designing aesthetically pleasing and service-oriented buildings.

Both DYA recipients will be invited back to campus to speak at the university’s convocation in August.

Thanks for all your support of the Tradition Founders Telefund! SAB members raised nearly $55,000 for the K-State Alumni Association.

K-State Alumni Association Annual Fund

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Want to give?

Donations to Tradition Founders help make programs possible!

Programs include student scholarships, Alumni Club events, multicultural programming, alumni/student awards, career services and the K-Stater magazine. Visit www.K-State.com/TraditionFounders to give today!

Photos by David Mayes ‘96, K-State Alumni Association

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Wabash CannonBall Kansas City ...

A night to remembe r

By Emily Beneda, SAB member uring my first Student Alumni Board meeting, I can vividly remember all the upperclassman talking about their weekend at the Wabash CannonBall Kansas City. They talked of the incredible alumni they met, of the money raised for scholarships and, of course, how much fun they all had. I had never experienced this event, but every spring the seniors would come back from their weekend in Kansas City with new stories and fun memories. Needless to say, when it came time for our turn to go to Wabash, we couldn’t contain our excitement. Even better, this would be the 10th annual Wabash CannonBall.

When we arrived to the hotel, I was awestruck by the beautiful banquet hall and the fact that they could entirely transform the room into a purple winter wonderland. Although most of the decorations were set up, our team of Student Alumni Board members quickly got to work placing programs in the chairs and adding final touches to the tables. When it was finally all set, it was time to get ready for the evening.

Entertaining music, incredible gowns and purple pride truly describe the evening. Everyone was dressed to impress, and everyone also was a true K-Stater at heart as they all were extremely genuine, kind and talkative. All the attendees were passionate K-State supporters, and one of the highlights for all Student Alumni Board members was being able to hear stories about graduates’ time at K-State.

After the talking was done, dinner was served, and donations for the scholarships were collected. It was truly humbling seeing the support that each table raised to help fund scholarships for

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At top: Student Alumni Board seniors Wabash with Willie the Wildcat during the 2016 Wabash CannonBall Kansas City. Above: SAB members take a moment for a group shot during the gala.

students in the Kansas City area. We were very excited to hear that nearly $275,000 was raised this year and nearly $2.5 million raised over the past 10 years.

The rest of the night flew by as we joined everyone else on the dance floor and enjoyed the live band. I know that the group of Student Alumni Board members in attendance this year not only walked away with new memories, but also was inspired to support others just like everyone in attendance at Wabash was willing to support student success at K-State.

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PRESIDENT’S CORNER [ FROM THE PRESIDENT ]

By Taylor Fry, president

There comes a point in the academic year when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the race to end the current chapter of your life begins. Between all of the final group projects, final exams, end-of-the-year banquets, job applications, etc., it is a sprint to get to the finish line. But when you finally get to the end, you look back and realize you would run that race over and over again.

This year’s race was filled with incredible memories and moments that we will look back on in 50 years and say, “Remember when?” Remember when we danced the night away at

Wabash CannonBall? Remember when we celebrated the arrival of Andrew and Amanda Lee’s beautiful SABaby?

(Welcome to the family, Lydia Renee Lee!) Remember when we hung out with awesome sophomores at For Sophomores Only? Remember when we were still a part of SAB? The best part of looking back on these memories, though, will not just be the events themselves, but the amazing friendships and growth that was experienced during our time serving on SAB. SAB wouldn’t be the organization it is without the wonderful advisers, dedicated executive team and outstanding members. It is hard to describe how lucky we are to work with three outstanding advisers: Amanda Lee ’08, Jessica Elmore ’06, ’15 and Chelsi Medved ’10, ’12. We couldn’t

do it without you! Mandy, Christa, and Zev – thank you for being one heck of an executive team. You each did a phenomenal job, and I learned so much from each of you. Thank you to all of SAB, past and present, for making this race such an enjoyable one. Each of you have impacted me in ways I can’t begin to describe, and I am lucky to have crossed paths with each of you.

As this race comes to an end, another begins. I am thankful to have the opportunity to work with the new executive team, Vice President of Campus Programming Sierra Lekie, Vice President of Development Melanie Riordan, Vice President of Membership Ashley Ebeck and Secretary Drew Bormann. I have no doubt that SAB is in great hands and can’t wait to begin this race with you and all of SAB one last time.

SAB helps recruit high school juniors

By Julia Satzler, SAB member n March 28, 19 SAB members traveled to Kansas City for the fourth Just For Juniors event of the year.

JFJ is an SAB member favorite. It is SAB’s opportunity to connect with high school juniors and give them a glimpse of what coming to K-State is like. I love the fact that we have the privilege to give them exposure to what may be their first “college experience” and that we get to share our passion for K-State with these students.

This spring, we began our JFJ adventure by piling into the K-State Alumni Association vehicles and caravanning to Kansas City. We enjoyed an early dinner at Applebee’s, then made our way to the hotel, where the event took place in the ballroom.

The event started with a college browsing fair, where students had the chance to visit tables that offered handouts and information about the colleges and degree programs at K-State.

This was the perfect way for students and parents to ask questions and learn firsthand information. SAB members responded to their questions with personal experiences at the tables holding their particular college major or degree program.

After the browsing fair, parents enjoyed a session by a K-State admissions representative and Pat Bosco ’71, ’73, K-State’s vice president for student life and dean of students. At the same time, SAB members took the high school students into a different room for their own college experience session. The session split up into round-table groups with one or two SAB members per six to eight

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juniors at each table. The session began with an icebreaker game, and afterward Student Ambassadors Mandy Marchesini and Hunter Post gave a presentation that gave a glimpse into their experience at K-State and many things the university has to offer.

After these sessions came everyone’s favorite activity: a simulation where we build a college schedule. The idea of this activity is to give students an understanding of what it is like to come to college and have what seems like a lot of free time turn into a crazy busy schedule! Throughout the night we addressed questions students asked and other concerns or stereotypes they had about going to college. At the end of the evening, we handed out prizes such as K-State water bottles, which the students all loved. It was a fun and successful evening, and we can’t wait for our next JFJ event in the fall.

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New-member class lends helping hand A

Welcome, new members!

Congratulations to the following 13 new members, who will join SAB in the 2016-17 school year.

For a list of all SAB members, visit www.K-State.com/SAB

project, each member was given a duty, including advertising and handing out food on the day of the project. Members advertised by distributing fliers the week prior to the event throughout campus, apartment complexes and other businesses in the Manhattan community.

On Feb. 12, new members worked the food drive in one-hour shifts, working the food stations and loading food into residents’ vehicles in an assembly-style line.

The project was a great learning experience to cap off the new-member experience. Members were able to observe firsthand how much need exists in the Manhattan community that might not always be visible and how much impact members can have on their fellow Manhattan residents. This service learning project was a new addition to the new-member experience, so advisers were hopeful that it would yield an innovative and beneficial result.

“The project put a new twist on the idea of what it means to be a leader in SAB,” said new SAB member Becca Andrus.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to adjust my perspectives by performing a service leadership project and give back to the students and community members that make my college experience so incredible.”

The new-member class enjoyed the experience and was extremely thankful for the donations from Harvesters and the opportunity to join HandsOn K-State in volunteering at the food distribution.

The members agreed that the project was the perfect capstone to the new-member experience, and they are excitedly awaiting the results of the project the recently elected new-member class will complete this spring.

• Jordan Eberhardy, freshman in kinesiology and pre-physical therapy, Olathe, Kansas • Matt Grosdidier, sophomore in mechanical engineering, Lenexa, Kansas • Jeff Hadachek, sophomore in agricultural economics, Cuba, Kansas • Baylee Heitschmidt, freshman in secondary education with an emphasis in English, Hutchinson, Kansas • Kevin Kellerman, freshman in computer engineering, Leawood, Kansas • Hallie Lucas, freshman in biology and natural resources and conservation science, Leavenworth, Kansas

New SAB members help with the Spring 2016 Mobile Food Distribution on K-State’s Manhattan campus.

Photos by Jessica Elmore ’06, ’15, K-State Alumni Association

By Molly Bassette, SAB member fter a full year of learning the ropes, the 2015-16 SAB new-member class completed a service project in the Manhattan area, officially marking the end of the class’s learning term. During the school year, 19 new members joined SAB and begin serving as board members, helping the K-State Alumni Association recruit potential students, staying connected with current K-State students through programs such as Wildcats Forever, and reaching out to K-State alumni, whether members of the Alumni Association or not.

As part of the learning process, the new members served one office hour with the Alumni Association each week during the year to both familiarize themselves with the organization and to assist with various tasks related to Alumni Association projects.

Additionally, members completed a New Member Training Program in which they met with Vice President of Membership Sam Edwards Jr. for one hour each week. During this time, prominent speakers from various areas on campus were invited to come and talk about their programs, giving the new members an inside scoop on the university.

At the conclusion of the program, members were asked to complete a service learning project: “Design and complete a service learning project in the Manhattan community that will benefit either past, present or future Wildcats, and present your results to the members of SAB.” When given this assignment, SAB Secretary Zev Allen Jr. generously reached out to the new members to suggest a pairing with HandsOn Kansas State and Harvesters of Topeka, Kansas, to help with the Spring 2016 Mobile Food Distribution on the Manhattan campus. To organize the

• Shane Maloney, sophomore in construction science and management, Andover, Kansas • Cooper McGuire, freshman in music education and vocal performance, Gardner, Kansas • Gaby Riggs, sophomore in marketing, Lenexa, Kansas • Summer Smith, freshman in marketing, Hays, Kansas • Tori Thomas, freshman in bioenvironmental engineering, Lenexa, Kansas • Drew Young, sophomore in biological systems engineering, Burlington, Kansas • Emily Zwick, freshman in agricultural economics, Wichita, Kansas

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