Monday, February 19, 2024
Stilly shoe game
Spears alumnus mentors aspiring entrepreneur Courtesy of OSU News
Louis Lacarbonara has always had shoe game. To him, footwear isn’t just an article of clothing, it’s an artistic expression and a serious passion he shares with thousands of sneaker fanatics all over the country. Over the last decade, however, Lacarbonara has figured out the difference between having shoe game and making money in the shoe game. Near his hometown of White Plains, New York, Lacarbonara just opened his second brick-and-mortar location of Direct Kicks, a business he started as an undergrad student in 2013 while enrolled in Oklahoma State University’s entrepreneurship program. Now, thanks to a chance meeting with another Spears School of Business shoe entrepreneur, the 30-year-old is passing his wisdom along to the next generation, and the sneakerheads of Stillwater are rejoicing. “My entrepreneurship professor was always talking about Direct Kicks,” said Sean Fernandes-Flack, the owner of Stilly Kicks, the newest edition to the sneaker game in Stillwater. “I had never heard of it, but he said it was some shoe store up in New York. I never really paid that much attention. But now that we connected, I call Louis like five times a day. I’m just like the annoying little brother.” Fernandes-Flack learned the shoe
game growing up in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he would sell and trade sneakers with friends and classmates. After time, he earned enough money to buy a car and fund his after-school hobbies. The profits continued when he moved to Stillwater to study at OSU, enough to open Stilly Kicks in July 2023. It’s hard to miss the custom artwork outside his store on Main Street. Fernandes-Flack commissioned an artist from Wichita, Kansas, to create a mural that says “Stilly Kicks” in bright orange graffiti script. It instantly lets customers know they aren’t walking into the average shoe store. The vibe continues inside, where high-end sneakers line the walls from floor to ceiling in front of a spraypainted scene. A black leather couch sits in the middle of the room across from a Mortal Kombat arcade game and an Xbox console. People don’t just come to Stilly Kicks to up their shoe game, they come to be a part of the shoe game — an urban culture that lives at the intersection of music, clothing, sports, artwork and life. Just a few blocks from the OSU campus and Stillwater High School, Stilly Kicks has become the city’s place to go for rare and hard-to-find sneakers. He sells about a hundred pairs in a good month, and his most expensive set — a Nike Air Jordan/Christian Dior mashup — has a $6,500 price tag. It’s not uncommon to see a mix of high school students and local businesspeople browsing right alongside Cowboy and Cowgirl student-athletes and coaches. See Shoe on 5
Courtesy of OSU News Louis Lacarbonara started Direct Kicks as an undergraduate entrepreneurship student at OSU.
OSU first to offer community paramedic training Courtesy of OSU News
Hayden Alexander Suaby the Penguin was one of many members of student organizations that spread love on Valentine’s Day.
Student organizations share the love on Valentine’s Day Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter
On Valentine’s Day, love was in the air on campus. It’s sunny with a cool breeze, and everyone is wandering around with hands full of flowers, candies and other goodies. Student organizations across campus are making sure everyone knows they are loved. More than 10 organizations have tables set up outside of the Student Union, and each spread the love in unique ways. Here are a few student groups that made people’s day. Kappa Kappa Psi set up their annual carnation sale by their fraternity shrine
next to the Classroom Building. The carnation is the fraternity’s flower, and all of the proceeds from the day went to supporting music students. “It just so happens to go well with Valentine’s Day,” senior Jordan Kalehert said. “We use the money that we fundraise to help support the band program and help fund our members attending conventions and workshops.” The Student Union Activities Board gave out candy with the help of their mascot, Suaby the Penguin. Suaby held a mini competition for concert tickets, and members of the organization passed out candy. “Everybody likes free stuff on Valentine’s Day,” SUAB Marketing Director Lee Kinnebrew said. “Some people don’t have Valentine’s, so we wanted to make sure everybody was included and everybody felt loved and appreciated.” See Love on 7
immediate response to acute emergencies typically associated with daily Emergency Medical Services operations. A key component of the curriculum will be an in-depth Oklahoma State University’s exploration of laboratory values, College of Engineering, Architec- empowering students with the knowledge and skills necessary to ture and Technology — in collaboration with the OSU Center of interpret and act upon diagnostic information effectively. AdditionalHealth Sciences — was awarded a grant from the Masonic Charity ly, students will receive training on the utilization of a portable Blood Foundation of Oklahoma to help develop the Community Paramedi- Analysis System. A system which provides instant lab results for the cine Curriculum. patient within their own home. The grant will establish a Upon completion of the training program, with content course, students will be eligible to provided by OSU-CHS, for paratake the Community Paramedics medics in rural Oklahoma that Certification Examination adminis accessible and affordable to istered by the International Board responders and providers in local of Specialty Certification. communities. “Given the nationwide shortCEAT has years of experience delivering training programs age of EMS providers and funding cuts to EMS services, many fire across Oklahoma and the world. departments have absorbed local The Community Paramediambulance services into their fire cine curriculum and training will stations,” said J.W. Snell, a seabe comprised of approximately soned paramedic and EMS manag200 hours, including instruction and clinical experience. This pro- er at OSU’s Fire Service Training. gram is designed to propel existing “OSU, through FST’s statewide outreach-training program, adparamedics to the advanced level dresses this by providing an EMS of community paramedics, a role distinctively centered on the provi- program to collaborate with fire services and the communities they sion of extended care for chronic serve on a daily basis.” conditions, diverging from the See Training on 6
Courtesy of OSU News OSU-CHS will provide content, with the help of a grant, to paramedics in rural Oklahoma.