TODAYK-State Student Alumni Board alumni newsletter SABSummer 2012

[ 1 ]

Dav

id M

ayes

‘96,

K-S

tate

Alu

mni

Ass

ocia

tion

Student body elections involve several SAB membersBy Eli Schooley, SAB member

This year’s Student Governing Association elections at K-State involved many members of Student Alumni Board. Three members — Nate Spriggs, Grant Hill and Allison Penner — were vying for the position of student body presi-dent or vice president, and they worked hard during the four-month campaign to promote their ideas to the K-State student body. Pri-mary elections took place Feb. 28 and 29, and general elections took place March 6 and 7. In all, three tickets ran for student body president and vice president for the 2012-2013 SGA term.

Nate Spriggs, a junior from Riverton, Kan. (and the incumbent student body president), paired with Grant Hill, a junior from White-water, Kan., to run on a platform centered on “People You Know. Leadership You Know. Results You Know.” Spriggs and Hill had three key platform ideas: the creation of a student design center available for free to student

organizations, the improvement of the student enrollment experience, and the maintenance of an affordable, quality undergraduate experi-ence.

Allison Penner, a junior from Clay Center, Kan., paired with running mate Garret Lister to seek the office of student body vice president. Lister and Penner focused on academic advis-ing, campus parking and classroom equipment with their three-part platform, running on behalf of “KSYou.”

On Feb. 29, it was announced that Spriggs/Hill and Lister/Penner would be advancing to the general election, guaranteeing yet another year of student government leadership from a member of SAB. On March 7, Spriggs and Hill were elected student body president and vice president, and they were sworn into office April 12 at Student Senate. SAB is proud of its continued student government presence and would like to congratulate all the candidates on a hard-fought election season.

Nate Spriggs (left), senior in agricul-

tural economics, Riverton, Kan., was

re-elected student body president.

Grant Hill, junior in accounting,

Whitewater, Kan., is student body

vice president.

Mar

tin C

ram

GRAD BASH

Brett Seidl (left) and other Student Alumni Board members scoop ice cream for seniors attending Grad Bash on May 3.

Grad Bash took place at the K-State Alumni Center on the Johnson Terrace. The event was for all K-State students graduating in May, August or December 2012.

An official K-State watch, diploma display, plus football and basketball tickets were just a few of the items graduating students had a chance to win at the event.

[ SABTODAY ]

[ 2 ]

PReSiDenT’S GOODBYe

Wildcats Forever team hosts successful spring events

By Kristin McCormick,

VP of Wildcats Forever

Wildcats Forever has seen another successful semes-ter, and it’s not done yet.

In February, members visited the Alumni Center to pick up this year’s “beat” shirts, fea-turing Willie the Wildcat making a slam dunk. This year, members who had signed up a friend at the Bring-A-Friend Social were able to redeem a fast pass for a guaranteed shirt without waiting in line. All of the “beat” shirts were handed out, and members shared photos via Twit-ter and Facebook of themselves in their new shirt for a chance to win an addi-tional prize.

In honor of March Madness and the NCAA

tournament, Wild-cats Forever hosted a

bracket challenge, offering prizes for the top three entries. These prizes included an autographed basketball and a Var-ney’s gift certificate. In spite of the many upsets

in this year’s tournament, three lucky members walked

away with prizes.As the spring semester drew to a

close, members of the Wildcats Forever committee gave input to finalize next year’s membership T-shirt design. The new

design will feature a tribute to K-State’s 150th anniversary celebration, and they are sure to be a hit.

Rounding out this semester were a root beer float social and a baseball day event at Tointon Family Stadium. Members who attended the game were able to redeem a coupon for a concession item and cheer on the Bat Cats.

This summer, a student worker will be set up in the Union during orientation and enrollment, promoting Wildcats Forever to incoming students. Students are still able to enroll on iSIS or in person at the Alumni Center during office hours.

We are excited for the fall 2012 semester so we can give out Big 12 prizes and host more events for members on campus.

[ FROM THE PReSiDenT ]By Mindy Highberger, President “In the past four years

of SAB, I have met my dearest K-State friends and my most esteemed role models, and I have

learned from alumni leadership what it

means to give back to my university.”

As I geared up for graduation, I thought of the many exciting events I was look-ing forward to in the upcoming months. One event I was not looking forward to was leav-ing Student Alumni Board.

In the past four years of SAB, I have met my dearest K-State friends and my most esteemed role models, and I have learned from alumni leadership what it means to give back to my university. I know SAB will always be a bright memory of my K-State years.

As I leave SAB, I am so excited for what lies ahead for our organization. In the past month, we restructured our executive officer team, wrote a new mission statement and began laying the framework for a new alumni event for the spring.

Executive-team changes included restructuring the role of vice president of Wildcats Forever to vice president of campus programming. Besides handling

Wildcats Forever decisions, the VP of campus programming also is head of the new campus event. We see this ad-dition to the role as a greater develop-ment opportunity for the student holding the position, and an excellent op-portunity for growth in Student Alumni Board’s outreach.

Before this year, SAB never had its own proper mission statement. We have always gone by the Alumni Associa-tion’s mission statement and strategic objectives. With a new event, a new officer position and a highly visionary new executive team coming on board,

we decided to take some time during spring retreat to put together our own mission statement. Here is what we as a board came up with:

Student Alumni Board is a profes-sional group comprising passionate stu-dents enhancing the K-State experience by creating a link between the Alumni Association and past, present and future students.

We achieve our mission through:• Introducing prospective students to

University life;• Representing the Alumni Association

through peer leadership on campus; and• Communicating student experience

to alumni.We believe our new mission state-

ment captures the board’s past but also provides room for potential growth and expansion in the future. Stay tuned for more information on our new alumni event coming in the spring.

Signing off for the last time as Student Alumni Board president, I want to welcome the 2012-2013 executive team. I am greatly anticipating all the successes you will have in the upcoming year.

Spring semester brings 17 new membersBy Katy Zapletal, VP of membership

The spring semester started with a pleth-ora of selection processes for different student organizations, and Student Alumni Board always has an exciting one.

SAB begins the recruitment process in January when it releases its application on the K-State Alumni Association web-site and sends SAB members to speak to greek houses and different student groups on campus to encourage a diverse ap-plication pool.

Once the application deadline arrives, the SAB president, vice president of membership and membership committee review the applications and select 75 percent of those applicants for a first-round interview. During the first-round interview, applicants are interviewed by eight K-State faculty and staff members, who then select the top 30 percent of in-terviewees. These top 30 percent receive a second-round interview, where they give a three- to four-minute presentation about a specific prompt related to K-State to the entire Student Alumni Board. The ap-plicants are then asked a series of ques-tions following their presentation.

This year, SAB accepted 17 new mem-bers with majors ranging from engineer-ing to agriculture. In addition to a diverse mix of majors, these new members bring their experiences from different organiza-tions and involvement on campus, which makes for a well-rounded group.

The new members started their mem-bership with a bang by attending a new member night and then their first SAB retreat. During the retreat, their SAB men-tors were revealed and they got a taste of what a typical SAB meeting is like.

In the final weeks of the semester, the new members interacted with potential K-State students through For Sophomores Only and with K-State graduates during Grad Bash. The board welcomes these 17 new members and looks forward to the outstanding work they will do for SAB in the coming years.

[ 3 ]

[ SABTODAY ]

Meg

an S

herlo

ck ’0

6, K

-Sta

te A

lum

ni A

ssoc

iatio

n

For more about Student Alumni Board,

visit www.k-state.com/SAB

inTeReSTeD?

Ross Allen, Soldier, Kan.freshman in philosophy/economics

Kaitlin Beeman, Lenexa, Kan.freshman in architectural engineering (minor in Spanish)

ellen Bergkamp, Kechi, Kan.sophomore in agricultural economics

Aaron Bisch, St. Louis, Mo.sophomore in interior architecture and product design

Canaan Coker, Shawnee, Kan.freshman in biology/pre-medicine

Hope Faflick, Wichita, Kan.freshman in political science/international studies/pre-law

Suhani Gandhi, Olathe, Kan.freshman in business administration/pre-professions

elizabeth Harner, St. George, Kan.freshman in agribusiness

Heidi Hurtig, Wichita, Kan.sophomore in marketing

Kevin Kleine, Prairie Village, Kan.freshman in computer engineering

Jordan Marquess, Olathe, Kan.freshman in biology

Jordan Pieschl, Brookville, Kan.freshman in animal sciences and industry/pre-vet

Kathryn Silva, Olathe, Kan.freshman in advertising and English

Mollie Stephens, Pittsburg, Kan.sophomore in hotel and restaurant management

Jake Unruh, Manhattan, Kan.sophomore in finance

Adam Wilkerson, Columbia, Mo.freshman in civil engineering

Abby Works, Iola, Kan.freshman in food science/nutrition/chemistry

Student Alumni Board recently welcomed 17 new members:

[ SABTODAY ]

[ 4 ]

A senior’s rite of passage: Wabash CannonBallBy Katie Kozacek, SAB member

The royal purple hue washed over me as I walked into the large ballroom at the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel. It was almost overwhelming to see the K-State pride woven through every element in the room, from the lighting to the table-ware. Over my past four years on Stu-dent Alumni Board, I had heard stories about the Wabash CannonBall, but now the time had come for me to experience this grand event.

The group of SAB seniors headed to Kansas City early Friday, arriving at the location just in time to get settled into our rooms and help set up for the event. We helped arrange the large banquet tables and set up name tags at registration, all the while getting a behind-the-scenes look of what was to come that evening.

Alumni can purchase tickets to the annual Wabash CannonBall and enjoy a night of food, music, dancing and, most importantly, purple pride. Some of our most well-known alumni attend the event in their finest purple attire. As students, we all marveled as the people kept roll-ing in, each one with more K-State en-thusiasm than the one before. These men and women have made our university a priority, and their attendance showed their commitment to providing educa-tional opportunities to future K-Staters. Throughout the night, we frequently commented that we hoped to someday attend the Wabash CannonBall but next

time as alumni. As the night continued, the SAB

students picked up the donations made at each table and passed out prizes to some of the most generous donors. The highlight of the evening for me was the dancing. A live band blared in the ballroom as we joined the attendees on the dance floor. Determined to be the last ones remaining on the dance floor, we brought out all of our finest moves.

This was a moment I will never forget, the moment of being surrounded by K-State celebrities and my fellow SAB members in an entirely purple room, dancing the night away to big-band classics.

All in all, it was a fabulous event that exceeded all of my expectations. I felt so privileged to be a part of it. The K-Staters at this event truly help K-State to stand for what it is today — a family we all claim to be our own.

Scot

t Wea

ver

SAB wins several district CASe ASAP awardsBy Taylor Veh, SAB secretary

This year at the annual District VI Case ASAP Awards, K-State’s Student Alumni Board was able to yet again come out with multiple district awards.

An SAB member again was recognized as Outstanding Student Leader. Grant Hill, a junior from Whitewater, Kan., was nominated to represent our organization. Now that Grant was chosen by the district, he will move on to the national competi-tion this summer in Indianapolis. Some of Grant’s involvements and achievements include being vice president of Beta Theta Pi, serving on the K-State PROUD Advi-sory Board, being president of Greeks Going Green and serving as student

body vice president.SAB found success in the Outstanding

Adviser category as well. Andrea Bryant Gladin ’02 was nominated without her knowledge and was very excited when SAB notified her that she, too, had won at the district level and would be entered into the national competition. Andrea moved up in the Alumni Association to serve as director of programs and has passed her duties onto Megan Sherlock ’06, who took over as SAB adviser last fall.

In addition, SAB won the Outstanding Internal Program award for its New Mem-ber Training Program. The board’s vice president of membership, Katy Zapletal, led these sessions Wednesday mornings, and the new members were exposed to all aspects of the university, including meeting most of the deans of the colleges on campus.

All the award winners will move on to the national competition, and the winners will be announced at the annual Case ASAP National Conference in August in Indianapolis. SAB will send several mem-bers to represent the board and hopes to present one of the breakout sessions during the conference.

Senior SAB members attended the sixth annual Wabash CannonBall in Overland Park, Kan., on March 2.

Andrea Bryant

Gladin ’02

[ 5 ]

[ SABTODAY ]

FOR SOPHOMOReS OnLY

STUDenT AMBASSADOR UPDATe

[ FROM THE AMBASSADORS ]

As we begin to transition into our roles as Student Ambassadors, we are continually impressed by the in-credible students, faculty and alumni we are so honored to meet.

This semester, we had the pleasure of representing the student body at alumni events in Larned, Kan., as well as at Just for Juniors events in Wichita, Kan., and Kansas City, Kan. Never before have we had the op-portunity to be surrounded by such enthusiastic and motivated potential K-Staters and alumni.

Just for Juniors is an event hosted by the K-State Student Alumni Board geared specifically toward high school juniors in Kansas. It allows juniors to learn more about K-State

in a small setting close to home and helps them get acclimated to the unique family atmosphere through personal interactions with current SAB students. It also allows them to meet their admissions representatives and other faculty members such as Pat Bosco, vice president of student life, and Larry Moeder, director of student financial aid.

During the event for juniors, our presentation titled “Real World: K-State” exposed high school students to what it really means to be a K-Stater. With the help of the videos and other interactive activities, we hope these juniors will be inspired to join our K-State family when they graduate high school. To learn more about K-State Just for Juniors, visit www.k-state.com/justforjuniors.

We also are looking forward to the multiple Alumni/Student events this summer. We will have the oppor-tunity to speak with students who will be attending Wildcat Warm-up this summer as well. We are excited to update everyone next fall about our experiences as K-State ambassadors!

K-State PROUD,

2012 K-State Student Ambassadors

Thanks for all your support of the Tradition Founders Telefund!

SAB members raised more than $55,000 for the K-State Alumni

Association. It’s a record-breaking amount!

Tradition Founders

From left: SAB members Abby Works, Sam Kellerman and Jake Unruh attend the For Sophomores Only event in April at K-State. For Sophomores Only gives high school sophomores a chance to learn about college life. This event is held in conjunction with the All-University Open House.

STAY UPDATeD! Don’t miss out on SAB

updates! Make sure we have your current information,

including a current email address, so we can keep you up to date on all SAB news. Go to:

WWW.K-STATe.COM/UPDATeYOURinFO

Tayl

or V

eh

Phillicia Thomas

Andrew Waldman