FHSU University Relations

A team of four Fort Hays University students placed second and received a $20,000 award from Microsoft at the Be U Hackathon in Redmond, Wash., Friday night.

The team of Josh Gale, Agra senior; Nick Hoffmann, Allen, Texas, sophomore; Eric Stumon, Oakland, Calif., sophomore; and Brittani Tran, Liberal senior, was one of 12 teams chosen from across the country to travel to the Microsoft campus in Redmond. The company selected 25 teams for the first round of competition in September.

“It’s truly an amazing experience,” said Tran. “We were not expecting to place at all, there were so many good teams.” But, she said, what pulled them through was teamwork.

“It was all teamwork,” she said. “We relied on everyone’s strengths and used it to our advantage.”

“It was great seeing Microsoft and the people working there, and being here as if we worked here,” said Stumon. The experience was “kind of nerve-wracking at first,” he said, “but once you got through that it was pretty awesome.”

The team was accompanied to the competition by FHSU President Mirta M. Martin.

“The FHSU hackathon team brought the Microsoft house down and took second place in the first Microsoft hackathon competition,” she said. “I am just so proud of our students, so very proud.”

“This team, under the leadership of Dr. Dmitry Gimon, exemplifies the people of excellence who make Fort Hays State University a destination of choice.” Gimon is an assistant professor of informatics at FHSU.

The Hackathon was a student competition for app development sponsored by the United Athletes Foundation (UAF) and Microsoft. Its goal was to promote diversity in the field of computer programming.

Student teams from 12 universities across the country arrived Nov.12 on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, which houses nearly 45,000 employees. Groups toured the Microsoft Visitors Center and were able to try out new interactive games and applications.

Special guests in attendance were UAF President and Executive Director Reggie Howard, formerly of the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins; UAF Vice Chairman and two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis; and Dr. Thomas Mensah, the man credited for patenting fiber optics.

Mensah spoke with members of the FHSU team and said, “It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you’re from … . It matters what you do.”

On day two, Hackathon teams were invited to the Microsoft Garage to spend the day finalizing their presentations. The Garage is a Microsoft building full of creative spaces for meeting and brainstorming, all equipped with the technology needed to work efficiently.

The visit to the Garage made an impression. “That was my favorite part,” said Tran. “It was great to see the Microsoft workers and watching what they do every day.”

Stumon named some of the people who were there, Dr. Mensah, and Ray Lewis, and, he said, they also met one of Microsoft’s executive directors, Fernando Hernandez.

“It was pretty cool to meet all these great people,” he said.

Students presented on the third day of the hackathon. Each team was given seven minutes to present to a panel of six judges. App development ideas ranged from gaming to social media. The FHSU team’s app was URHere, a system to allow indoor navigation, similar to GPS, in large commercial buildings such as hospitals, malls, and airports.

 

The North Central Kansas Technical College  nursing program recently received notice from the National Council of State Boards in Nursing regarding the National Council Licensure Examination pass rate for the 2014 testing year. The nursing programs on both the Beloit and Hays campuses exceeded the national pass rate for first time test takers. The Registered Nurse candidates on the Hays campus achieved a 96% pass rate. Candidates in the Practical Nurse program on the Beloit campus achieved a 100% pass rate and the Hays campus PN candidates achieved a 97% pass rate. All three benchmarks exceeded the state and national average pass rates for 2014.

The NCLEX examination measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level nurse and is the capstone of nursing program studies. The NCK Tech nursing programs are acknowledged by state and national agencies — the Beloit campus PN program is approved by the Kansas State Board of Nursing; the Hays campus ADN and PN programs are approved by the Kansas Board of Nursing and the ADN program is accredited by Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. Both programs also achieved the above average pass rates in the 2012 and 2013 testing years.

Sandy Gottschalk is the Interim Director of Nursing on the NCK Tech Hays campus, which offers both RN and PN programs. Additional Nursing faculty on the Hays campus are: Michele Unrein, Beryl Dinges, Karen Kisner, Roxie Ruder, Patricia Drees, Amy George, and Sheri Stone. Patti Scott is the Director of Nursing on the NCK Tech Beloit campus, which offers the PN program. Additional Nursing faculty on the Beloit campus are:  Annette Saint and Nicki Kasl.

FHSU University Relations

A broken cast-iron sewer, nonfunctioning galvanized water lines and a coal furnace plagued the house at 415 W. 17th in Hays after sitting empty for 40 years. The house, a time capsule, would have continued its journey into decay until an applied technology professor from Fort Hays State University stepped in and gave it a much-needed facelift.

Kris Munsch, assistant professor of applied technology, recently finished restoring the abandoned house and was a runner-up in This Old House magazine’s search for America’s best remodel in 2014.

RELATED: Community Connection with Eagle’s Mike Cooper took a look inside the home recently.

His new house, a 1908 Craftsman, was featured in the October issue of This Old House.

Another home in New Jersey ended up taking home the grand prize, but Munsch’s house was awarded the “Bring it On Home” award of the 10 finalists receiving Moxie Awards.

Munsch was encouraged to enter the competition back in March, but he never thought he would win anything in a national competition.

“I remember thinking, ‘No way I have a chance at this, I’m in Kansas,'” said Munsch. “But then, the next thing I knew, I got a call saying I was in the running for the grand prize in the search for America’s best remodel in 2014.”

The hardest part, Munsch told This Old House, was taking small bites at the project. The house was overwhelmingly rundown, and Munsch faced the task of restoring it with just himself and the help of inexperienced students.

“With their inexperience, and my workload at school, I simply had to step back on a day- by-day basis and share my vision with them so we could accomplish the goals for the day,” said Munsch.

He described hauling 12-foot pieces of drywall up three stories and working through the house, inch by inch. The sewer system was broken, the water lines were nonfunctioning, the windows were cracked and broken, and the roof was leaky.

“Of the 50 houses I’ve restored over the years, this one has been the toughest,” said Munsch.

To keep expenses low and quality high, Munsch did most of the work himself and used the highest quality of materials possible. He also taught his students how to install and work together on the house. “The students that came to work earned an hourly wage but a lifetime of skills,” said Munsch.

The project took two years to complete.

The winners of the contest can be found at www.thisoldhouse.com.

Snow fell early this morning with an accumulation of around 1-2 inches. Skies will be mostly cloudy this morning with a chance for light snow. Temperatures will warm into the 30s by this afternoon.

A cold front will pass across Southwest Kansas during the late afternoon with increasing clouds. Colder air will move into Western Kansas behind the front, with temperatures in the teens by Sunday morning.

Today: Snow, mainly before 3pm. High near 32. Southeast wind 9 to 11 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 11. Wind chill values as low as -2. North wind 13 to 16 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30. Wind chill values as low as -3. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 11. Wind chill values as low as 3. West southwest wind 6 to 14 mph becoming north northwest in the evening.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 29. Blustery, with a north northwest wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon.