HFD

The Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Fri., April 26, 2019 in the area of Vine St. to Thunderbird between 27th St. and 41st St. This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.

“Significant Other,” an American play by Joshua Harmon, will be presented at Fort Hays State University’s Felten-Start Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The play, which premiered off-Broadway in 2015 followed by a Broadway production in spring 2017, follows the search of Jordan Berman for true love to be in love, but he has not found the right man.

Until he meets Mr. Right, he wards off lonely nights with his trio of close girlfriends. But as singles’ nights turn into bachelorette parties, Jordan discovers that the only thing harder than finding love is supporting the loved ones around you when they do.

Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones wrote, “Significant Other is both a good night out – a show ideal for a Friday night with pals after a few drinks – and a quite sophisticated exploration of the complex and changing dynamic between gay men and the women who love them. A black comedy about a painful transition that hits many of us urbanites in our late 20s or early 30s and goes a long way toward explaining why weddings can be such fraught affairs for anyone stuck in a tux or matching crinoline.”

This play contains adult language and subject matter that some may find offensive.

All seating is unreserved. Tickets are $5 at the door.

K-State Alumni Association

Eight graduating Kansas State University students will be recognized by the K-State Alumni Association for outstanding achievements throughout their college careers during an awards luncheon on April 24 at the K-State Alumni Center.

The honors include four upcoming graduates who earned the Anderson Senior Award, which recognizes graduating seniors for academics, leadership, inspiration and service. The award was established in 1998 and pays tribute to K-State’s second president, John Anderson, who served from 1873 to 1879.

Hays High School graduate Max Stieben, son of John and Jenny Klaus and Darren and Angie Stieben, was among the students honored.

The Alumni Association will recognize two graduate students with its Graduate Student Award, which was established in 2010. The award recognizes outstanding graduate students for academics, service and leadership.

Two students also will be presented with the Tony Jurich Community Commitment and Leadership Award at the ceremony. The award was established in honor of the late K-State professor Tony Jurich, who taught in the College of Human Ecology for more than 39 years. It recognizes both graduate and undergraduate students who have demonstrated a commitment to community leadership and service through Jurich’s core leadership tenets.

Faculty and peers nominate students for the awards, and committees consisting of members of the Alumni Association board of directors and K-State students select the recipients.

“These students are role models for leadership, community service and academics and exemplify the caliber of students at K-State,” said Marcus Kidd, assistant director of student programs for the Alumni Association. “It is an honor to recognize their achievements.”

Recipients of awards from the Alumni Association are:

Kathryn Schieferecke, bachelor’s candidate in economics with minors in Spanish and financial counseling, Bennington, Anderson Senior Award for Outstanding Service. Schiefercke served as president of the Wildcats for International Development club, co-student coordinator for the Staley School of Leadership Studies’ Alternative Breaks program, as a peer financial advisor for Powercat Financial Planning, and is a member of St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center.

Max Stieben, bachelor’s candidate in sociology, Hays, Anderson Senior Award for Outstanding Leadership. Stieben has held many roles within K-State’s Air Force ROTC detachment including vice commander of the Honor/Color Guard, flight commander, field training preparation trainer, vice wing commander and wing operations group commander. He is a member of the Arnold Air Society, Wildcat Warriors, Criminology Club and Christian Challenge. Additionally, he has represented K-State as an intern at Air Force Headquarters in the Pentagon working in the Air Force War Planning office.

Miranda Moore, bachelor’s candidate in communications studies, political science and pre-law with a minor in leadership studies, Pittsburg, Anderson Senior Award for Outstanding Academics. Moore is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, a highly selective national honor society, and a member of Blue Key honor society. Her undergraduate cumulative GPA is 4.0. She was one of four Americans selected for a three-week institute on Children’s Literature and Leadership through the Fulbright Summer Institute in London during the summer of 2016. Additionally, Moore is a member of the K-State Honor Council where she acts as the Arts and Sciences Representative.

Adrianna Gordey, bachelor’s candidate in English with a minor in leadership studies, Overland Park, Anderson Senior Award for Outstanding Inspiration. Gordey served as a LEAD 212 class leader, TRIO McNair scholar, resident assistant for Boyd Hall for two years, Young Writer’s Workshop Program assistant and as 2018 International Leadership Association Case Competition Team member.

Amanda Martens, doctoral candidate in psychology, Shelby, Iowa, Graduate Award for Outsanding Academics. Martens served as president-elect and president of the Graduate Student Association in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, respectively. Compared to others psychology doctoral students, Martens has an unusually high number of publications to her name. They include: first author on two journal articles, co-author of seven articles, co-author on three book chapters and several other manuscripts in review or preparation. In addition to publishing her research activity, Martens has been actively engaged in professional associations in her field, presenting over 20 research posters at professional conferences.

Derek Lawson, doctoral candidate in personal financial planning, Lubbock, Texas, Graduate Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service. Lawson has served in leadership roles on the Graduate Student Council. He began by serving on the Research Forums Committee, which coordinates two annual research forum events for graduate students to share their research and scholarly work with the K-State community. During that same year, Lawson also served as the co-chair of the GSC Professional Development Committee, which coordinates approximately five seminars/workshops each semester to support graduate students’ professional career development. In the following year, Derek was elected as president-elect of the GSC, followed by a one-year term as GSC president.

Rafael Garcia, bachelor’s candidate in journalism and mass communications with minors in Spanish translation and economics, Emporia, Tony Jurich Community Commitment and Leadership Undergraduate Award. Garcia has worked as a student journalist for the Kansas State Collegian and served as its editor-in-chief. Additionally, he is an Edgerley-Franklin Urban Leader.

Heather Love, doctoral candidate in human ecology, Gilbert, Arizona, Tony Jurich Community Commitment and Leadership Graduate Award. Love was Graduate Student Council secretary for the 2017-18 school year; Women of K-State graduate student representative from 2016- 18; Critical Conversations Committee student member from 2016-2019; and president of the Student Associates Organization of the Couple and Family Therapy program from 2018-19.

By KURT BEYERS
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

For 25 years, one of the largest advertising companies on the planet, Leo Burnett Worldwide, has been sending people to Fort Hays State University to cultivate the talent pool with money for scholarships and for the graphic design program.

This year was Tuan Huynh’s third trip to his alma mater as part of the Leo Burnett entourage. He and two colleagues distributed a total $25,000. Huynh was offered a job as a junior art director with Burnett right after graduation with a Fort Hays State BFA in graphic design in 2014.

It feels great, he said, to come back and recognize talent with money.

“It feels fantastic,” he said, adding that it is in keeping with the culture both of Leo Burnett and Fort Hays State.

“It’s looking at the individual, and dealing with the individual, and looking at the person, looking at the human being and their talent,” he said, “and on the Fort Hays State side, Chaiwat and Karrie have always embodied that. It’s about the person first and foremost and how they teach us, from ideas to projects. They care about us as individuals not just as students. In their classrooms, they care about us as persons.”

That is Chaiwat Thumsujarit (pronounced chye-WHAT TUM-sue-jair-it), professor of art and design, and Karrie Simpson Voth, chair of the Department of Art and Design and graphic design professor.

The good feeling about what was happening was evident in the awards ceremony, which was far less ceremonial than it was like a pre-party for the celebration that followed at Gella’s Diner.

Huynh (pronounced hwin) and his Leo Burnett colleagues, Kerri Soukup, a 1997 FHSU grad, and Tracie Roberson, were obviously having a good time giving Leo Burnett money to FHSU students.

Announcing the top prize, the $10,000 Pencil Award, they joined together in a chorus for the winner’s name: “rrr-ray-AAAY-von!” for Rayvon Lewis, a Blue Springs, Mo., junior who gave up football to follow his dreams in art.

After the program, Huynh talked for a few minutes at table in a corner of the back meeting room at Gella’s. The little room held around 40 people – students, the people from Leo Burnett, Simpson Voth and Thumsujarit, friends and other alumni of the FHSU graphic arts program come to help celebrate.

“I think as a student, as a former student, you can only appreciate someone coming back and recognizing your talent because someone gave you the opportunity by recognizing your talent,” he said.

In Huynh’s memory, it is the people in the program, students and faculty, who stand out. Born in Vietnam, he grew up in Wichita and came to Fort Hays State at age 33 with an associate degree in liberal arts and humanities from Donnelly College in Kansas City. He had no art or design background, but he had raw talent.

“My professors, my classmates, they all accepted me, despite me not knowing a lot about graphic design going into the program,” he said.

“I was never shunned because of my ignorance of what graphic design is. They have taken me under their wing and been patient with me and taught me everything. My classmates embodied the same spirit. We helped each other.”

Asked specifically what makes FHSU’s graphic design program special, his answer came with no hesitation.

“A hundred percent, it’s the conceptual aspect of it,” he said. “I consider our design program a conceptual design program – not just a design program – a conceptual program, a conceptual design program, because we put so much into ideation of a project to conceptualize an idea before the work is created.”
He illustrated what he meant with an example.

“One year I had an intern from here. I put her in every project I worked on. I challenged her as we were talking and concepting. I put her in big meetings, and I asked her, ‘What do you think about that?’ because I valued what she had to say, because she comes from good stock.”

He repeated that for emphasis. “She comes from good stock. I’d bring any of these kids” – he indicated with a wave of his arm the students talking and laughing at the tables next to him – “into a Leo Burnett brainstorming session. I would. I would.”

He continued, “When I do portfolio reviews in Chicago, all the top universities I do portfolio reviews for – I do judging and I do all kinds of stuff – one of the things they lack is conceptual idea, and that was taught that here every day.”

After about 15 minutes, he was ready to go join the students, to hear their stories share his own, but he summed up his work, the day, the money he and his colleagues had distributed, the party going on around him.

“All glory to God, man,” he said. “I’m so thankful for it. I’m living the dream, brother. I’m living the dream. I’m living on grace.”

The Western Kansas Human Resource Management Association will hold its monthly meeting from noon to 1 p.m. May 8 at the Robbins Center (Eagle Communication Hall), One Tiger Place.

Registration is from 11:15 to 11:30 a.m., with a short business meeting starting at 11:30 a.m. The program for the May meeting will be “Managing Employees with an Attitude,” presented by Mike Henke. The program will be submitted for SHRM continuing education credits.

Members can RSVP at wkhrma.shrm.org. The deadline to RSVP is noon on May 3. WKHRMA is an affiliate chapter of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), a local professional organization for persons engaged in personal or human resource management.

For more information on WKHRMA, visit wkhrma.shrm.org.