By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

For Jacob Wick, it will be somewhat of a homecoming. For his high school classmate, Caden Moore, it will be making a new home for himself when they begin their college careers at Fort Hays State University next fall.

The two Wamego High School seniors were part of a group students honored at an annual Student Recognition Program at the Ramada Inn in Topeka earlier this month.

The Topeka SRP is one of 12 of its kind – all across the state and one each in Colorado and Nebraska – held during a month’s time through January and February. The 2019 SRPs will conclude this week, with events at Beloit Thursday and at Garden City and Dodge City on Sunday.

Topeka’s program was the second such event of the day for representatives from the FHSU admissions office, who were in Overland Park earlier in the day on Feb. 10.

It was double duty again the following Sunday for Jon Armstrong, interim director of admissions, and his crew. Following a morning SRP in Kearney, Neb., on Feb. 17, nearly 100 students were recognized at the Hays event, annually held on the Fort Hays State campus.

“Sure, it’s busy this time of year,” said Hugo Perez, assistant director of admissions who has attended every single one of the SRPs this year. “But it’s our job. It’s what we do, and I love it.”

What admissions personnel do at the SRP events that began in 1989 is to recognize students who have expressed interest in FHSU and to give them and their parents and family an introduction to the university.

Other university officers, administrators and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions.

This year was a record-breaking attendance at the Topeka site with 54 students from the surrounding area being recognized.

Two of those were Wick and Moore, who made the 40-mile trip with their parents.

Wick, who was born and raised in Hays before moving to Wamego with his family when he was entering sixth grade, said he had been thinking about FHSU as one of his options for post-secondary education.

Even after a diligent search – he checked out four other universities, some larger than Fort Hays State, some similar size – Wick decided on FHSU.

“After being raised in Hays, I always thought it was a possibility to come back here for college,” said Wick, who plans to major in business-finance with a minor in banking.

“The campus is smaller than some, just the right size,” he said, “and the amount of scholarships you can get makes it really affordable.”

Moore also was impressed with the financial aid opportunities as well as the academics – and why not?

He received a Tier 1 award through FHSU’s Honors College as well as other scholarships. The Tier 1 is a $10,000 award for tuition and room and board, renewable for three years.

“I really liked the environment and the small student-to-teacher ratio, too,” said Moore, who plans to major in pre-law.

Following talks by FHSU administrators, including President Tisa Mason, those in attendance are treated to a video about the university featuring student success stories.

Every single student at the SRP is then recognized, called to the front of the room, and gets the opportunity to take a photo with Mason.

Each of the SRP events also features two scholarship drawings – a $500 award to be used toward tuition costs and a $600 textbook award – as well as a drawing for a laptop computer.

Because of the size of the Hays SRP (nearly 100 attended this year) two awards each of $500 and $600 were given out.

Megan Gray, a senior at Valley Heights High School in Blue Rapids, was excited about attending the Topeka event, and that was even before her name was drawn out as the winner of the laptop.

Gray, who will be a third-generation student for her family next fall, plans to major in elementary education. Her grandparents, Steve and Carol Hood, also have degrees from Fort Hays State, as does her mother, Tonya Metcalf.

Gray became interested in Fort Hays State when her mom earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing online through FHSU’s Virtual College. Gray decided to schedule a campus visit and liked what she saw.

“I love the campus,” Gray said. “It wasn’t too big, and everyone was so welcoming.”

Several students at the SRP events are children of FHSU alumni.

One of those at the Hays event was Jenna Howard from WaKeeney, who plans to major in geosciences. Her parents, Hardy and Dawn Howard, each have two degrees from FHSU.

“I knew Dad really liked it here,” Jenna Howard said of one reason she was interested in Fort Hays State. Another was that her oldest sister, Larissa, is majoring in geosciences at FHSU and is scheduled to graduate in May. “And I really like the campus and the professors.”

Emily Schippers, a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, also is following her older sister, as well as a parent, to FHSU.

Sara Schippers is a sophomore nursing student, the same major that Emily has chosen.

However, Emily said that she had been thinking about the medical field long before her sister chose nursing.

“I chose nursing mostly because of her, and I chose Fort Hays State because of him,” Schippers said, nodding toward her parents. The Schippers sisters’ mom, Geralyn, is a registered nurse, and their dad, Troy, is an FHSU graduate.

Schippers said being close to home was a consideration, as well as “the homey environment.” She also has already received some scholarships to help with her college expenses.

Scholarship aid from FHSU is nothing new for the Schippers family.

“I grew up in the ’80s during the farm crises,” said Troy Schippers, who lived at home in Victoria during his college days so he could help his dad on the family farm. “I was fortunate to have a renewable scholarship to help with costs. Now, the scholarships are even better. I got a degree in finance, and I’m very proud to be an FHSU grad.”

Tina Wick, Jacob Wick’s mom and another Fort Hays State alum, said she would have supported her son’s decision, no matter where he decided to attend college. But she admitted she was partial to her alma mater.

“In my heart, yes, I was glad he chose (FHSU) just because I had such a great experience in college there,” she said. “I feel that companies heavily recruit Fort Hays State grads, because they know the product of the students coming out – both with their knowledge and their work ethic.”

The Wicks still have several friends in Hays, and Tina Wick said she is looking forward to returning to FHSU more often now. She said she hasn’t changed her mind in nearly 30 years about the quality of it programs.

“Fort Hays State was so much more advanced in its graphic design department than the larger schools back then. Now, I can hardly wait to see what the new art building is going to look like,” Wick, a graphic design graduate, said of the new art and design building scheduled for completion for fall 2019.

“FHSU was a great school back when I was in college,” she continued, “but it seems like it’s even better today in what it has to offer.”