College of Human Ecology recognizes 19 outstanding seniors
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
MANHATTAN — The College of Human Ecology at Kansas State University will honor 19 graduating seniors for excellence in engagement, leadership or research and creative activities at the college's annual awards ceremony Friday, May 12.
The college's Outstanding Student Engagement Award is given to graduating seniors who have made exemplary contributions that impact the well-being of the community or individuals in the community. The Outstanding Student Leadership Award is given to graduating seniors who have exhibited excellence in leadership and contributions to their campus, college, program and professional organizations. The Outstanding Student Research and Creative Scholarship Award is given to graduating seniors whose research or creative activity has made a significant contribution to the field of study.
The following students are being recognized with an award from the College of Human Ecology:
• Katlyn Smith, kinesiology and gerontology, Andale, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Smith was a College of Human Ecology ambassador, kinesiology student ambassador and gerontology student ambassador. She served as an officer in the Kinesiology Student Association and was active in her sorority. She was an undergraduate teaching assistant for the kinesiology program and selected as a Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellow. Her dedication to the Manhattan community was seen in her volunteer role in many organizations.
• Lindsay Adams, personal financial planning with a minor in business, Clay Center, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Adams served as a peer financial counselor with Powercat Financial for two years, working one-on-one with students and presenting on financial topics campuswide. She was an active member and social chair in her sorority, and she worked with young children at a church. Smith was a member of the financial planning team that placed third at the 2016 Financial Planning Challenge.
• Rachel Juenemann, dietetics, and nutrition and health, Colby, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Juenemann was a College of Human Ecology ambassador for three years, serving as president and vice president. She was treasurer of the Student Dietetic Association and a National Nutrition Month committee member. She volunteered with Meals on Wheels, Flint Hills Breadbasket and 4-H. She also was a member of Kappa Omicron Nu, an inaugural Snyder Legacy Leadership Fellow and a recipient of a K-State Leadership Scholarship.
• Breta Alstrom, dietetics, Halstead, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Alstrom was vice president of Kappa Omicron Nu and a K-State Open House representative for the dietetics program. She is active in the Student Dietetics Association. Through attendance at the National Food and Nutrition Conference, she developed a passion for public policy. As a volunteer, Alstrom took on an assistant director role with the summer food service program in Lindsborg.
• Kelsie Carpenter, kinesiology, Leawood, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Carpenter was an executive board member of her sorority, events director and president for the Kinesiology Student Association, and a K-State Open House representative for the kinesiology department. She was a leader among the inaugural Department of Kinesiology Student Ambassadors and a member of the Kinesiology Student Advisory Board. Carpenter also was a member of the Human Cadaver Dissection Team. She performed more than 100 hours of shadowing and 150 hours of volunteer work.
• Brooke Wallace, apparel design and production, New Cambria, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Wallace served as homecoming chair, new member educator and apparel chair for her sorority. She was advertising chair for the K-State Rodeo Club and educates the public about rodeo as a sport, sharing her love of horses. A study tour to Guatemala inspired Wallace to sponsor a child's education. She placed first in the 2105 K-State Project Runway competition and received a 2016 Best of Show award for her outfit as part of the Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design Showcase of Excellence runway show.
• Melina Cope, interior design and gerontology with a minor in art, Olathe, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Cope co-led the revitalization and was key to the College of Human Ecology's involvement in Kansas State University's U.S. Green Building Council student chapter, which advocates for sustainable building practices. As a teaching assistant, she interacted with students, developed content and suggested new discussions about relevant issues. She also was active with exploring advanced digital technologies.
• Jill Haake, family studies and human services with a minor in business, Olathe, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Haake served as an AmeriCorps/VISTA member with the School of Family Studies and Human Services. She worked with K-State Research and Extension to organize and evaluate a communitywide poverty simulation. She has volunteered with the nonprofit organization Thrive!; the Manhattan Emergency Shelter; Purple PAWS; and Everybody Counts.
• Aaron Simon, apparel design and production, Olathe, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Simon served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for three faculty members and as the undergraduate student representative for an apparel and textile faculty search. He led his peers as an apparel and textiles student ambassador and was the co-director for 2017 Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design Showcase of Excellence. Simon earned second place for mounted exhibit and his team won best of show for its "lookbook" at the 2015 showcase.
• Gabriella Boeger, family studies and human services with a minor in conflict analysis and trauma studies and a certificate in conflict resolution, Overland Park, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Boeger volunteered with Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan, helping plan teen night. She also tutored and provided after-school care at the Douglass Center. She was elected as chaplain and formal recruitment secretary of her sorority, and was chosen as a teaching assistant and had two undergraduate research positions. While traveling abroad in Italy, Boeger organized activities in a child care center. She led a focus group for adolescent females that encouraged open discussion of sensitive topics.
• Lauren Conrow, personal financial planning, St. George, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Conrow was active in the university's Financial Planning Association, serving as treasurer for three years and helping plan fundraisers. A member of Kappa Omicron Nu, the human ecology honor society, she served as its recording secretary.
• Sarah Christensen, hospitality management with a minor in business, Tecumseh, Outstanding Student Research and Creative Scholarship Award. Christensen worked as an undergraduate research assistant with hospitality management faculty, studying disruptions in event education. As part of this project, she collected data on all available event education sources in detail to create a comprehensive database of event education. She was a member of the Professional Event Management Society and the event manager for the 2016 Travel and Dining Auction. She also worked as the event coordination assistant for Visit Topeka.
• Abby Richards, hospitality management with minors in business and mass communications, Valley Center, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Richards was a member of Eta Sigma Delta, the international honor society for hospitality management students. She was a College of Human Ecology ambassador and served as vice president of the Hospitality Management Society. Richards participated in Wildcat Watch, the K-State Collegian, the K-State cheer team and her sorority. She has interned with Pheasant Run Resort, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and the Columbian Theatre Foundation.
• Katie Baker, hospitality management with a minor in business, Wamego, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Baker was the team lead for the inaugural 2017 Hospitality Summit and organized her classmates in operations, marketing and sponsorship requirements. She served as community engagement chair for the Professional Event Management Society and helped create and coordinate the inaugural Weekend in Wichita event. She was chosen as a 2016 Snyder Legacy Leadership Fellow. Baker completed internships with Walt Disney World, Kansas City Chiefs, Country Stampede and K-State Athletics.
• Bradyn Nicholson, kinesiology, Wichita, Outstanding Student Research and Creative Scholarship Award. Nicholson participated in numerous labs in the kinesiology department, helping different faculty members with public health projects. She investigated the feasibility of sit-to-stand desks for students with emotional disturbances to determine the impact of the desks on sedentary time, physical activity and classroom behaviors. Nicholson was a WellCAT ambassador, a member of the Wildcat Wellness Coalition and a member of the Body Project, serving as a peer leader who conducted body acceptance workshops.
• Twila Linville, dietetics, Bement, Illinois, Outstanding Student Research and Creative Scholarship Award. Linville conducted research in the Exercise Physiology Lab, where she learned effective participant interaction skills and methods. She assisted with several school nutrition program research projects. She also worked with the Food and Human Microbiome Laboratory at the University of Illinois to contribute to the preparation and deployment of 3,000 research study meals. During a mission trip to Zambia, she taught nutrition education lessons in elementary schools. She teaches similar lessons to second-grade classes in Manhattan.
• Melissa Curtis, dietetics, Lansing, Michigan, Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Curtis co-coordinated educational programming for Cooking Matters grocery store tours and the OrganWise Guys, a national nutrition education program. She volunteered with the Geary County Health Department and helped plan its Women, Infants and Children's Family Fun Day. After moving to Alaska, Curtis became a Kansas State University Global Campus student and volunteered to educate members of the Boys and Girls Club of Anchorage about nutrition.
• Baylee Ragsdill, apparel marketing with minors in business administration and journalism and mass communications, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Outstanding Student Leadership Award. Ragsdill was elected president of the university's Panhellenic Council in addition to serving her sorority. She was involved in the leadership of the Apparel Marketing and Design Alliance student organization, helping organize the 2016 and 2017 Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design Showcase of Excellence runway shows. As student co-chair for the Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design Student Symposium, she fundraised, planned, recruited speakers and panelists, and communicated with alumni and students. In 2015, she spearheaded the establishment of Odyssey Online for Kansas State University, serving as editor-in-chief.
• Jordan Clipson, family studies and human services with a minor in conflict analysis and trauma studies and a certificate in conflict resolution, Paris, Texas, Outstanding Student Research and Creative Scholarship Award. Clipson was an undergraduate research assistant and worked on projects such as Kansas Strong Dads, Differentiation in Couple Relationships, and Couples with Type 2 Diabetes. She earned first place at the 2016 College of Human Ecology Undergraduate Research Forum for her project, "Honey, Can We Talk? The Role of Emotional Disclosure in Romantic Relationships." Clipson was a Texas ambassador for the university and Panhellenic recruitment guide.
