Two K-State students serve as delegates to 49th annual Air Force Academy Assembly

Media Relations and Marketing
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-0117
Phone: 785-532-6415
Fax: 785-532-6418

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Sources: Greg Corbin, gregnick@k-state.edu;
and Chad McKown, chad2@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

TWO K-STATE STUDENTS SERVE AS DELEGATES TO 49TH ANNUAL AIR FORCE ACADEMY ASSEMBLY

MANHATTAN -- Two Kansas State University students served as delegates at the recent 49th annual Air Force Academy Assembly, Feb. 6-9, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The assembly is a conference for highly qualified undergraduates that provides an opportunity to discuss a topic of contemporary significance. K-State's Greg Corbin, senior in philosophy and political science, Shawnee, and Chad McKown, senior in political science, Wichita, were among the more than 200 student delegates attending the assembly, which had a theme this year of "Continent at a Crossroads: Prosperity, Justice and Security in South America."

At the assembly, the students met in roundtables to discuss topics related to South America and the United States, and to develop a consensus on topic questions. The roundtables were facilitated by experts in the field, including scholars, senior government executives, theorists and practitioners.

One of the objectives of the conference is to produce a final report that reflects a consensus on the issues discussed. The report is then published and sent to universities and government agencies across the U.S.

"I wanted to attend the assembly for the opportunity to deal with real-world problems with some of the brightest students from political science departments around the nation," Corbin said.

Corbin was one of K-State's 2007 nominees for the Truman Scholarship. He is active in several honor societies and is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. After graduating from K-State, he plans to go to law school and pursue a career with an international nonprofit organization. Corbin is the son of Pat and Lou Corbin and a graduate of Shawnee Mission North High School.

McKown said one of the reasons he wanted to attend the conference was because of his interest in the many cultures of Latin America.

"From a political standpoint, I feel that there are numerous security issues involving Latin America that have been overlooked by the United States and other governments that are not in the region," he said. "I really enjoyed working with all of the other delegates. I met with people from Colombia and Bolivia, from all of the U.S. military academies and students from other colleges, too."

McKown will graduate in December and plans to enlist in the U.S. Army. He would like to serve in military intelligence. He would eventually like to work as an analyst in the intelligence community. McKown is a 2003 graduate of Goddard High School and the son of Mike and Jan McKown.