Danny Foster

Major at K-State: Secondary English Education

Position(s) held within K-State First SAC: Education Committee Chair and President

Years with K-State First SAC: 2011-2014

What are you doing now? I am a graduate student at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas studying Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (SAAHE). I currently work as a Graduate Hall Director where I supervise a Residence Hall on campus and advise a student group. Beginning in August 2015 I will transition to the Offices of the Dean of Student life as the Graduate Assistant for the GLBT Resource Center.

How did K-State First affect you as a first-year student? K-State First saved my entire collegiate career. When I first arrived at K-State I was lost and disconnected and didn’t know what to do. As an out of state student I didn’t know the resources nor did I feel like I had anywhere to turn for help. K-State First Changed that. K-State first gave me two professors who took an interest in me and took me under their wings to ensure that I got connected. Once these professors showed me what a great place K-State was and introduced me to some amazing people and friends the rest is history. I couldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for K-State First.

Did K-State First help you throughout your time at K-State? Absolutely! Serving on the Student Advisory Council gave me the opportunity to recruit new students and work with amazing peers. Not only that, but it gave me the chance to connect to faculty and staff and develop as a leader. K-State First invested in me and ensured that I had everything I needed to succeed. Sometimes that was tough love from my mentors and sometimes that was giving me autonomy, both are still very much appreciated on my end.

What K-State First Program were you involved in? As a student I was in two first year seminar courses (Geology 100 with Dr. Brueseke and FSHS 110 with Dr. Welch) as well as an avid reader and participant in the KSBN book for that year (2010, The Hunger games). As a member of Student Advisory Council I was involved in everything, but I took a special interest in our CAT Communities. I worked as a Resident Learning Assistant for The American Story CAT Community and had the privilege of working with Dr. Charles Sanders during my time and that is an invaluable experience that I will never forget. I had the opportunity to show 30 students over the course of two years my love for K-State and my passion for K-State First. I met my best friends at K-State through that experience and if I could do it all over again I would do it again.

Why did you enjoy K-State First Student Advisory Council? Student Advisory Council challenged me as a leader. Not only did I have to really learn how to balance my time, but I had to learn how to balance people. While in SAC I had to deal with the transition of two mentors out of the program and learn how to be the kind of leader that my peers needed me to be. I feel as though I was so astoundingly supported in these roles that I wasn’t able to fail because everyone truly had the others’ best interest at heart. The Council allowed me to share my passion with other highly motivated and passionate students and bring the program to prominence on campus. SAC was my home for the last three years of my career and helped shape me as a leader and mentor and provided me skills and ideas that have carried in to my current position and will undoubtedly continue beyond that.