People with Purpose: Steven Snyder

By Abbigail Marshall

Division of Communications and Marketing

Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

The places people spend their time can become as meaningful as the memories made there. For Steven Snyder, landscape superintendent, that idea drives his work.

Through team leadership, student mentorship and a service-oriented mindset, Snyder focuses on caring for the landscapes that shape the campus experience while developing the people behind them — finding his purpose in creating a beautiful campus where people can learn, connect and belong.

Q: What is a behind-the-scenes part of your job you wish more people knew about?

Snyder: People often see the finished landscape, but not the planning, problem-solving and mentoring that happens behind the scenes. A big part of my job is making sure my team has everything they need to succeed before they even pick up a shovel.

My mind is always thinking a few steps ahead — what needs to happen next, what challenges we might face and how we're going to get there. With a small team maintaining such a large property, every decision matters. It takes careful planning to balance day-to-day maintenance with meaningful progress on new projects and landscape rejuvenation; if we focus too much on one, the other falls behind, so it's a constant balancing act.

For me, success isn't just about completing a project but creating a plan that enables the team to work efficiently, supporting them when challenges arise and ensuring they have the time, tools and direction they need to do their best work. When everything comes together, the landscape reflects the effort, but it's the people behind it who make it happen.

Q: How do you build connections on campus?

Snyder: One of the things I enjoy most about working at K-State is how connected our department is with the rest of the university. Because we're on a campus that teaches horticulture and landscape architecture, we have opportunities to collaborate in ways that are pretty unique.

One of my favorite ways to build connections is by employing students. It gives them the opportunity to gain real-world experience while seeing firsthand how landscapes are maintained and why designing with long-term maintenance in mind is so important. It's rewarding to watch students apply what they're learning in the classroom to projects that become part of the campus they walk through every day.

What makes K-State special is that the campus itself becomes a living classroom. Our landscapes aren't just something people admire — they're places where students can learn, ask questions, test ideas and see horticulture and landscape management in action. Being able to contribute to that learning environment while also caring for the campus is something I feel very fortunate to be a part of.

“For me, being part of Landscape Services means more than maintaining beautiful spaces. It means caring for places that have meaning to people.”

Steven Snyder

Q: What is one interaction that stayed with you long after the day ended?

Snyder: One interaction that has stayed with me happened during one of the most challenging times in my life. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I experienced an incredible amount of support from the K-State community. People from across campus reached out to offer encouragement, support and kindness. One of those people was the university president, and having that level of care shown to me was something I will never forget.

During that time, I truly felt the strength of the K-State family. The messages, conversations and support I received gave me encouragement when I needed it most and played a big part in helping me find the strength to move forward.

That experience changed the way I view community. It reminded me that K-State is more than a workplace or a campus — it is a group of people who genuinely care about one another. We spend so much time talking about supporting students and creating welcoming spaces, but I experienced firsthand what it means to be supported by the people around you.

That feeling of connection and compassion is something I try to carry forward in my own leadership. It reinforces why supporting the people around me matters so much. We never know what someone is carrying, and sometimes a simple conversation, a helping hand, or showing someone that they matter can have a much greater impact than we realize.

Q: How does your work fit into the larger strategic plan of the university?

Snyder: As the landscape superintendent, I see my role as helping turn the university's long-term vision into something people can experience every day. The Campus Master Plan lays out where K-State is headed, but it's our team that helps bring those ideas to life. Whether we're maintaining existing landscapes, rejuvenating aging spaces or building something new, every project contributes to creating a campus that is welcoming, functional and beautiful.

A lot of our work is about stewardship. We're responsible for caring for thousands of acres, and that means thinking beyond today. We have to balance maintaining what we already have while planning improvements that will serve the university for years to come. Every decision we make has to consider sustainability, safety, budgets and the experience of everyone who walks across campus.

What I enjoy most is knowing that our work directly supports the student experience. The landscapes we care for become places where students study, gather with friends, celebrate milestones or simply take a quiet walk between classes. Faculty, staff, alumni and visitors experience those spaces every day, even if they don't always think about the work that goes into them.

The plan is to create a campus built for the future, and I like to think my role is to help make sure that future is not only well planned but also well cared for. By investing in our people, planning thoughtfully and taking pride in the details, we're creating a campus environment that reflects the excellence of Kansas State University and will continue to serve generations of Wildcats.

Steven Snyder and Emily Hall, landscape supervisor

Q: What role do you think landscaping plays in creating a sense of belonging on campus?

Snyder: I think landscaping plays a much bigger role in creating a sense of belonging than many people realize. Before working closely with campus stakeholders and attending student governing meetings, I think it would be easy to see landscapes as purely aesthetic. But the more I listen to the campus community, the more I realize that these spaces represent so much more.

Campus landscapes are places where learning happens, where creativity grows and where people can find quiet moments to reflect and recharge. They are gathering spaces where students create memories, but they are also places that honor the history and people who have shaped K-State. A landscape can represent a memorial for a loved one, recognize the achievements of a researcher or celebrate someone who has made a meaningful impact on the university.

That is what makes a campus landscape different from a typical park. These spaces carry stories, history and purpose. They connect generations of students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors to the university, creating a sense of pride and belonging.

For me, being part of Landscape Services means more than maintaining beautiful spaces. It means caring for places that have meaning to people. Every tree, garden, walkway and gathering space contributes to the experience people have while they are at K-State. When people feel connected to those spaces, they feel more connected to the university itself.