By Diane Gasper-O’Brien
University Relations and Marketing
Brady Stephenson didn’t have a lot of extra time to spend with his family Saturday afternoon.
A quick lunch at a local restaurant was sandwiched between his late-morning graduation from the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science and a mid-afternoon final in his statistics class at Fort Hays State University.
Such is the life of a dedicated 18-year-old who will begin his junior year at FHSU in the fall.
Stephenson was one of 42 students honored at Saturday’s ninth annual completion ceremony. It was the largest graduating class to date for KAMS, a premier early college residential program for juniors and seniors on the Fort Hays State campus.
Students in KAMS finish their high school requirements while living on the FHSU campus and earning nearly 70 hours of college credit. They receive a certificate of completion from KAMS, a diploma from their home high school and can choose any four-year institution at which to continue their education.
Stephenson was so impressed with what he experienced the past two years at FHSU that he decided to return this fall to continue working on a degree in finance.
That wasn’t near as tough a decision as he made a few years earlier when he was weighing the options of finishing high school where he grew up or stepping out of his comfort zone and enrolling in KAMS. That would mean being away from his parents and three younger siblings during the school year.
Stephenson also was entrenched in school activities at Little River. He was a three-sport athlete, and he was elected for – and served as – student body president his sophomore year.
“I decided that in the end, academics were going to get me farther than sports,” Stephenson said. “And with independence, you learn a lot of responsibility.”
Leaving behind his red and white athletic uniforms from Little River didn’t keep Stephenson from participating in sports, though.
He played intramural flag football, basketball and softball at FHSU and plans to do the same next year. He also is a member of several organizations on campus: Finance Club, Tiger Pals and Catholic Disciples, and he was elected president of the Economics Club.
“For me, coming in I had that mindset to go to Harvard or Yale,” he said. “Once I got here, I now understand the quality of the education you can get right here at Fort Hays State.”
In KAMS, Stephenson got a head start on some educational opportunities outside of the classroom. He was involved with numerous research projects and gave several presentations at conferences the past two years.
Stephenson just completed an internship with Grow Hays, a nonprofit economic development organization.
Grow Hays interviewed three FHSU students who had applied for the internship funded partially by a grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation.
“We felt Brady was the best fit for what we had in mind,” said Doug Williams, executive director of Grow Hays, who complimented FHSU on the opportunities it offers students to learn out of the classroom.
Stephenson was exposed to a variety of business ventures, including marketing, social media, video-taping and editing. He even cut some commercials.
“He was willing to do anything we asked him to do,” Williams said. “He’s mature beyond his years, and we hope to possibly to have him back with us in the fall. He offers a lot of value to us.”
The internship was just as valuable for Stephenson as he was exposed to the business environment.
“It was a great place to better my time management skills and to make connections,” he said. “It really helped build on my communication skills.”
Stephenson will graduate with his class of 26 seniors at Little River High School this weekend. He will be able to give his former classmates some advice about their first year in college.
“This has been great,” he said. “Besides all the other obvious opportunities, KAMS has been like a cushion, getting to figure things out and organizations you want to join.”
This fall, when most students his age will be feeling their way and learning the ins and outs of college life, Stephenson will be an FHSU upperclassman.
First up, though, is an internship this summer – at another nonprofit organization, Soul Bloom Lending in Salina.
Stephenson said he is looking forward to the next two years at Fort Hays State, where he plans to live in the Dane G. Hansen Scholarship Hall, built in 2016 for entrepreneurial-minded students. He was accepted into the Honors College, an opportunity for high-achieving students, and has received several scholarships that will help pay for the rest of his undergraduate instruction.
Stephenson is unsure of his plans after graduation but thinks his experiences on and off campus will help guide him in making that decision.
“It was instilled in me at a young age that it doesn’t matter whatever you end up doing, as long as you are helping other people,” Stephenson said.
“I can see Brady doing any number of things in finance,” Williams said. “He’s got the intelligence to go to Wall Street if he wanted, but I think he likes rural America. And his social skills will serve him well in whatever he does.”
