BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Since her passing in December, Fort Hays student Serena Blaske continues to be remembered by many as someone who was friendly to everyone and always willing to help. Along with being a student in the teacher education program, she was a manager for the football team and lifeguard at the Tiger Fitness Center. She was also a track and field athlete during her time at Pratt Community College. To honor her, the College of Education is hosting Serena’s Sunflower 5K this Saturday.
The race will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Hammond Hall parking lot following opening remarks from Paul Adams – dean of the college – and Ken Windholz. The route goes along the dike trail on campus and into town, and will feature signs along the way that tell participants more about Blaske’s life.
“The world lost a great soul last December when she passed,” said event organizer Kaleb King. “This is just a great way to honor her and continue her legacy. Everyone should come out and participate, it will be a fun day.”
Money raised from registration fees will help fund a memorial scholarship set up by the Blaske family. The scholarship will be available to applicants who are student-athletes in the College of Education, two groups that were “very important” to Blaske, according to King.
Planning for the race began with Linda Feldstein and Heather Musil, two of Blaske’s professors.
“They came up with the idea of doing a 5K and asked me if I would help plan it with them,” King said. “I wanted a way to honor Serena because everyone that had class with her remembers her smile and thought so highly of her.”
Other College of Education faculty and students have also been involved in the planning process, as well as the members of other organizations Blaske was a part of, such as the football team.
So far, the number of participants registered for the race is just shy of 50.
“We’re really happy with the numbers we have so far, but we’re hoping it becomes an annual thing that gets bigger and better every year so we’re able to supply donations for the scholarship,” King said.
The registration form can be found by scanning the QR code on this Facebook post. FHSU students also have the option to sign up by going to the event’s TigerLink page.