BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Fort Hays faculty members, students and community members joined together on Saturday morning to honor Serena Blaske, a student who passed away last year.
An estimated 67 participants registered for the first annual Serena’s Sunflower 5K. The race was organized by a number of faculty members and students from the College of Education, starting specifically with Linda Feldstein and Heather Musil, two of Blaske’s professors in the Teacher Education program.
“We knew that she had been an athlete,” Feldstein said. “She ran track at her previous university before coming here. She was involved with the football team, swimming and I believe basketball. She was very involved in sports, so we knew running would be something that she would feel good about.”
Musil had a similar sentiment while speaking to participants prior to the race.
“As you all know, [Serena] loved to compete,” she said.
Musil also told participants that money raised from the registration fees would help fund a scholarship set up by the Blaske family. The scholarship will be available to student-athletes in the College of Education. According to Feldstein, support for the scholarship has come from all over.
“We also had a lot of people running 5Ks both in Stafford, where Serena was from, and in Kansas City, so those folks are also donating to the scholarship fund,” she said. “Then we have people who have just donated money because they knew her but couldn’t be here today, so we’ve had lots of donations.”
The race began after opening remarks from both Musil and Paul Adams, dean of the College of Education. The route started by Hammond Hall, went along the dike and into campus, and finished back at Hammond. Signs along the way featured tidbits about Blaske’s life at Fort Hays, such as her time as a lifeguard at the Tiger Fitness Center or as a manager for the football team.
“I think things have gone really, really well,” Feldstein said. “I really want to acknowledge the rest of the people who have been helping me out. I never could have pulled this off on my own, so I’ve had a team of people who’ve been really helpful.”
With plans for the race to happen every year, Feldstein hopes for it to continue to grow.
“I had a monetary goal for this particular year, in terms of how much we could donate [to the scholarship], and I think we have met that goal,” she said. “We’re just hoping to maybe be able to raise a little more every single year as time goes forward.”
