{"id":44007,"date":"2019-02-21T11:35:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T17:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=44007"},"modified":"2019-02-21T13:56:42","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T19:56:42","slug":"srp-events-welcome-potential-fhsu-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=44007","title":{"rendered":"SRP events welcome potential FHSU students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


By Diane Gasper-O\u2019Brien <\/strong>
University Relations and Marketing <\/em>
For Jacob Wick, it will be somewhat of a homecoming. For his high school classmate, Caden Moore, it will be making a new home for himself when they begin their college careers at Fort Hays State University next fall.

The two Wamego High School seniors were part of a group students honored at an annual Student Recognition Program at the Ramada Inn in Topeka earlier this month.

The Topeka SRP is one of 12 of its kind \u2013 all across the state and one each in Colorado and Nebraska \u2013 held during a month\u2019s time through January and February. The 2019 SRPs will conclude this week, with events at Beloit Thursday and at Garden City and Dodge City on Sunday.

Topeka\u2019s program was the second such event of the day for representatives from the FHSU admissions office, who were in Overland Park earlier in the day on Feb. 10.

It was double duty again the following Sunday for Jon Armstrong, interim director of admissions, and his crew. Following a morning SRP in Kearney, Neb., on Feb. 17, nearly 100 students were recognized at the Hays event, annually held on the Fort Hays State campus.

\u201cSure, it\u2019s busy this time of year,\u201d said Hugo Perez, assistant director of admissions who has attended every single one of the SRPs this year. \u201cBut it\u2019s our job. It\u2019s what we do, and I love it.\u201d

What admissions personnel do at the SRP events that began in 1989 is to recognize students who have expressed interest in FHSU and to give them and their parents and family an introduction to the university.

Other university officers, administrators and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions.

This year was a record-breaking attendance at the Topeka site with 54 students from the surrounding area being recognized.

Two of those were Wick and Moore, who made the 40-mile trip with their parents.

Wick, who was born and raised in Hays before moving to Wamego with his family when he was entering sixth grade, said he had been thinking about FHSU as one of his options for post-secondary education.

Even after a diligent search \u2013 he checked out four other universities, some larger than Fort Hays State, some similar size \u2013 Wick decided on FHSU.

\u201cAfter being raised in Hays, I always thought it was a possibility to come back here for college,\u201d said Wick, who plans to major in business-finance with a minor in banking.

\u201cThe campus is smaller than some, just the right size,\u201d he said, \u201cand the amount of scholarships you can get makes it really affordable.\u201d

Moore also was impressed with the financial aid opportunities as well as the academics \u2013 and why not?

He received a Tier 1 award through FHSU\u2019s Honors College as well as other scholarships. The Tier 1 is a $10,000 award for tuition and room and board, renewable for three years.

\u201cI really liked the environment and the small student-to-teacher ratio, too,\u201d said Moore, who plans to major in pre-law.

Following talks by FHSU administrators, including President Tisa Mason, those in attendance are treated to a video about the university featuring student success stories.

Every single student at the SRP is then recognized, called to the front of the room, and gets the opportunity to take a photo with Mason.

Each of the SRP events also features two scholarship drawings \u2013 a $500 award to be used toward tuition costs and a $600 textbook award \u2013 as well as a drawing for a laptop computer.

Because of the size of the Hays SRP (nearly 100 attended this year) two awards each of $500 and $600 were given out.

Megan Gray, a senior at Valley Heights High School in Blue Rapids, was excited about attending the Topeka event, and that was even before her name was drawn out as the winner of the laptop.

Gray, who will be a third-generation student for her family next fall, plans to major in elementary education. Her grandparents, Steve and Carol Hood, also have degrees from Fort Hays State, as does her mother, Tonya Metcalf.

Gray became interested in Fort Hays State when her mom earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing online through FHSU\u2019s Virtual College. Gray decided to schedule a campus visit and liked what she saw.

\u201cI love the campus,\u201d Gray said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t too big, and everyone was so welcoming.\u201d

Several students at the SRP events are children of FHSU alumni.

One of those at the Hays event was Jenna Howard from WaKeeney, who plans to major in geosciences. Her parents, Hardy and Dawn Howard, each have two degrees from FHSU.

\u201cI knew Dad really liked it here,\u201d Jenna Howard said of one reason she was interested in Fort Hays State. Another was that her oldest sister, Larissa, is majoring in geosciences at FHSU and is scheduled to graduate in May. \u201cAnd I really like the campus and the professors.\u201d

Emily Schippers, a senior at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School in Hays, also is following her older sister, as well as a parent, to FHSU.

Sara Schippers is a sophomore nursing student, the same major that Emily has chosen.
However, Emily said that she had been thinking about the medical field long before her sister chose nursing.

\u201cI chose nursing mostly because of her, and I chose Fort Hays State because of him,\u201d Schippers said, nodding toward her parents. The Schippers sisters\u2019 mom, Geralyn, is a registered nurse, and their dad, Troy, is an FHSU graduate.

Schippers said being close to home was a consideration, as well as \u201cthe homey environment.\u201d She also has already received some scholarships to help with her college expenses.  

Scholarship aid from FHSU is nothing new for the Schippers family.

\u201cI grew up in the \u201980s during the farm crises,\u201d said Troy Schippers, who lived at home in Victoria during his college days so he could help his dad on the family farm. \u201cI was fortunate to have a renewable scholarship to help with costs. Now, the scholarships are even better. I got a degree in finance, and I\u2019m very proud to be an FHSU grad.\u201d

Tina Wick, Jacob Wick\u2019s mom and another Fort Hays State alum, said she would have supported her son\u2019s decision, no matter where he decided to attend college. But she admitted she was partial to her alma mater.

\u201cIn my heart, yes, I was glad he chose (FHSU) just because I had such a great experience in college there,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel that companies heavily recruit Fort Hays State grads, because they know the product of the students coming out \u2013 both with their knowledge and their work ethic.\u201d

The Wicks still have several friends in Hays, and Tina Wick said she is looking forward to returning to FHSU more often now. She said she hasn\u2019t changed her mind in nearly 30 years about the quality of it  programs.

\u201cFort Hays State was so much more advanced in its graphic design department than the larger schools back then. Now, I can hardly wait to see what the new art building is going to look like,\u201d Wick, a graphic design graduate, said of the new art and design building scheduled for completion for fall 2019.

\u201cFHSU was a great school back when I was in college,\u201d she continued, \u201cbut it seems like it\u2019s even better today in what it has to offer.\u201d S<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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