{"id":45746,"date":"2019-05-16T14:43:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T19:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=45746"},"modified":"2019-05-16T14:43:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T19:43:33","slug":"%ef%bb%bfstrong-family-ties-to-fhsu-for-nursing-graduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=45746","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffStrong family ties to FHSU for nursing graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Diane Gasper-O\u2019Brien<\/strong>
University Relations and Marketing<\/em>
Ruth Zohner is as proud as they come while talking about her alma mater. But it doesn\u2019t get much better than this week for Zohner, a 1969 graduate of Fort Hays State University.

Her oldest granddaughter, Abbie Maxwell, is a member of the 2019 graduating class at FHSU. And Zohner is among a large group of family members coming to Hays to celebrate.

While Zohner has plenty of stories to tell of the impact that FHSU has had on her family, one that stands out is the fact that Abbie is a nominee for the Torch Award.

Coincidentally, Abbie\u2019s mom, Anne Maxwell, was a 1993 nominee for the Torch, given annually to an outstanding senior nominated by faculty.

It\u2019s going to be a memorable weekend, said Abbie, who actually has several special ceremonies to attend. There was a reception Wednesday for outstanding senior nominees for the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. Thursday evening is a banquet honoring the Torch and other Commencement award nominees.

Abbie will graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing Friday morning. That afternoon, she will participate in the traditional pinning ceremony, a rite of passage for nursing graduates.

Abbie, who grew up in Andale, transferred to FHSU her sophomore year when she decided to go into nursing. Her mother, and grandmother, couldn\u2019t have been happier.

Anne\u2019s other three siblings also attended Fort Hays State, with two of them receiving degrees. Not only did Anne\u2019s parents graduate from Fort Hays State, but so, did her husband\u2019s parents, the late Leonard and Karen Maxwell. In fact, both sets of Abbie\u2019s grandparents met at FHSU.

\u201cMy existence is owed to Fort Hays State,\u201d Abbie said.

Nonetheless, she wanted to try something different right out of high school and attended another college for one semester.

\u201cBut once I decided on nursing, I knew I wanted to transfer to Fort Hays State,\u201d she said. \u201cHays and Fort Hays State have a good, small-town feel. Being from a small town, I really enjoyed that.\u201d

\u201cPlus,\u201d Abbie added, \u201cI had heard really good things about the Fort Hays State nursing program, and about the school in general.\u201d

Anne was thrilled to help her daughter learn more about FHSU.

\u201cI just really think it helped her find her own way,\u201d Anne said, \u201ca place to make her own story that was familiar to her and special to her family.\u201d

Once she was certain of her path, Abbie excelled at Fort Hays State. She was on the Dean\u2019s Honor Roll every semester and will graduate summa cum laude \u2013 with greatest honors, with a 3.9-plus grade-point average. This spring, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Abbie will begin work in July as a critical care nurse at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
She said all that was made possible by the well-rounded education she received while attending FHSU.

\u201cFort Hays State helped me grow as an individual through the community-type support,\u201d she said. \u201cThe nursing program is tough and almost impossible to do on your own. You grow so close to your peers and to your professors.\u201d

Her mom agreed that FHSU is a larger family for her immediate family.

\u201cIt\u2019s a great commonality, a bond that we share,\u201d Anne said. \u201cFort Hays State feels like home. I loved it when I was growing up, hearing my parents talk about how Fort Hays State helped shape them, and I loved it when I was a student there.\u201d

And now?

\u201cI still love it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see those relationships grow and to have that shared bond with my parents, with my child. It\u2019s wonderful to see how Fort Hays State has continued to impact my life to this day.\u201d

Abbie\u2019s relatives, including Grandpa and Grandma Zohner from Penokee, will take part in a celebration Friday evening at an Airbnb in Hays. No doubt a story or two will be told from the family\u2019s association with FHSU that spans parts of six decades.

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting how we all had our own experiences at Fort Hays State,\u201d Anne said, \u201cbut we are all tethered to the university. It\u2019s a family bond that stays with you forever.\u201d

Josie Hemphill from the Denver area, one of Anne\u2019s nieces \u2013 and another Zohner grandchild \u2013 is completing her sophomore year at Fort Hays State, keeping the lineage intact for the Zohner family.

Abbie also is the oldest of four siblings, so there\u2019s a possibility of more FHSU graduations in coming years.

The Zohners said they drive through campus every time they visit Hays, and sometimes get out and walk around. Ditto for Anne.

\u201cThe university has changed a lot over the years, but I still love what has all remained the same,\u201d Anne said. \u201cYou put your feet on that campus and the quad and look up at the pillars on Picken Hall, and you know you\u2019re home.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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