{"id":51949,"date":"2019-12-12T08:15:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T14:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=51949"},"modified":"2019-12-12T08:15:19","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T14:15:19","slug":"former-hays-resident-returning-to-town-to-participate-in-fort-hays-states-first-fall-graduation-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=51949","title":{"rendered":"Former Hays resident returning to town to participate in Fort Hays State\u2019s first fall graduation ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Diane Gasper-O\u2019Brien
<\/strong> University Relations and Marketing
<\/em> He lived in Hays barely a year. But it was long enough to learn the quality of education the local university had to offer.

So when Matthew Kenwright began seriously thinking about pursuing a master\u2019s degree, he chose Fort Hays State despite living four hours away.

Kenwright, who has lived in the Kansas City area since 2014, will graduate from FHSU this month with a degree in political management in the Master of Professional Studies program through the university\u2019s Virtual College.

He already had decided to take part in Friday\u2019s commencement ceremony even before he realized it was Fort Hays State\u2019s inaugural December graduation. His family thinks it\u2019s important to celebrate milestones, so much so that his parents are flying in from Memphis, Tenn., for the ceremony.

More than 450 graduates are scheduled to receive their diplomas at the 1 p.m. ceremony in Gross Memorial Coliseum, the first of its kind at FHSU following the fall semester.

Kenwright, who grew up in Memphis, landed his first job out of college in 2013 at The Hays Daily News, where he worked for 11 months as a reporter, covering the government and business beats. He also covered occasional events at FHSU and was impressed that a town of 25,000 featured a university with a nationally acclaimed online presence.

\u201cI knew Fort Hays State had excellent online programs back then,\u201d Kenwright said. \u201cSo when I was ready to start my master\u2019s, I checked into it. It was very flexible and very affordable while still getting a quality education. I just felt it would be a good fit for me.\u201d

Kenwright returned to the city life in 2014 when he took a job at a magazine in Lenexa, a suburb of Kansas City. He now works as a communications specialist in a Kansas City school district. And he said the concentrations of marketing, leadership and politics in FHSU\u2019s professional studies degree was the perfect blend for him.

\u201cIt was a good mixture of the areas I was interested in,\u201d Kenwright said. \u201cThe online program was convenient, and I was able to work at my own pace. I\u2019ve been really happy with it.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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