Fort\nHays State University exists to improve lives. Our alumni, engaged citizens\nleaders, use their education and improve the lives of others. This\npay-it-forward mission makes our world better. Whether a teacher, banker,\nnurse, artist, or physicist, our alumni are dedicated professionals who\ntransform their fields and their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na couple of weeks, the FHSU Alumni Association will honor seven remarkable\nchange agents. I love listening and learning about their journeys and the\nremarkable impact they have made on our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\nI walk across campus, stopping to talk with several students, I find myself\nalso thinking about these seven award winners\u2019 beginning steps and how Tiger\nNation nurtures talents and self-discovery. I think about Maya Angelou\u2019s\nstatement that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. I think\nabout the amazing students who have passed through our \u201challs\u201d and those who\nare in the middle of figuring it all out right now. One of those is junior\nHannah Dechant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hannah\ngrew up in Goodland in northwest Kansas. For 13 years, her life was shaped and\nnurtured by her involvement in 4-H. She has shown sheep and dogs, done art and\ncrafts, photography, and foods and nutrition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGrowing\nup in my small town, agriculture is a way of life for us, so being in 4-H and\ndoing so many things was not uncommon,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, it was about a lot\nmore than just all of the ribbons and awards I would receive. For me, it was\nabout helping others achieve their goals and dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\nmay be guessing this accomplished 4-H\u2019er came to campus to study agriculture. I\ndid. Heck, Hannah even works on our university farm. As often is the case,\nthere is more to Hannah\u2019s story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When\nHannah was 5 years old, she was diagnosed with Amblyopia; she is legally blind\nin her left eye. That meant that throughout her K-12 years, she would navigate\neducation via disability accommodations. As Hannah would say, there is an extra\nlayer of challenges for those children who grow up with a disability. Her\nexperiences as a person with a disability shaped and fueled her passion to\nbecome a special education teacher. At FHSU, Hannah is an elementary education\nmajor with a minor in special education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nhave always had a heart for young kids, and 4-H only expanded on that more,\u201d\nHannah said. \u201cBecause I have been through the journey of living with a\ndisability, and all the paperwork that comes with it for school, I will be able\nto help students with exceptionalities better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\nI love about Hannah\u2019s story is how she combines her love for agriculture with\nher calling to assist others with special needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn\n4-H, I have been able to help and teach students who have special needs reach\ntheir goals. I have been able to help those children feel like any other\nchild,\u201d she said. \u201cFor the past three years, I have been able to help a young\ngirl who is unable to walk \u2013 or talk \u2013 show a lamb by training a lamb to walk\nby a wagon with her riding in it. I have also been able to help two children\nwith a disability learn how to cook and bake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hannah\nlooks forward to the day she has her own classroom. She can\u2019t wait to integrate\ndifferent kinds of activities that will focus on all that agriculture has to\noffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nfeel that every student should understand agriculture and where our food comes\nfrom,\u201d she said. I also want the children to know that livestock are not scary\nwhen you handle them the correct way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hannah\u2019s\nvision for her life is truly inspiring. Through that vision, I know her life\nwill be rich, and those lives that she touches will be even more enriched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe words of Nelson Mandela, there is no doubt in my mind that a Fort Hays\nState education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.\nThank you, Hannah, for your passion and the unique way you will make our world\nbetter one child at a time! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fort Hays State University exists to improve lives. Our alumni, engaged citizens leaders, use their education and improve the lives of others. This pay-it-forward mission… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12323,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Mason-Tisa-040A6662.jpg?fit=750%2C1050&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61030,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61029\/revisions\/61030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}