Category: 10th Anniversary
Letter from the Director – 10th Anniversary Edition
Gregory Eiselein
This past year was the most unusual in the history of K-State First and the strangest of my career in higher education.
In March, almost all students left campus and returned home as part of a public health move in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty and staff worked from home. Instructors, most of whom had never taught online, were suddenly learning a whole lot about various remote and online educational practices. Campus events were canceled or moved to virtual venues. Even after the reawakening of campus for the fall semester, so much had changed. Everyone was wearing masks. Classrooms seemed sparsely populated, to allow for social distancing. And the campus just wasn’t as lively and vibrant as usual.
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Celebrating A Decade of Student Success
Mariya Vaughan
For our 10th Anniversary we wanted to take the opportunity not only to celebrate what the K-State First program has accomplished during the past decade, but to highlight some of our premier engagement opportunities that happen every year, to show gratitude to all of our donors, faculty, staff, students and campus and community partners, and to look towards the future and provide ways for students to continue to be able to access our high impact programs through our fundraising efforts.
Be Gracious and Grateful, Celebrate Others
Mandi McKinley
This fall our team had the opportunity to share our #SquadGoals with the University community—our expectations as a team that help us function well as a program, but also to thrive as a team and individuals. We each shared an expectation that resonated with us, and for me, that is “Be gracious and grateful, celebrate others”. K-State First has much to celebrate and be thankful for this year!
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K-State First Book (or the Artist Formerly Known as the K-State Book Network)
Tara Coleman
2020 was a year of many changes for our university common book program. Some were sudden due to the pandemic, while others had been in the works for a bit longer. One of our major changes, as part of our 10th anniversary in 2020, was to change the name of the program from the K-State Book Network to K-State First Book, or KSFB.
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Celebrating Our Students through the LA of the Month Award
Brent Weaver
One of our values as a program is to always put students’ needs first. In a mostly virtual and especially challenging semester, we realized that we had an opportunity to further support our students by highlighting their achievements and celebrating their successes. Thus, we created the LA of the Month Award. This award recognizes at least one Learning Assistant each month who goes above and beyond to support their students. Faculty, students, and fellow Learning Assistants were all able to submit nominations. This semester, we recognized 5 Learning Assistants. Continue reading “Celebrating Our Students through the LA of the Month Award”