The beginning of a new academic year is always an exciting time on the K-State campus. The Graduate School was pleased to welcome over 300 new graduate students to campus during our orientation sessions. The Graduate School administrative team, a panel of graduate students and the Graduate Student Council leaders provided advice on how to successfully transition to their new role and to balance their multiple roles and responsibilities as students and graduate teaching or graduate research assistants.
During the K-State and Little Apple Resource Fair, the new students were introduced to Call Hall ice cream and many campus services available to facilitate their success including Hale Library, Powercat Financial Counseling, University Honors Program, the Writing Center and many more. Representatives from programs and resources available in Manhattan community interacted with the new students. Many students enjoyed having their photos taken with Willie the Wildcat.
During the Week of Welcome, Todd Holmberg, director of McCain Auditorium, introduced graduate and international students to the diversity of performances scheduled for this academic year. The students were impressed with the variety of artists coming to McCain this season. Several purchased tickets to many of the events and expressed their excitement about the discount available to K-State students. Friends of McCain sponsored a networking event for the students following Todd’s preview of the shows. The Graduate School sincerely appreciates the partnership we have with McCain and our other campus and community partners. Each contribute to enhancing the quality of the graduate student experience.
Without the support of our on-campus partners and alumni and friends who have contributed to the Graduate School Excellence Fund throughout the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign, the opportunities afforded our graduate students would be very limited. We are fortunate that a few years ago the University Distinguished Professors through partnership with the Vice President of Research Office initiated an award program to recognize outstanding doctoral students during their final year. The generous contributions by our University Distinguished Professors demonstrate their commitment to excellence in graduate education. An update on the Graduate School’s progress toward the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign goal is summarized in the newsletter.
The Graduate School team looks forward to continued collaboration with our campus and community partners to provide unique opportunities for our graduate students. We also look forward to exploring ways that we can engage you, our alumni, in helping us advance graduate education at K-State. If you are on campus for any reason, please know we’d love to connect with you.