Kansas State University

A newly renovated Derby Dining Center is scheduled to open for the spring semester at dinner on Friday, Jan. 22.

Built in 1965, the dining center was named after reference librarian Grace Derby. It serves the students who live in the residence halls on the east side of campus, including Smurthwaite Scholarship and Leadership House. Derby is home to the beloved annual “Derbsgiving” Thanksgiving dinner, and has hosted numerous prominent chefs over the years through Dining Services’ Culinary Enhancement Workshop series.

The renovations include a new entry on the southeast corner of the building, newly configured community space on the first floor, a new single entrance to the food service area and a new open dining experience on the second floor. Updates to the heating, air conditioning and fire safety systems were also completed. The Bakery — scheduled to open Feb. 15 — will continue to operate on the first floor with a new customer service counter in addition to the online ordering services popular across campus and throughout the Manhattan community.

Construction will be ongoing in some areas, but residents can expect to enjoy full meal service. To learn more about the renovation project, visit the Derby construction page.

Dining services is hiring students to fill open positions at Derby and Kramer dining centers. Learn more and apply online.

Guest contribution from Alison Rogers, Marketing and Communications, Housing and Dining Services

Jessica Blasi is the Alcohol and Other Drug Education Director at Kansas State University and mental health therapist at Counseling Services. She provides one-on-one classes to the students surrounding drugs and alcohol through Zoom. The classes include nonjudgmental listening and screening of alcohol and other drug use, discussions of alcohol and other drug risks related to health and wellness, blood alcohol content and how it can impact driving, resources for alcohol and drug free activities in the Manhattan community and stress management tips. She uses a reduction of use approach to allow for the students to reflect on current use and how reducing use can impact their life. If the student is requesting other services or would like help in navigating community or campus resources she helps to find referrals which can further assist students in treatment such as individual therapy, inpatient therapy, detox services or community groups that support sobriety and change. If you have any further questions or would like to provide information to the community, her contact information is:

Jessica Blasi, MS, LMFT, LMAC
Alcohol and Other Drug Education Director
Counseling Services
(785) 532-6927

Guest contribution from Shawn Funk, Marketing and Communications, Lafene Health Center

Kansas State University has completely re-designed the New Student Orientation experience as a response to COVID-19. While the timing and context of this re-design were unexpected, we are excited about the strengths and innovations for the Spring 2021 New Student Orientation. There are three main elements to this year’s orientation.

1. Students will meet virtually with their academic advisor on their scheduled New Student Orientation date to enroll in coursework.

2. Students will have access to an online orientation which outlines various facets of their collegiate experience.

3. Parents and families, you are invited to complete a separate Orientation. This website will provide information about K-State as well as a brief to-do list to ensure your student is prepared for their first semester at K-State.

Complete New Parents and Family Orientation

Through innovation and communication, your Spring 2021 New Student Orientation experience will provide a robust K-State welcome to you and your family. If you have any questions or are seeking guidance throughout this experience, please reach out to the free Parents and Family Program hotline at (785) 532-2222.

Parents and Families,

Kansas State University views parents and families as partners in student success. Many students will continue to seek support and guidance from their parents and families throughout college. Discussing your student’s academic progress can be a valuable way to show your support and interest. To help facilitate, provided are conversation starters you may consider when discussing your student’s end of semester grades. -These open-ended questions are meant to drive a supportive conversation.

• Tell me about your fall semester.
• Did your grades meet your expectations?
• Did they reflect your effort?
• What have you learned about your study style?
• How can I best support you going forward?
• Did you know tutoring is free?
• I’ve heard the academic coaches are excellent–can I help you explore how to connect with one?

If your student has not met their own academic expectations, consider reading the following article https://grownandflown.com/kid-broken-academic-probation-news-you/  This article was written by a parent who was caught off guard during holiday break by their student’s academic performance. She shares her feelings and steps she took to best support her student.

If you or your family has any questions or are seeking additional support, please reach out to K-State’s Academic Achievement Center. https://www.k-state.edu/aac/about/team/index.html

Additionally, you can call our Parents and Family hotline at (785) 532-2222 and access resources for further support

Powercat Financial is a nationally recognized program open to all students, providing free, confidential financial guidance to students to assist them in their transition from financial dependence to financial independence. Since opening they have presented to over 55,000 students on topics ranging from budgeting to student loan repayment and transitioning to work. Their office has held more than 5,000 individual one-on-one appointments.

During these appointments students can create a personalized college financial plan or learn about budgeting, saving, credit, student loan repayment, and transitioning to work. What makes this program so remarkable is that they hire and train students who are seeking pre-professional financial counseling experience to serve as peer financial counselor. Students train and study for an entire semester to become qualified.

All this month, donations to the K-State Parents and Family Fund will be used to hire and train additional student counselors. This will help the program reach more students with financial education assistance while providing real world experience to students studying to become financial professionals.

As a jumpstart to this effort, $1,000 was raised on Giving Tuesday and we hope to double this amount by the end of December!

I hope you’ll add this program that can truly make a difference to a student’s life to your holiday list this year. Contributions can be made here: www.ksufoundation.org/give/pfp   

Terron Stegman, a K-State freshmen, shares one week on the Manhattan campus. He shares what his typical day looks like and shows what campus is like with Covid-19 regulations in place.