Kansas State Polytechnic

Congratulations to Dr. Kate Behan, Assistant Professor in Family Studies & Human Services, who was awarded the K-State Salina Enhancing Diversity award! Dr. Behan was recognized for being a change agent, advocate, and an example of emphasizing cultural diversity and compassion in the campus community, and in the broader Salina community.

Dr. Behan has developed and taught courses in family studies that bring attention to the diversity of the issues that different groups of people in our society face. For example, her FSHS 300: Families and Poverty class explores the causes and consequences of family poverty. This includes a national, global economic and socio-historical influences, migration patterns, discrimination and oppression, policies and programs that address poverty, and the developmental effects of poverty on individuals and families. Additionally, Dr. Behan developed FSHS 305: Family Violence class that focuses on the different types of violence within families. Those types include child abuse and neglect, dating violence, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse. These courses provide family studies students as well as others in the campus community a glimpse of the diverse experiences of all types of families in the US.

In addition to her academic contributions, she has been a part of numerous committees. Dr. Behan is a member of the Salina Campus Multicultural committee, she is a Safe Zone committee member as well as an ally, and she helped to organize a Civic Luncheon presentation featuring members of the LBGT community in Salina.

Regarding her service, Dr. Behan has been a part of several community organizations as well as Salina campus community organizations. She has served as the secretary and chair of the United Way committee in Salina and the Ashby House Board of Directors. Dr. Behan participated in Project Salina, which is a community board that sponsors a community-wide food drive that serves five non-profit agencies. She had given numerous presentations to churches and other community organizations to bring awareness to the family issues that exist in the Salina community. Dr. Behan is also served as an AFS liaison, an organization that serves foreign exchange students.

Lien Tran recently discussed her experiences as a Family Studies and Human Services major at K-State Polytechnic with Dr. Kate Behan. Lien expects to graduate from K-State in May 2016. 

Although Lien had lived in Salina, KS for five years prior to graduating high school, she was unaware there was a branch campus of Kansas State University in Salina. Initially, she considered majoring in international business at Wichita State University.  She noted, however, she is a “people person” and decided a business major was not the best fit for her. She was excited upon learning of the Salina branch campus and found that the FSHS program was an excellent fit with her skills of being able to listen to and help people.

She stated that she finds her FSHS classes are fun but also challenging. Potential FSHS students must come “with an open mind” as the courses address real-world issues and topics and dispel misconceptions about social issues. She stated that “the small class sizes are a plus and the professors are awesome” and enjoys the open discussions the small class size allows. Lien likes the small campus atmosphere of K-State Polytechnic while still obtaining a Kansas State University degree. Continue reading “Student Spotlight” →

Yesica Swenson earned her Bachelor’s degree in Family Studies & Human Services from Kansas State Polytechnic in May, 2015. She currently works as a Service Coordination Specialist at OCCK Inc. in Salina. Dr. Mindy Markham had an opportunity to meet with Yesica to learn more about her current work and she also reflected on her time on the Salina campus.

Yesica described initially attending another university in Kansas before attending the K-State Salina campus in order to be near family. She then went to the Manhattan campus the following semester, but decided to return to the Salina campus because she missed the smaller campus and classes. Yesica found it to be easier to get questions answered and to interact with fellow students and faculty on the Salina campus.

When asked why she chose to major in Family Studies & Human Services, Yesica explained that she was interested in being a teacher and she was also interested in Social Work. She found that Family Studies & Human Services allowed her to continue to be engaged in educating others, while working with individuals and families.

Yesica finds her work to be incredibly fulfilling, and indicated that she’s applied information she learned in her FSHS classes to her work. She went on to say, “It’s worth it. You never know what difference in someone’s life you’re going to make.” Finally, Yesica suggested that those interested in the field of Family Studies and Human Services should be open to new experiences and opportunities. Coming into the field, she thought she would want to work with children and never thought she’d work with people with disabilities. She has found her current work to be very rewarding, and said, “I never thought that I would have enjoyed it this much!” Continue reading “Report From the Field” →