Noblitt

Bill Noblitt, new director of Marketing and Media Relations, started working at Emporia State last Monday.

“People here are friendly. I think that is ‘Kansas friendliness,’”Noblitt said.

Noblitt graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s degree in Education from the University of Alabama.

Withjournalism experience in teaching at the university level and working in the media for more than 30 years, Noblitt is professional member of CASA (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), UCDA (University and College Designers association) and former Editor for“Designer Magazine,” a quarterly for UCDA.

“Bill is an excellent designer and writer,” said Gayle Walden, a retired university editor in the Office of University Relations at Auburn University Montgomery. “He is also a precise and strategic thinker with an instinct for what is effective.”

Noblitt has taught in Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio and was Chair of the Editors Seminar at the University of Notre Dame in 1991, and also the Chair of the CASE Summer Institute in Communications in 1989 and 1990.

Waldensaid she has known Noblitt for about eight years and felt that ESU is very fortunate to have him. Walden said Noblitt explores the distinctive character of an institution and communicates it in ways that attract students, create pride in faculty and staff, and draw support from the community.

“My first impression of Bill was that he is a very congenial, generous person. His manner is engaging, and he has a great sense of humor,” Walden said.

Chris Wooton, Noblitt’s former student and student assistant at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, said inspiration for the themes of Noblitt’s publications and articles are from his personal life experiences.

“He doesn’t just want to observe life, he wants to live it and learn from it,” said Wooton.

Noblitt said he chose to come to ESU to become a faculty member because the university is serious about marketing and it believes that marketing is important to leadership.

“My goal is to work with the Emporia State family,” Noblitt said. “To create effective marketing plans which are communicating effectively.”

Wooton said that Noblitt is a “hoarder of inspiration.” According to Wooton, if you go to Noblitt’s office right now and look in his computer bag, you will find his laptop, a couple of magazines and his personal journal.

“He always searches for that perfect image, that perfect piece of text, that missing element that makes the big picture beautiful,” Wooton said.

Lauren Lau

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Emporia State graduate student Michelle Hernandez, Greek Life Coordinator at the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) for ESU, demonstrates her passion for student involvement as the interim coordinator for Greek Life.

“Through my involvement here, I have decided that I have a love for student affairs and that it is something that I would like to make my career in.” Hernandez said. “I love Greek life.”

Hernandez was always involved on campus as an Emporia State University undergraduate student. When Hernandez enrolled to obtain her master’s degree she also received a Graduate Assistant position for Greek Life in the CSI office.

“I have known Michelle for about three years when I was the director of the Union and she was an undergraduate student in Greek Life,” said Lynn Hobson, associate vice president of Student Life at ESU. “She is very outgoing, friendly and welcoming towards other people.”

Hobson said Hernandez cares about students and really wants them to have the best experience possible.

“Michelle is a really caring person and always willing to help out whenever,” said Hayley Finch, senior communication major.

Hernandez is originally from Kingman. She graduated from ESU in May 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Hernandez is now in a master’s program for her MBA.

“Michelle is really dependable.” Hobson said. “If she said she is going to do something, she gets it done, and she gets it done on time.”

When Hernandez acted as a graduate assistant, she just jumped in and wanted to learn everything she could about the process, Hobson said.

There are six fraternities and five sororities in the ESU Greek community. Hernandez thinks that ESU has a really great community because they are so small. Hernandez was in one of the sororities when she was an undergraduate at ESU.

“They collaborate on a lot of things, and are really unified.” Hernandez said. “Since I am disaffiliated, and we want to be impartial, I can’t tell people which chapter I was in.”

According to Hernandez, joining Greek Life can help to focus on important principles like leadership, scholarship, and stewardship.

“You will find there are a lot of people who are leaders in organizations that are also Greeks.” Hernandez said. “Greek Life opens a lot of doors for students to meet a lot of people, and they can learn how to be a leader. The Greeks also all do study hours, and they all have minimum GPA requirements.”

As Interim Greek Life Coordinator, Hernandez works on advising Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, the order of Omega (which is the Honor society for Greeks), Greeks Advocating Mature Management Alcohol (GAMMA) and United Greeks Association (UGA). Hernandez works with presidents of different chapters and helps by advising them about any issue that they may be having with Greek Life as a whole, or with a certain chapter.

“She may advise them how to take the next steps to make sure things go smoothly.” Hobson said. “Michelle is doing a really good job because she is still a graduate student. She is advising, and going to school.”

Yun Lauren Liu/Staff Writer

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Kirchhefer

Dan Kirchhefer, professor of art, has been a teacher for 40 years.

“I have the greatest job in the world,” Kirchhefer said.

Kirchhefer is from a small town called Hastings, Neb. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in printmaking and the University of Kansas with a master’s degree in printmaking. Kirchhefer began teaching at Emporia State in 1980.

“ESU selected me,” he said.

Being a good teacher and looking at art, are always the goals of Kirchhefer.

“Professor Kirchhefer is a gifted teacher, with a tremendous knowledge about and passion for instruction of printmaking and drawing,” said Monica Kjellman-Chapin, professor of art.

Watercolor and gouache are Kirchhefer’s favorite types of paintings. Kirchhefer said teaching drawing and printmaking were hard at first. However, now he has his own way to do it perfectly.

“As a teacher, he is a model to which we might all aspire – his willingness to work with students so they might improve, his diligence and comprehensiveness in terms of preparation and critique of individual projects, and his somewhat irreverent sense of humor, coupled with a determination to help his students learn and grow as artists, render him an outstanding professor,” Kjellman-Chapin said.

Michelle Parkman is a non-degree seeking student who has taken all levels of life drawing and printmaking classes with Kirchhefer.

“(Kirchhefer) always pushes you further than you think you can go with a piece. His favorite line is ‘that’s a good start’ and he knows so much I don’t know how he fits it all into his head,” Parkman said. “You never get bored. He teaches more than just art to his students. he teaches life with his quirky spin on it.”

According to Kjellman-Chapin, Kirchhefer consistently gets tremendous work out of every student, regardless of previous experience and skill. They walk out of his class with improved technical ability, a keener observational eye, and a deeper commitment to composition, craftspersonship, concept and content.

During many of his classes, Kirchhefer comes up with a survey question which he asks every student for his/her opinion.

“(Kirchhefer) gives good advice.” said Marco Hernandez, junior painting and printmaking major. “He provides new techniques and a great knowledge about art to his students.”

As an art teacher and also an artist, Kirchhefer said sometimes it is hard to find time to work in his studio. Kirchhefer has more than 130 juried shows and more than 40 awards. His artworks includes drawings, paintings, prints and artist books. Most of them are showed in several public collections or galleries, such as the Charles M. Young in Portland, Ore., and the C.T. and Strecker-Nelson Gallary in Manhattan.

“Professor Kirchhefer’s images are often provocative, challenging and are historically rich, with an exquisite handling of line and color,” Kjellman-Chapin said.

“(Kirchhefer’s) art is so realistic without being too photo-like,” Parkman said. “He draws the human figure in a way that catches the viewer in the process and his use of graphite and color is like no other I have seen.”

Next October, five of Kirchhefer’s prints are going to be in a show in Chamalier, France. Kirchhefer will be one of only four American artists invited to exhibit artworks at the International Triennale

Kirchhefer made his first artist book in 2004 and now has made 10. The artist books are made on Japanese papers connected with string. Kirchhefer thinks Japanese paper is some of the most beautiful paper in the world and it has flower peddles in it.

“They are like books of hours or prayer books,” Kirchhefer said.

The books are about people, dogs, lust, Kirchhefer himself and the secrets he keeps.

Kirchhefer is a dog lover, and he had 2 dogs who just died. When talking about them, Kirchhefer said, “(They are) good dogs, good subjects and they both appear in same print I made titled ‘Jackdog and Bart Watch Jesus Build a Boat, While He Worked on His Tan Boat Say He was an Above Overage Carpenter.’”

Kirchhefer has different kinds of hobbies, such as baseball, gardening, travelling and reading.

“He often recites poetry, and can recall at will sections of dialogue from movies such as The Big Lebowski,” said Kjellman-Chapin.

Looking forward to the creation of future artwork, Kirchhefer wants to go travelling and do cows and water. He has been to France, Mexico and Italy, and his next stops may be Brazil, Alaska or the Grand Canyon.

Parkman thinks Kirchhefer can always keep you laughing.

“(Kirchhefer) can not only name all of the U.S. presidents in order, but can also tell you which ones had mutton chops or other configurations of facial hair,” Kjellman-Chapin said. “He is always ready with an anecdote, a bit of trivia, or a joke, and has an unparalleled affection for River Dance.”

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Slocomb

“Trust me, I am more interesting than I look,” said Tom Slocomb, associate professor of business administration and education. “I have become increasingly open-minded. I try to have a sense of humor and a lighthearted attitude.”

Slocomb said that he thinks the world seems more magical all the time, and there is so much to be thankful for.

“I have known Tom for nine years, I consider him to be a friend, to have a very good and refined sense of humor, to be a very friendly and caring person,” said Kevin Johnson, associate professor of business administration and education.

Having lived in Ohio, Louisiana and several places in between, Slocomb generally thinks of himself as a midwesterner. He graduated from Tulane University in Louisiana with a degree in Psychology, earned an MBA at Southern Illinois University and a PhD in business administration at the University of Missouri – Columbia.

The Business school at Emporia State is accredited by the AASCB – an accreditation held by less than one-third of business schools in the U.S.With confidence in the quality of faculty and facilities of the Business School at ESU, Slocomb came to Emporia.

Slocomb spent most of his life living in big cities, never imagining he would come to such a rural setting.

“My dad grew up in a farming family in Peabody, Kansas,” Slocomb said.

Slocomb said that he feels Kansas is the friendliest state he has lived in.

“And it’s a nice change from the tense and sometimes hostile atmosphere in big cities. I am starting to feel like a Kansan. It is a good feeling,” Slocomb said.

Slocomb took a job with the University of Missouri presenting training seminars for business people and consulting assistance for business owners before he started his college-teaching life.

“I enjoyed this, but I thought I would enjoy teaching in college classrooms even more,” Slocomb said.

Slocomb taught at University of Central Oklahoma before and now he has 19 years of professional teaching experience. This year is his ninth year at ESU.

“I love (ESU),” Slocomb said. “I have learned that the most important thing is my relationships with other people, and that’s what I love about working at ESU – all the different people.”

Working with international students has been a wonderful experience for Slocomb, and there are students from seven different countries in one of his classes. He structures students diversely and emphasizes the importance of learning from other students.

“Here, they can make friends from Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and so on,” Slocomb said.

Slocomb encourages everyone to act as a communication facilitator, carefully listening and helping each other understand.

“(Slocomb) is the kind of person who you could talk about anything and he would listen and he would care about whatever you are talking about,” Johnson said.

As international students come here with varying degrees of English proficiency, Slocomb stresses that there is no reason for anyone to be embarrassed or critical in these situations. Instead, he says they should be treated with patience and respect.

“If anyone has this attitude, then ‘communication difference’ will become an interesting and even enjoyable process,” Slocomb said.

“Dr. Slocomb is very diligent and thoughtful,” said Alexis Downs, associate professor and interim chair of the accounting and information systems. “He is sensitive to detail, and he would have made a great accountant.”

With the enjoyment of international culture and communication, Slocomb loves international food.

“I particularly like Indian food,” Slocomb said.“There is an Indian bread called ‘Naan,’ it’s wonderful when it’s right out of oven.”

Slocomb wants to travel Asia and enjoys seeing some of the scenery in the U.S.

“It amazes me to get on an airplane and get off thousands of miles away from where I started,”Slocomb said.

Slocomb also enjoys playing music, singing, reading and photography. His main instrument is guitar, and now he is learning piano.

“(Slocomb) knows something about everything, and he is a very creative person, a fine musician and a song writer,” Johnson said.

Putting so much time and energy into work and diverse interests, Slocomb said he feels there is not enough left over to be a good parent or pet owner.

“Some of my goals are to continue to become more effective working with students, to have a more complete understanding of reality and what really matters, to have a healthy lifestyle, to develop as a musician, and to enjoy every moment,” he said.

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Peterson

Every student from Emporia State that begins a student teaching assignment in a high school or middle school classroom has been placed there by Sue Peterson, director of Professional Education Services.

“Placing the student teachers is very time consuming,” Peterson said. “When I first came I placed all (of the students). Now I do not place the elementary education students but I do everything else for them like their student teaching certificate comes from (our office).”

Not only does Peterson do the job of several people, she trains a therapy dog in her spare time and is a cancer survivor.

“It comes easy for me to be interested in dog training,” Peterson said. “I’m an avid dog lover.”

She is currently training a lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu name Zoey. Previously, Peterson trained a service dog named Ravine.

“After I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, I probably had that cancer a long time but they just didn’t catch it because they thought it was fibromyalgia, I had chemo therapy,” Peterson said. “I had a little dog named Darling and Darling was getting very old. I kept praying ‘dear God, don’t let Darling die before I finish my chemo. I just can’t take that.’ I finished my treatment and Darling died about six weeks after I finished my treatment.”

Knowing that she was grieving over the death of her dog, a neighbor offered to give Peterson one of her puppies.

“I said ‘oh no, I can’t do that,’” Peterson said. “I was just so fatigued.”

She decided to take Zoey and train her to be a therapy dog to visit nursing homes and hospice patients.

“Zoey means ‘life,’” Peterson said. “I named her Zoey Amor. And Amor means ‘love’ so backwards that means ‘love of life.”’

Peterson views hundreds of Emporia State student files every semester to determine where to place students and to decide if they are ready to move on to working with students.

“The parts of my job that are not done by the book are empowering teacher candidates to be successful,” Peterson said. “Once I place the student teachers out there I can’t just forget them. When I send those teachers out, I don’t really know them because I haven’t taught them. It’s almost like I’m selling a product that I don’t know.”

Peterson sits on two admissions committees where she consults with professors and advisors to determine if students are ready to be placed at work sites.

“They’ll say ‘this teacher candidate is having some problems. Attendance is terrible. They were not reliable,’” Peterson said. “I go through and I write down notes. I know that I don’t know that student and I have no way of getting to know that student before they are placed.

Peterson works with a very small staff in the office of Professional Education services.

“I enjoy working with her,” said Shannon Hall, licensing officer for the teacher’s college. “She offers good advice to me as a colleague.”

Although she no longer teaches, she enjoys the minimal interactions that she gets with the students whose files she handles constantly.

“I go to each of those (introductory) classes and I talk to the students,” Peterson said. “I give them my ‘3-Ds’ lecture.”

Peterson’s 3-Ds lecture consists of information about how they must disclose any potential harmful information that could prevent them from becoming teachers, that they have a right to due process and they should assess their disposition.

“(With due process) they have a right to be told what they need to do to fix inappropriate behavior,” Peterson said. “We remind them that they are different and they must think as professional from that day forward.”

While some of the work she does can be frustrating, the best part of her job is seeing students who have been struggling succeed.

“One of the most challenging aspects of my job is knowing when to call in the troops (to help struggling student teachers),” Peterson said. “We don’t want to rescue the student teacher. Our whole goal is always empowering. I tell my student teachers ‘don’t you dare fail because if you fail, I fail.’ I hate to fail. The best part of my job is when a student who has fallen down and skinned their knee says ‘I can do this.’ Then you will see some of the best teaching out them that you ever saw.”

Hall said that Peterson is professional in her work with students.

“I see how well she works with students in understanding their circumstances but she is still very professional in what we need for the requirements for the teacher’s college,” Hall said.

Peterson graduated from Florida State University with a degree in elementary education. She went on to get masters degrees in rehabilitation services and rehabilitation counseling from Auburn University in Alabama. She finished her education with a doctorate in higher education administration from Auburn University.

Peterson said that the reason that she has stayed at ESU all these years is because of the university’s emphasis on students.

“I just love my job so much,” Peterson said. “Working with the students, I just enjoy that, even the ones with the bad attitudes. After I’ve done this job for 12 years I wouldn’t think of going somewhere else and I wouldn’t think of doing another job. The students are such good investments. I thought I was going to save the world and save all the students but there are some students that are not meant to be teachers. There are some that simply did not have that gift.”

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“In the Middle East, there are many cultures, I consider myself Muslim, Egyptian, Arabic, Middle Eastern and African,” said Mohamed Abdalla, graduate student in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and the only Egyptian student at Emporia State.

Abdalla is from Giza, Egypt, and there his full name is Mohamed Aly Abdellatif Abdalla Ghoneim. Arabic is Abdalla’s first language.

“Carrying these rich cultures and history with my two cases and my dream, it was hard for me in the beginning to get inside the melting pot, so I remained observing and looking up at the new culture and keeping my roots,” Abdalla said.

When talking about the culture difference, Abdalla believes people all over the world share the same desire for peace, the same quest for justice.

“I believe the core of life is the same everywhere, but the styles are different,” Abdalla said. “I think the life style in U.S. is more depth, but it’s more breadth in my culture.”

Other students could see Abdalla’s culture resonating from him.

“I can see how proud he is for his home culture,” said Linxiang Guo, graduate student of TESOL and psychology. “Abdalla is enthusiastic in spreading his culture, whether it is through the lecture series about Arabic culture as a speaker or in a casual chat in which he explained the complicated things about religions to me.”

This is Abdalla’s second year studying TESOL.

“Last year, I was a Fulbright Scholar at ESU, where I taught Arabic Language and other culture courses in English under the Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant program,” Abdalla said.

The Fulbright scholarship goal is to build mutual understanding between people all over the world.

Abdalla said the best thing about teaching at ESU is that it also involves learning from the diversity of students here.

“My goal of teaching is to give students the box which would help them to think out of and this box frames the essential information they need,” Abdalla said.

With broad interests in reading, especially about cultures, history and politics, Abdalla also likes to write poetry, coach wresting and volunteering.

Besides Abdalla’s educational and teaching commitments at ESU, he remains involved in various on-campus activities. He mobilized the Arabic Club, and served as adviser of grappling club and volunteering as a wrestling coach for the same club.

“Abdalla is a helpful person who dedicates himself to what he believes in,” said Abdelmonem Shebani, Arabic language instructor.

According to Shebani, Abdalla is doing a great effort to help out at the Arabic Language and Studies Club.

“He is a knowledgeable person with a fighting spirit,” Shebani said.

The motto of Abdalla is “regard every defeat as an opportunity.”

“I believe if each person has discipline, synthesizing, creating, respectful and ethical way of thinking and behaving covered with his or her religious beliefs, then this would result in the kind of people able to change, heal and repair the world through education, sacrifice and patience,” Abdalla said.

Abdalla will graduate in May and plans to start studying for his PhD.

“I think the person who will leave in May 2010 is different than the one who came in September 2008,” Abdalla said.

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Alpha Kappa Lambda (ΑΚΛ)

As a diverse group of 35 young men who hold a common goal of developing into mature individuals, Alpha Kappa Lambda is one of the largest fraternities at Emporia State. Meanwhile, it also holds the award of the top scholastic fraternity and the most members running leadership roles in campus.

Alpha Kappa Lambda was established by a group at University of California, Berkeley, in 1914. ΑΚL’s motto is “The truth and the word.”

AKL commits to develop a brotherhood, who, guided by its “Five Ideals,” Judeo-Christian Principles, Leadership, Scholarship, Loyalty and Self-Support, share a lifelong undertaking to it and are dedicated to holding leadership roles and rising to the challenges and assuming responsibilities of life.

“(We’re) basically a group of guys that share the same ideas, stand for what we believe in and get involved in leadership opportunities that makes me met a lot of people and participated in campus activities,” said Russell Medley, active member of AKL, senior Physical and Health education major.

Shedding an overview on campus, AKL provides leadership.

“I would like to say that confidently, we have vice presidents of the Environment Club, the president of Associated Student Government, four RAs in the dorm. So our members are just everywhere on campus,” said Drake Foster, recruitment chair of AKL, junior secondary education social science major. “If you have good character as a model, you are making a difference.”

After being recognized as the Student Organization of the Year and the overall winner of the Greek Week competition of 2008, AKL received the scholarship trophy for achieving the highest GPA in 2009.

“We have maintained our academic potential and achieved the highest GPA of any fraternity again this year,” Foster said.

AKL has a strong commitment to make contributions to community service.

“We put in actual efforts and care about the university. We will not exist without Emporia State University,” Foster said. “We regularly hold activities to raise money and awareness for SOS women’s shelter in Emporia. Moreover, we enter the Adopt-A-School program and devote our time to set an example for young children.”

AKL offers many opportunities to shape you into the one you want to be in the future.

“The networking I did with a lot of people has made me develop myself a lot,” Foster  said.  “The people and friends I met here can become lifelong brothers, whenever I need help I know where to turn to get advice.”

To many students in fraternities, participating and enjoying Greek Life means you can share experiences and know friends whom may sit beside you on graduation day or even become your friends for life.

“You can trust the men here,” said Bo Moddelmog, pledge of the chapter and freshmen political science major. I am glad in getting to know them and learn about great character from them. It practices my political mind and offers leaderships roles that meet a high level in Emporia.”

Sigma Pi(ΣΠ)

Though operating without a fixed location, the Sigma Pi chapter in Emporia embraces the mission of Sigma Pi Fraternity. Internationally, their mission to build and support chapters and alumni organizations for the purpose of maintaining a fellowship of kindred minds united in brotherhood.

Founded in 1897, headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., started as Tau Phi Delta, Sigma Pi challenges members to advance truth and justice, to promote scholarship, to encourage chivalry, to diffuse culture and to develop character in the service of God and man.

George Jeng, junior information systems major and recruitment chair for Sigma Pi, says that Sigma Pi is special in that “our brotherhood is so close and it gathers upon lifelong friends throughout the community. The leadership and community service opportunities are provided every month and our members are very proud of being fraternity men and to be able to make contributions.”

“Joining Sigma Pi is an wonderful experience which offers me training, guidance and innovative opportunities to undertake unique responsibilities,” Jeng said.

The Sigma Pi chapter is led by Chris Bartlett, junior secondary education in social studies major, who emphasized its unique achievement- giving back to the campus

“We make efforts to better the campus. We hold bikeathon activities and donate time and efforts to fundraise money for national organizations on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,” he said. “Now we are working on our philanthropy, the Altruistic Campus Experience project coming in April”

ACE combines thousands of volunteer hours to offer service to campus when and where there is a need.

“Through the ACE project, we are trying to find a way to make the campus better,” Bartlett said.

Sigma Pi promotes men to reach their full potential.

“It help me improve myself a lot here.” Bartlett said, “Sigma Pi tells me a lot about social communication skills. I want to become a coach in the further, the experience I gained here lets me know how to lead a team.”

The ACE project not only improves the campus but also helps Sigma Pi members tailor their experiences to best fit the mission as well as their own developing objectives, and leave a positive legacy for the future.

“The last ACE project we did was renewing some campus areas,” said Matthew Summers, treasurer and scholarship chair of Sigma Pi and senior finance major “Basically ESU has given us so much, our ACE project is designed to give back to show our appreciation.”

Some members think that they gain a different experience than most other fraternities.

“I think the not being able to pinpoint what we are is kind of a real nice thing,” said Jack Sampel, junior secondary education in social sciences major. “I do not like the idea of how you join a fraternity and you automatically become one of those remaining comfortably within the bounds of their own experience. (Here) you can take different approaches to socialize.”

Summers believes that Sigma Pi brothers are kindred minds and kindred spirits.

“Getting involved, that is a quick way to meet a lot of people,” he said. “Make the most of what you can to enjoy your life at the university. If you hold that power, you do not need a (fraternity) house to live up to your values and ideas.”

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Worrell

For Vicki Worrell, associate professor of health and physical education, a love of helping people makes teaching an obvious choice.

“I like teaching because I love people,” Worrell said. “I love to help people and help them to get better at what they are doing.”

Worrell said she knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was in elementary school and that she loves “to help people learn.”

Worrell grew up in a small farming community in Nebraska and then moved to Kansas to go to college.

“I went to Wichita State University for undergraduate degree, University of Kansas for my master’s degree and Oklahoma State University for my doctorate degree,” Worrell said.

After graduating from school, Worrell taught in elementary school for 19 years, and then taught at Wichita State University for six years. She is now in her sixth year teaching at Emporia State.

Teaching elementary school was fun for Worrell because of the energetic kids, but she also loves to instruct teachers how to teach better.

“(New teachers) show more respect and are more willing to learn how to be a teacher,” Worrell said.

Another reason that Worrell likes teaching at ESU is because she can teach online. ESU is the very first graduate program to teach physical education online. The entire master’s program is online and is very hard to get into.

Worrell believes it is a great way to learn about assessment and how to use it in student’s own classroom. In the class, Worrell gives students ways to assess and grade, but students have to partake in the activities, so they know how to use them.

“It was a great tool so we know how to use the assignments in the future,” said April Huddleston, graduate student assistant in health, physical education and recreation.

Huddleston got her bachelor’s degree at ESU in December 2008, and she thinks what she learns from Worrell’s classes are in a “real-life” setting.

“Dr. Worrell is always doing whatever it takes for her students to become great teachers one day,” said Alison Norlen, junior physical education major.

Norlen said that the classes she took with Worrell were really interesting and full of tips that she could be able to use in her future career.

Worrell strives to help her students understand the importance of her profession, so that they may share the same passion. She said she does not only care about students in the class, but also always involved in what the students are doing.

“She is a problem solver and always tries to find the best way to go about the solution to a problem,” Huddleston said. “She has been a leader in numerous state and professional organizations and is very passionate about what she does.”

Worrell took over as President for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. It is a nationally recognized organization in all 50 states. The goal of this organization is to teach people to be healthy and physically active, and tell all the people in the profession how to be better at what they are doing and supporting First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Initiative.”

“The organization encourages the nation to eat healthier and be more physically active so they don’t have to go to the doctor as much and use health insurance,” Worrell said. “It also deals with women and sports, recreation and leisure, people with disabilities and health educators.”

This summer, Worrell will direct a leadership development conference, in charge of having all the presidents and executive directors from all over the states, to lobby on Capitol Hill about healthcare issues and talk to representatives and senators.

Out of classes and work, Worrell loves to travel, pets, cooking, exercise and watching sports. She has been to 47 states in the U.S., Australia and Europe.

Worrell said that she would love to go to the summer or winter Olympics and she tries to keep a healthy life style by drinking a lot of water instead of soda, eating balanced meals with protein and vegetables and getting enough sleep.

“She is what I think of when I imagine where I want to be in 10 years,” Huddleston said. “Dr. Worrell is someone that when you meet her, you will never forget. Once you come in contact with her, you are a better person because of it.”

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Alpha Sigma Tau

Showing sincerity, honesty, love and understanding in all the relationships as well as to help each other enjoy the cultural advantages in life are the stated goals of Alpha Sigma Tau. Alpha Sigma Tau was founded Nov. 4, 1899, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by eight women who developed the character of members through the study of ethics.

“From that, they know how to select those things which are most worthwhile and finally to develop social graces,” said Cari Frazey, president of Alpha Sigma Tau and junior psychology major. “The well known fact is that it also gives long lasting friendships and great networking capabilities.”

The motto of Alpha Sigma Tau is “active, self-reliant and trustworthy.”

“We are fun group and we are looking for women with vibrant personalities like ours,” Frazey said.

The goal of Alpha Sigma Tau is to promote ethical, cultural and social development of their members.

There are 21 women in Alpha Sigma Tau, but Alpha Sigma Tau is still a colony (members have not been formally initiated), members are considered new members by national standards.

“Before I joined Alpha Sigma Tau, I didn’t really have any expectations or opinions about Greek Life,” said Samantha Lintner, senior English major. “After I joined in, I think it opened my eyes to how much people in Greek Life are involved.”

Lintner joined Alpha Sigma Tau in spring 2009, when Alpha Sigma Tau first came to campus.

“I figured being involved with Greek Life, I would meet more people and have a college experience rather than sitting in my dorm room,” said Jayme Gillespie, sophomore mathematics major.

Gillespie joined Alpha Sigma Tau because she didn’t know many people when she first got here. However, after membership of three semesters, Gillespie said she realized Greek Life is definitely bigger and more involved than she thought.

Sisters of Alpha Sigma Tau believe sisterhood can’t be there if there isn’t bonding time.

“We like to have a sisterhood every month where we can just break out of our shells and hang out. There is always food involved and lots of laughter.” Frazey said.

Recently, Alpha Sigma Tau had Mom’s Day on March 6 and the Yellow Rose masquerade will be on March 27. Both Mom’s day and Yellow Rose masquerade are traditions of Alpha Sigma Tau.

The women of Alpha Sigma Tau participate in Campus Clean-ups, hold fundraisers for National Philanthropy and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity each semester.

“After being a member of Alpha Sigma Tau, my goals are to continue volunteering and maintaining the closed friendships I have made with the other members,” Lintner said.

Since Alpha Sigma Tau doesn’t have its own house, Gillespie said her main goal for her chapter is to be installed as a national chapter and not only a colony.

“I would also love to see my chapter grow in numbers to soon be the same size as the other chapters on campus,” Gillespie said.

Sigma Tau Gamma:

Sigma Tau Gamma is a social fraternity with six principles: value, learning, leadership, benefit, excellence and integrity.

“We strive to work toward exemplifying these principles along with serving the community in times of need,” said Adam Wright, president of Sigma Tau Gamma and junior Business Administration major.

Sigma Tau Gamma was founded Jan. 20, 1922 and has been on campus for 88 years, continuing with 33 members and four new members this semester. They are always looking for men to join, and they based their program of the path and principles which give them values to exemplify.

Wright believes Greek Life is a great opportunity to network and make new friends.

“It has given me so many opportunities on campus and off, and it is great to be so involved in making the community a better place,” Wright said.

Manny Requenes, sophomore music education major, joined Sigma Tau Gamma last year. Before this, joining a fraternity was the last thing on his mind.

“I really did like how the fraternity was based and that is what really hooked me in,” Requenes said.

Requenes thinks that Sigma Tau Gamma and Greek Life is a smart choice.

“I made many friends right away, and it definitely make the ‘transferring schools’ transition go very smoothly,” Requenes said.

Recently, Sigma Tau Gamma had multiple events going on, such as Mom’s Day, Dad’s day and the annual softball tournament, which is known as snoball softball.

“We always have something going on, we enjoy being able to offer events and activities for our brothers,” Wright said.

Sigma Tau Gamma has their own food program where they are able to sit down and have a home cooked meal with all the brothers.

“I feel like we are a group of individuals who contribute greatly to the university,” said Matt Kochenower, junior marketing major.

Kochenower believes that Sigma Tau Gamma has given him networking capabilities and opportunities which never would have been possible if he had not joined.

The goal of being a member of Sigma Tau Gamma and Greek Life for Requenes is to make a positive impact to the chapter and the Greek community.

“I believe that I have already begun to achieve that goal by being nominated and elected as the Secretary for Sigma Tau Gamma and being elected as the 2010 Interfraternity Council Chairman,” Requenes said.

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Fifelski

“By any means necessary,” is what Emporia State’s debate team captain Kurt Fifelski abided by to achieve the status of an All-American from the Cross-Examination Debate Association.

Fifelski graduated from Wayland Union High School in Wayland, Mich., and is now a senior who plans on graduating with bachelors degrees in political science and social sciences, emphasizing in philosophy.

“I chose these majors because they are my passions and will help better my career.” Fifelski said. “Also, I am enthralled with reading and research, something these departments offer me.”

Multiple articles and essays written by Fifelski were published through the Best of ESU and West Coast Publishing. Fifelski was also named the 2008-2009 outstanding philosophy student by the ESU Social Sciences Department.

Four years debating has taught Fifelski lessons that he can achieve only through experience.

“I’ve learned a lot about argumentation, analysis, rhetoric and research,” Fifelski said. “More importantly, I have learned a lot about myself as it has taught me about personal reflection.”

Fifelski has participated in approximately 400 debates.

Fifelski draws his inspiration to debate purely out of his drive to be successful, with each win fueling his passion.

“Each win feels better than the last,” he said.

Fellow teammate Yao Chen, senior molecular and cellular biology major, said that Fifelski is the fastest speaker, an undefeatable debater and has the highest Grade Point Average.

“He is the absolute spirit of the whole squad,” Chen said.

Two-year debate partner, Chris Loghry, junior communications major, commented on Fifelski’s cross-examination method (a three minute questioning period following each constructive speech).

“He’ll regularly embarrass people in cross-examination, but he does so in the nicest possible way,” Loghry said.

Fifelski and Loghry have made it in the finals of two national debate tournaments this year, the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Northern Texas. It is the second time Fifelski has qualified to the National Debate Tournament, something most debaters never make it to.

Fifelski has competed against individuals from debate giants such as Harvard and Dartmouth.

Fifelski’s last debate performance with debate team was at the University of Dallas. He and his partner went 5-3 and qualified to the National Debate Tournament.

Recently, Fifelski had the honor to be nominated for the Harry S. Truman scholarship “The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is one of the most prestigious public affairs scholarships out there,” Fifelski said. “Each university has the opportunity to nominate a few students and typically 650-700 students apply. My goal has been achieved just by knowing my professors feel comfortable enough to support me in such endeavors.”

Not only is Fifelski a successful collegiate debater, he is also an accomplished high school coach. Being the varsity coach for the Emporia High School, Fifelski coached the most successful team in the state over the past year by winning the most prestigious debate tournament in Kansas, the Debate Coaches Invitational.

“Ultimately, Kurt is incredibly nice in debates and during work sessions and is always very respectful with people even when he’s schooling them,” Loghry said.

Fifelski was a champion even as a child. He participated in kart racing, winning multiple championships. He also shows great interest in boxing.

Fifelski’s ultimate goal is to achieve a doctorate degree. But first he plans on attending graduate school for communication at Berkley or Wake Forest. He also envisions himself living in Europe for a good portion of the next decade.

“He strives for excellence in everything he does and that really shows both academically and in terms of debate success,” Loghry said.

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ΣΦΕ (Sigma Phi Epsilon)

Tanner Monroe, vice president of programming and crime and delinquency studies major, and Kyle Farmer, vice president of finance and secondary social studies education major pose with the Sig Ep house dog. SiSi Huang/The Bulletin

Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded at Richmond College on November 1, 1901 with the cardinal principles: Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love. ΣΦΕ has grown to more than 280,000 lifetime members, including over 14,000 undergraduates on 241 campuses in the United States.

“We are currently the largest fraternity in terms of undergraduate enrollment in the nation,” said Tanner Monroe, vice president of programming and crime and delinquency studies major. “We set up the highest GPA standard at the national fraternity. Maximizing members’ academic abilities is the number one priority of our fraternity. ”

The founders of Sigma Phi Epsilon set high standards for all brothers to follow.

”We sent three SigEps to Greece to learn about our balanced men because gracefully with balanced mind in balanced body, you will become a better person,” said Kyle Farmer, vice president of finance and secondary social studies education major. “The experience in SigEp helps me focus on money to balance the budget, and how to manage my time and realize who you are and become a better person.”

The fraternity also provides opportunities for motivated members to become leaders.

“We have a lot of leadership conferences that we are able to attend, and we get a lot of support from our alumni,” Monroe said. “There is so much you can do here.”

Farmer said he’s had many opportunities for leadership as well.

“All the fraternities help people develop leadership, but we are different in that we focus more on leadership,” Farmer said. “When I attended the leadership conference in St. Louis, where we gave out the ideas about how we help ourselves in different ways, I learned how to become a leader by uniting everyone under one rule and trying to make our fraternity a great place on the campus and in the community.”

In 2009, Sigma Phi Epsilon was responsible for 800 hours of community service activities, which accounted for almost one-third of the total reported hours within the Greek Community. 

“We will hold ‘Teeter-Totter’ every fall beginning in October and raise money for CECE,” Monroe said.

When asked about his attraction to Sigma Phi Epsilon, Monroe said they are “thirteen guys working for one common goal and we help each other out.”

ΣΣΣ (Sigma Sigma Sigma)

Whitney Wiebe, president of Sigma Sigma Sigma and secondary social sciences education major stands in front of the Tri Sig house. SiSi Huang/The Bulletin

 

A sisterhood called Sigma Sigma Sigma was formed in Farmville, Vir., in 1898.

“We are a sorority containing 58 members and aiming to help college girls to become better women,” said Whitney Wiebe, president and secondary social sciences education major.

Sigma Sigma Sigma holds the mission of establishing among its members a perpetual bond of friendship, to develop strong character and to impress upon them high standards of conduct.

“The advantage is that I know a lot of women and I can establish friendship and be close to them,” Wiebe said.

As part of the mission statement, Wiebe emphasized that what she learned most about was conduct.

“Through character and friendship, you really get to develop how to become mature women, like being a president – I have a lot of leadership responsibilities and encourage others in the house,” she said. “That’s kind of cool.”

Wiebe encourages all girls to come out and see what being a part of a chapter and a university is all about.

“Sigma Sigma Sigma has introduced me to amazing young women which some have become my best friends,” said Kalyna Nelson, vice president and sociology major. “My sorority has offered me many opportunities and has helped me become involved at ESU.”

 As a new director for Up’til Dawn, Nelson always keeps busy with her classes, practice, work and leisure time.

“Tri Sigma is a home away from home giving the opportunity to be an individual while transitioning through life in college,” she said.

Looking back over the entire experience and the support Sigma Sigma Sigma has given her, Nelson said, “I believe character and friendship are important because any person should be unique while representing themselves in a positive way and friendship is key to a happy life and will help any person become a strong and better person.”

While a Greek chapter may be the answer for finding a place to get involved on campus, determining which fraternity or sorority to join can be a tough choice. Sigma Sigma Sigma has set up a detailed goal for GPA achievement and also encourages member to do certain community service projects every semester.

“Tri Sigma is a sorority that is really trying to get women who want to become better women and are trying to live better lives, developing leadership go out around the sorority and experience lives together,” Wiebe said.

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