Tag: giving

Shocker Pride Scholar emphasizes the value of student support

Growing up in Colombia, Nicolas Perilla Rivera had great ambitions. His childhood dream was to become an astronaut, and, rooted in a love for science, that dream led him to move abroad and pursue aerospace engineering at Wichita State.

When he arrived, Rivera found work as a faculty assistant at the Heskett Center and a tutor for Wichita GEAR UP. Unfortunately, his earnings didn’t provide enough to cover his full tuition.

“Going to school is expensive,” he said, “and financing my education was probably the biggest hurdle to get over for me.”

But with the hardworking mindset adopted from his parents, self-motivation to excel in academics, and a priority to become an engineer, he was determined to achieve his dreams. Now a junior, his dedication has earned him several scholarships to help along the way. In 2024, that included the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s Shocker Pride Scholarship, which is funded through the Shocker license plates.

“It saved my academic journey,” said Rivera. “This scholarship helped me pay for and enroll this semester, which truly helps when you don’t know if you’re going to be able to pay your tuition or not.”

The scholarship goes beyond financial support, creating opportunities for networking and professional development. This fall, he connected with an alumni mentor, Liza Elliott ’19/21, who currently works as a Spirit AeroSystems engineer.

“She gave advice on professionalism and job finding, and she talked about life as an engineer,” said Rivera. “People can get overwhelmed with engineering or get too into it that they don’t live their life, so she emphasized the importance of having a life outside of that.”

Anyone can support scholars like Rivera through the Scholar Pride License Plate program. A part of the proceeds from each license plate directly supports students, so they can worry less about affording tuition and more about succeeding in the classroom.

“It did put me through college for one more year. It’s pretty cool that buying a license plate can help someone’s education,” he said.

Rivera plans to graduate in spring 2026. After WSU, he wants to gain work experience and eventually start his own private aircraft business, which he hopes will allow him to give back and spread the same generosity he has received.

“Helping with education is the only way that society is going to get better,” he said. “In the future, I want to come back and contribute to these kinds of scholarships for students.”

Donors and friends celebrate the Shocker Success Center

University friends gathered for the dedication of Wichita State’s Shocker Success Center, which opened its doors at the start of this semester. This fully renovated facility centralizes 18 campus resources into one home, readily equipping students with the tools for academic, professional and personal success.

Scholarship support gets returning student’s life back on track

Sarah’s dream has always been to work with children. She remembers an assignment from the third grade, sharing that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. “Even though I was only eight myself, I knew I wanted to work with kids,” she said.

Sarah was determined to achieve this goal, graduating in the top of her high school class and receiving a full-ride scholarship to a community college where she graduated with her associate degree. Her education, she explained, gave her a sense of control over something in life. She had plans to continue at a four-year university and be the first in her family to obtain her bachelor’s degree.

But plans, as they are prone to do, changed for Sarah.

“I had some emotional and financial issues come up, but fortunately I was still holding my full-ride scholarship,” she said. “After I got married, I intended to return to school, because it wouldn’t cost anything but the gas to drive there.”

Her partner refused.

After years of living in a controlling relationship, Sarah managed to escape with her three children. As she navigated the trauma of abuse, she decided to return to a place that could restore her sense of autonomy. “In a chaotic life, I knew I still had control over my success in school,” she said.

Her full-ride scholarship had expired by then, leaving her to take out loans to finance the remainder of her education. That is, until she was notified that she would be receiving the Diane Caton and Loyce Baker Memorial Scholarship, which supports returning students as they finish their degrees. Now, scholarship support at Wichita State is helping Sarah get her life back on track.

“I spent so many years without affirmation or support in my goals,” Sarah said. “Knowing that there are people who are now supporting me, helping me make a better life for myself and my family – that means more than I can say in words.”

A full-time paraprofessional, her scholarship is not only funding her education but helping fill in the gaps for the summer session when there are few opportunities to get hours.

“Until this upcoming year, the district hadn’t offered the option to spread our pay over twelve months, so I just had to figure out how to save and budget to make it through the last month and a half before the first paycheck of the new school year,” Sarah said. “This year I felt like I could breathe again, knowing my scholarship was covering the basics as well as books and school supplies.”

In addition to working and raising a family, Sarah is enrolled in the Teacher Apprentice Program at WSU, which allows students to finish their degree online while completing their student teaching requirements.

“I feel so proud to show my kids that it’s possible,” Sarah said. “Even though it was cut short, even if it’s later in life, this dream I’ve had for so long will finally be a reality.”

Due to safety concerns, Sarah’s name has been changed.

Core Values Scholar speaks to importance of financial aid

The day after she graduated high school Yuki To started a new job. While her classmates enjoyed their last summer before leaving for their respective colleges, she spent her days in a physician’s office, saving paychecks to cover the cost of tuition at Wichita State. Even still, she knew funds for the school year would be tight.

“Everyone knows college is expensive,” she said. “But as a first-generation student, there are so many costs you don’t even know to anticipate, like books and laptops and student fees.”

To’s parents, although unable to finance her education, afforded her the opportunity to attend college by immigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam when she was six. Their sacrifice instilled a passion for education that left her undeterred by its sticker shock.

“My family has always been my greatest motivation,” To said. “They left everything they knew so that I could one day attend a university.”

Financial aid made their vision for their daughter into a reality. Securing the Lenora McGregor Scholarship her freshman year allowed her to focus on her studies and seize opportunities across campus, joining the Asian Student Conference and Vietnamese Student Association. In addition to her campus involvement, To works as a medical interpreter, a position that not only allows her to serve the Vietnamese population in Wichita but provides her with field experience as she pursues a career as a physician. To plans to attend the KU School of Medicine after graduating in May of 2025.

Now entering her senior year, To has been awarded the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement’s Core Values Scholarship, which is funded through employee contributions and distributed to one student a year who exemplifies the organization’s guiding principles of integrity, collaboration, excellence and service.

“Without scholarships, I would’ve had to take on a second job or take out loans,” To said. “But someone recognized that I have the potential to succeed. That generosity has allowed me to have so many experiences that will serve me as I work toward my goals.”

Transformational estate gift will benefit first-generation students at Wichita State

Ed and Marla ’71/86 Flentje have designated a transformational estate gift to create the Flentje Scholarship Fund at Wichita State University. The gift will support first-generation students with financial needs to seek degrees in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

Ed and Marla have been lifelong advocates of education, and both have pursued careers in in which they aimed to inspire the same passion in others. They believe young people who aspire to a college education should have that opportunity and hope this scholarship will help open the door for deserving students.

Ed and Marla Flentje

They are establishing this scholarship in memory of their parents, Augusta Flentje and Paul McManis, who encouraged their pursuit of higher education. Both Ed and Marla were the first in their immediate families to complete undergraduate degrees and  believe their educations built a solid foundation for their careers and lives.

Ed’s mother, Augusta Flentje, was the daughter of Czech immigrants and encouraged her three children to seek college educations. After her husband passed away, she pursued her own degree, graduated magna cum laude, and taught elementary school until her retirement.

Marla’s father, Paul McManis, spoke in ways that assumed she would attend and excel in her college studies. He was the only sibling in his large family to attend college, but was forced to drop out during the depression to help with the family farm. He never lost his yearning to continue his education, even enrolling in evening classes at Wichita State while working full time at Boeing. The image of him studying late at night is one of Marla’s cherished memories.

Ed and Marla both have strong ties to Wichita State University.

In 1979, Ed joined the faculty of the Center for Urban Studies, which evolved into the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs at the University, and taught in the field of public administration for 35 years. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on governance and public policy, most recently coauthoring Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics. He retired from Wichita State in 2014 and continues to support the university as professor emeritus.

Ed served as director of the Hugo Wall School from 1999 to 2008. He also served in cabinet positions with Kansas governors Robert Bennett and Mike Hayden, and later as interim city manager for the City of Wichita and interim president of Emporia State University.

Marla has been a Shocker from the beginning, earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university and later serving as an associate director of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. In addition to her time at Wichita State, Marla’s 35-year career has involved education and leadership development in professional management for those serving in local government. She served as director of education for the Kansas Association of Counties for seven years, and since 2006, has worked as senior consultant with The Austin Peters Group, advising social sector clients on executive recruitment and human resource management.

$100,000 gift will support Wichita State Women’s Bowling facility enhancement

Karma and Gary Mason have given a lead gift of $100,000 to support the Wichita State Women’s Bowling facility enhancement project. This $300,000 initiative will include a new locker room, conference room and offices for coaching staff inside the Rhatigan Student Center.

“Gary and I are thrilled to kick off this fundraiser for Women’s Bowling,” said Karma Mason. “This program was deeply enriching to my own life, and I have no doubt it will continue to enrich the lives of many talented young women for years to come.”

Mason was recruited to the women’s bowling program at Wichita State in 1975, and the team went on to win the first-ever national collegiate team championship held that year. Since that first win, the program has claimed a total of 11 Intercollegiate Team Championships (1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2021, 2024) and six Intercollegiate Singles Champions (2006, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2023, 2024). Mason is the only person in the program’s history to be on three national bowling championship teams.

In July 2024, Women’s Bowling officially became Wichita State University’s 16th sport, joining the most competitive women’s bowling league in the country as an affiliate member of Conference USA. Head coach Holly Harris will continue leading these Shocker athletes as they transition from a club team to the Division 1 level. She has served as head coach of the program since 2019.

“Throughout five decades of tremendous success – finishing in the top-4 of the national tournament 36 of the last 48 years, 11 team and six individual national championships – the one constant has been the program’s high-quality student-athletes, alumni, coaches and supporters,” said Director of Athletics Kevin Saal. “We stand on the shoulders of those who come before us. We humbly believe this program is equipped to be an immediate NCAA contender and we can’t wait to see this perennial championship program grow even stronger through competition in the best league in the country (Conference USA) and within the NCAA framework. Sincere thanks to the Masons for aligning championship-level resources to championship expectations, enhancing the student-athlete experience. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity.”

The renovations to the Women’s Bowling facility will position the program for growth and excellence as they seek to continue recruiting top-tier athletes to compete at Wichita State. Gordon Vadakin, who led the bowling program as head coach from 1978-2019, said, “This generous support from the Masons is a testament to the passion our alumni have for the program still, and I could not be more excited for the future of this team. My hope when I retired was that Wichita State Bowling would continue evolving into something bigger and better, and this investment as the women’s team moves into the NCAA will help foster that growth.”