Kennedy Conrad’s dreams are filled with music. The Oklahoma native’s journey at Oklahoma State University started with an audition for the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music.
“There was just something about how the day was set up. It was run mainly by students. You get to meet with professors, but I thought it was really important that students were telling me about campus life, because they are the ones living it.”
Four seniors from the College of Arts and Sciences have been named 2019-2020 Outstanding Seniors by the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association.
The Outstanding Senior award recognizes seniors who show excellence through academic achievement; campus and community involvement; academic, athletic or extra-curricular honors or awards; scholarships; and work ethic during their time at OSU.
Numerous College of Arts and Sciences personnel actions were approved during the OSU/A&M Board of Regents meeting March 6 in Stillwater.
NEW APPOINTMENTS: Chelsea Silva, assistant professor, Department of English; Tingying Xu, assistant professor, Pickens School of Geology; Xukai Yan, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics; Rachel Lim, assistant professor, School of Media and Strategic Communications; Andre’ Chiang, assistant professor, Greenwood School of Music; and Devon Hunt, assistant professor, Department of Theatre.
Growing up before the boom of cell phones helped Daniel Metroka's imagination come to life. The Fort Worth, Texas, native came to Oklahoma State University to study creative writing and further develop his love of literature.
"I am so grateful that we grew up before the advent of phones," he said. "We had to read. We had to go outside. We had to create and not just be on an iPad all day. That stuck with me. I remember being 7 and saying that I was going to have a book published by age 10. That didn't happen but still."
Samantha Homann graduated in December, taking only 3½ years to complete degrees in English and German. She was also a leader in many OSU campus organizations and an intern on the College of Arts and Sciences' Outreach and Communications team. She was recently hired as the team's marketing assistant with a focus on social media. She shares stories about her college experience and insight into how she is able to be so efficient. She also explains why she avoids saying the word "bag."
Serving as a department head is hard work. Some faculty members would rather spend their time focused on their classes and research than performing administrative duties, which can be both frustrating and thankless at times. But Dr. Rebecca Brienen enjoyed the opportunities she had over the past 6½ years to make a difference while leading the Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History.
That made it logical for her to jump at the opportunity to become the College of Arts and Sciences’ associate dean of personnel and faculty development. She began that role full-time on Feb. 1.
Kayla Dunn has been selected as a finalist for the 2020 Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public leaders in the U.S. The Honors College junior majoring in multimedia journalism and Spanish will participate in a regional interview March 11 in Denver before the winners are announced April 15.
Joining Dunn as a finalist is her fellow Stillwater High School graduate Adrienne Blakey, a Ferguson College of Agriculture junior pursuing dual degrees in plant and soil science with a concentration in agronomic business, as well as agricultural communications.
“I bit his hand,” said Dan Wilguess, D.D.S., who then explained why his first dental visit as a little boy went so wrong. “I’m the youngest of three boys, and it didn’t occur to anyone to tell me that this man was going to reach into my mouth. Part of what drew me to dentistry was that no one, child or adult, should be afraid of a dentist.”
When Wilguess enrolled at OSU in 1990, he thought he would follow his father’s path and become a CPA. John Wilguess, Ph.D., taught for 28 years in what is now the Spears School of Business.
David Kersnar, head of the Department of Theatre, is a founding ensemble member of the Tony Award-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company and has performed, designed, written, instructed and directed with the company since it was founded in 1988. He joins Lonna Freshley to talk about the options students have in both studies and careers in theatre.
