Kansas State University

Celebrating Central Kansas community visit success with recap, photos

Submitted by Division of Communications and Marketing

Yulissa Hernandez, junior in professional pilot at K-State Salina and a Connected 'Cats event leader for the Central Kansas area community visit, tells her K-State story during the community open forum. The other Connected 'Cats event leaders for the Central Kansas area community visit included, from left, Ethan Brown, junior in marketing, and Adelaide Easter, sophomore in bakery science and food science.

President Richard Linton and several Connected 'Cats students led a Kansas State University team of faculty, staff and extension professionals who visited the Central Kansas area on Dec. 5. The events in Salina, Ellsworth and the Central Kansas region were part of the presidential community visit initiative.

The Dec. 5 Central Kansas regional community visit engaged hundreds of community members throughout the day in events that highlighted community partnerships and K-State Research and Extension relationships.

View photos of the events throughout the Central Kansas area community visit.

Linton and the K-State team began the day with a community open forum that highlighted university connections in the Central Kansas area. Other events throughout the day focused on important topics for the region. Events included a conversation on aerospace innovation in the greater Salina community; a panel discussion on rural mental health and well-being at Ellsworth Medical Center; and a youth engagement event at the Salina Public Library through Wildcat story time with Linton and Thomas Lane, vice president for student life and dean of students. A Calling all 'Cats recruitment event occurred in the evening, too.

For the three Connected 'Cats student event leaders for the Central Kansas area community visit, the day provided an opportunity to share their K-State stories with their hometown community of Salina.

"I enjoyed sharing my story and being a part of impactful discussions with the K-State and Salina communities," said Yulissa Hernandez, junior in professional pilot.

"It was amazing to return to my hometown to see the people who have supported me to where I've gotten today," said Adelaide Easter, sophomore in bakery science and food science with a secondary major in global food systems leadership. "During the visit, I witnessed the entire community wanting to help grow the next generation of leaders and people. It was exciting to see people who want to work with K-State and are passionate about bettering not only Kansas but also the world."

"I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of the Salina community visit," said Ethan Brown, junior in marketing. "Salina is such a fantastic place with many growth-related projects on the horizon. It was rewarding for me to see my home community members and leaders conversing with my university leaders as they addressed new and continued opportunities for partnerships in the future. As a Manhattan campus student, I was also really excited to hear about the projects currently underway at K-State Salina. I am proud to call Salina my hometown and K-State my university."

The next K-State community visit will be Monday, Jan. 23, in Shawnee County and the Topeka area. Check out K-State's Instagram and Facebook stories on Jan. 23 to follow the community visit events throughout the day.

About the initiative
K-State continues traveling the state as part of the new presidential community visit initiative that focuses on the people of Kansas and their communities. The initiative consists of nine community visits throughout the state this academic year. See where K-State has been and where the university is going next.

Watch a video that showcases K-State's engagement in Kansas communities.

A communications toolkit is available to help K-Staters share a consistent message about the university's relationships, partnerships and contributions throughout the state of Kansas. The toolkit offers a pathway for any university unit to plug in to the initiative and help share stories of engagement across the state.

Access the communications toolkit on the community visit website. Please be prepared to enter your K-State eID and password to access the information.

President Richard Linton and Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Thomas Lane lead a Wildcat story time at the Salina Public Library.