As WSU’s student body collectively revs up for the fall semester, individual Shocker students discover their own special pathwaysand places ...
Joe Owston, a junior majoring in health sciences, is one of Wichita State’s more than 14,000 students to enroll in classes this fall semester. Another is biology graduate student Brandon Williams, who says, “I selected WSU because of its emphasis on ecology, the professors here and the research they are doing. My career goal is to get my PhD and be a biology professor.”
There are as many career goals and reasons for attending WSU as there are Shocker students, of course, and for a week in early September, The Shocker staff collected quotes and snapped photos of about a dozen members of WSU’s student body, including Carla Hobbs, who’s a graduate student. “My thing here at WSU is psychology,” she says. “I’m so interested in it, it’s something I want to teach to others.”
Tayler Espinoza, a junior working toward a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, says, “I’m excited about this semester because it’s one more step to my goal of getting into graduate school.” She adds, “I really like athletic training – and working on the sidelines at (high school) football games.”
Ashley Petty, who’s visiting the Grace Memorial Chapel on campus, reports, “I’m very excited this semester because I have a new major. I switched from business to communication. That will help me reach my goal of being an Episcopal priest.”
And Marva Meats ’03, who navigates campus pathways in a wheelchair, says, “Some call me a professional student. I already have three degrees. My degree from WSU is in art, ceramics. I’m taking two classes this semester and really like being back at WSU because it allows me to learn and interact with others. I guess I could learn at home, too, by watching educational TV, but it’s not the same as being in a classroom.”
