Agro Teacher
Jamie Peters ’04 is an advocate of hands-on learning. With degrees in animal science (from K-State) and elementary education (Wichita State), Peters, who lives in Hillsboro, Kan., and boasts experience working on her family farm and ranch, signed up last year as an elementary school volunteer in the Agriculture in the Classroom program.
“I have always wanted kids to be more educated as to where food really comes from,” she says. To that educational end, she is teaching third graders at Hillsboro Elementary School about winter wheat. After planting and growing the wheat, she and the students will harvest and study the different parts of the plants before making and eating flour tortillas in the final stage of the learning experience. No word yet on any scheduled WuShock visits to the classroom.
Buffalo Hall of Famer
Eric Wedge fs ’89, has been inducted into the Buffalo (N.Y.) Baseball Hall of Fame. Wedge, a catcher on the Shocker team that won the College World Series in 1989, managed the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, from 2001-2002. He went on to manage the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2009 and the Seattle Mariners from 2011-2013. A resident of Lancaster, N.Y., this Buffalo hall of famer spent the 2014 baseball season as an analyst for ESPN.
A Royal Trio
No former Shocker baseball player took the field as a Royal on the Kansas City team’s journey to the World Series this year. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t any Shockers around for the ride. A trio of WSU sport administration grads each played their specialized part in supporting the Royals.
Jason Booker ’01, who lives in Olathe, Kan., is senior director of corporate sponsorships and broadcast sales for the KC Royals. Jason Kramer ’02, who lives in Lawrence, Kan., is senior manager of corporate partnerships. And Jermaine Goodwin ’03, a resident of Raytown, Mo., is the team’s coordinator of ballpark operations. Way to go, Shocker Royals!
Talk Angry
A trio of Shocker basketball fans — Dustin Kuhn ’11, James Kellerman and Mark Rodriguez — got the idea for a podcast during a 2013 road trip to the Final Four in Atlanta. In its first season, the weekly podcast averaged about 400 listeners per show and featured such guests as coach Gregg Marshall, “Voice of the Shockers” Mike Kennedy ’71 and ESPN’s Jay Bilas. Rodriguez left the show, but Talk Angry has continued. Found online at talkangry.net and on iTunes, the podcast features Kuhn’s and Kellerman’s takes on sports news from the Missouri Valley and Shocker Athletics, with a focus on Shocker men’s basketball. Joining co-hosts Kuhn and Kellerman is Ben Burrus ’11, who completes Talk Angry’s team as co-producer. Tune in, and Listen Angry!
The New Zombie Math
When zombies attack, your first thought might not be: “What’s the math model for this?” Maybe it should be. A team of WSU engineering students is challenging Wichita-area high school students to come up with plans for how to survive a zombie attack, thus teaching the value of math modeling in solving complex problems with limited resources. “The presentation drives home the point that before you spend any time preparing food, water or bullets, you would be well served to spend a few minutes doing some math first,” says Polly Basore, a K-12 outreach coodinator for the engineering college. The new zombie math formula covers all kinds of survival factors, expected kill rates and rate of zombie encroachment among them.
Grand Marshal
Deborah Rose ’89, who in 2007 became the first woman to become a brigadier general in the Kansas National Guard, served as the Grand Marshal for the Nov. 8 Veterans Day Parade around the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. Rose, who holds a master’s degree in nursing from WSU and resides in Overbrook, Kan., also spoke at the annual Veterans Day observance held Nov. 11 at the All Veterans Memorial, also in Topeka. The recipient of numerous military honors, she retired as brigadier general in 2011.
Bluebeard’s Castle
The dark secrets of Bluebeard’s Castle and its seven locked doors will be shimmeringly illuminated by six of artist Dale Chihuly’s large-scale glass sculptures on stage with Samuel Ramey ’69, one of the most celebrated operatic basses of our time, in a Wichita Symphony presentation of Béla Bartók’s one-hour opera. Performances — with Ramey as Bluebeard and Nancy Maultsby as Judith — are slated for 8 p.m., Friday, March 13 and 3 p.m., Sunday, March 15.
Ramey is not new to the role of Bluebeard. He has performed the role a number of times, including his 1984 Metropolitan Opera debut and in 2007 at the Washington National Opera. His 1987 performance as Bluebeard with the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera was recorded on the Sony label.
Exploding Poet
Mike Rishell ’86 has re-entered the world of poetry after a 20-year break. He now serves as poetry editor of the Red Truck Review: A Journal of American Southern Literature and Culture. In its introduction of Rishell as editor, the journal describes him as “an exploding poet.” When not writing and thinking about poetry, the former WSU Foundation development director who holds degrees from Wichita State, Oklahoma City University and a doctorate from Michigan State works with nonprofits and colleges and universities in consulting on strategic fundraising.
