Welcome to The Shocker
With this first issue of The Shocker, we're saying farewell to an old friend: the Alumni Association's award-winning Wichita State University Alumni News. And while we're sad to see our old friend go, we're excited to introduce to you a new face and a new format, a quarterly magazine we've fondly — and we'd like to think, rather daringly — named The Shocker, short for The Wheatshocker.
Between The Shocker's covers, we're going to continue to rustle up alumni news and bring you word from classmates ranging far and wide. With our expanded magazine format, we're also going to round up a broader range of university news that'll keep you in the know about what's happening at Wichita State — from WSU's newly renovated buildings and stadiums to what Randy Smithson's players are doing on the basketball court and how Shocker aerospace engineering students are blasting away the competition at nasa-sponsored design contests. Together, we'll be exploring worlds as diverse as you'd expect to find at a university. Some of our stories and departments are light and lively; they're just for fun. Others get right to the heart of the matter.
We enjoy putting this magazine together. One of the things we like the most is doing it for you. We want you to let us know what you'd like to see in future issues. We know your support is what makes The Shocker possible. You are our partners in this adventure. And we like that fact the very most of all.
— Your Alumni Publications and Association Staff
It's Sarah!
The cover of the spring 1999 issue of WSU Alumni News carried a David Dinell photograph of one of the hundreds of Shocker graduates who walked through commencement ceremonies May 14 in Cessna Stadium. This is a letter from our cover girl's dad.
Hi,
I am Walter Cooper. I just saw the cover of the recent WSU Alumni News. My daughter's picture graces the front cover, and it is a very good picture, indeed. She is Sarah Cooper Kleinschmidt. She graduated summa cum laude from WSU's physician's assistant program. We attended the graduation ceremonies held in the football stadium. Quite an event! Sarah graduated from ksu prior to attending WSU and has now fulfilled her life-long dream of being in the medical profession and being able to use her talents in service to others. We are delighted with the pa program in particular and WSU in general. And that from a ksu grad (Dad) and a ku grad (Mom), too.
Very sincerely yours,
Walt Cooper
Manhattan, Kan.
