Shockers everywhere, at events long ago to happenings just the other day, always have something interesting to say. Take this sampling as a Shock Talk example:
“I believe in luck, because I never had any.”
— Robert W. Buckner ’17, (d. 1978), as quoted in the 1917 Parnassus
“I would venture that your history of personal philanthropy is much like my own. As a child I was sympathetic to anyone who was less fortunate. My mother relates stories of me dragging one child after another to our home after school because there were no after-school treats at their house — and we always had the best treats. In my 8-year-old mind, I was solving the problem of world hunger one person at a time.”
— Nancy Martin ’69, general manager of ESPA, Wichita, during a WSU Endowment Association Women in Philanthropy luncheon
“Throughout my career I have employed storytelling as a means of communicating the idea of student affairs to my presidents. I wanted to convey a sense of what we value in student affairs, our purpose, as seen indirectly through stories. The preponderance of the stories were about the successes of students, some of whom overcame great odds to reach their goals. These stories almost always featured a student affairs person, or a member of the faculty, or a staff person from some area who contributed to the student’s progress. Most of the stories were about small victories in the great scheme of things, but they were remarkably valuable in illustrating how our best selves came together in common cause. They demonstrated in a persuasive way the power of a university to change lives for the better.”
— Dr. James J. Rhatigan, WSU senior vice president, on the importance of storytelling in our professional lives, in an address presented at the NASPA Conference in Indianapolis, Ind., March 21.
Thanks to all odyssey contributors, partners, participants and crew: together, we met the challenge and raised more than $170,000 in support of alumni and student programming and scholarship opportunities for higher education at Wichita State.
We did, indeed, travel…To Infinity and Beyond!
Promotional pieces for this year‘s Shocker Auction, or rather the mega-event 2000FUN: A Shocker Odyssey, carried the tag line To Infinity—And Beyond, prompting The Shocker to ask Odyssey-goers:
"In your opinion, just what was it that you saw, felt, tasted or experienced on the 24th of June at Century II, Wichita, that proved you'd actually traveled To Infinity—And Beyond?”
You just can’t beat seeing our president — Dr. Don Beggs — up on stage in a Captain Jean-Luc Picard shirt.
Tyler Heffron
WSU marketing major and Student Alumni Association president
I knew I’d gone pretty far out there when I realized I’d just spent $400 to play basketball. Of course, it is going to be a galactic game of basketball — a battle between Coach Turgeon’s and Coach Smith’s teams!
Jeff DeGraffenreid ’88
WSU Alumni Association vice president of alumni programs
All I can say is, it was a cosmic thing.
Chris Shank ’69
WSU Alumni Association vice president of development programs
What was truly amazing was the level of effort put forth by all the volunteers — and the sheer number of volunteers. People from varied backgrounds and different ages came together to make this event not only fun, but successful for WSU and the alumni association.
Jeff Gates ’98/98
WSU Alumni Association board of directors member
