October 15, 2019
Diversity Programs Office Update
Greetings! We are all having a productive fall semester. The Diversity Programs Office (DPO) has been busy and continues to be successful.
As we move into October, we would like to give you a September update as well. In September, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) celebrated their MANRRS week from September 23-27. It was an amazing turnout. To start off MANRRS Week, they held a membership drive and MANRRS Awareness Day, and on Tuesday had a Panda Express fundraiser at the K-State Student Union. On Wednesday, MANRRS held their annual Corporate Showcase during the University-wide Career Fair, which was followed by a Smithfield Corporate Visit in Junction City the next day. We ended the week by collaborating with the Kappa Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., by collecting shoes for the Soles4Souls organization. We are happy to report that we collected over a 100 pairs of shoes. Thanks to all who donated, as well as, those who made our week a success.
To wrap-up MANRRS Week, on Sunday, September 29, the fourth Annual George Washington Carver (GWC) Symposium and Awards Dinner was held in the Alumni Center here at Kansas State University. The Diversity Programs Office, along with Kansas Center for Agriculture Research Environment (KCARE) and the George Washington Carver Birthplace Association (CBA), worked to organize this event in honor of George Washington Carver’s lasting legacy. The theme of the event was the 21st Century Impact of Dr. George Washington Carver. The afternoon consisted of a symposium whose speaker was Dan Devlin, Director of KCARE, speaking on “Critical Water Issues on the Great Plains,” and a fireside chat with the theme of “The 21st Century Impact of Dr. George Washington Carver.” The fireside chat featured a panel with all of the 2019 student award recipients, including Raymond Thomas, a Kansas State Graduate Student from Texas. The George Washington Carver Awards Dinner was at 6:30 p.m. in the K-State Alumni Center Ballroom. The Keynote address was presented by one of the College of Ag’s and MANRRS chapter’s own, Armogen Tre Walker II, who is the founder of the Tre Walker Motivational Group (TWMG). Overall, the event was a huge success with a turnout of over 80 people.
To kick off October, the K-State MANRRS chapter took a 14-member delegation to the Region 4 MANRRS Cluster in Oklahoma City, OK, October 4-6, 2019, under the direction of Dr. Zelia Wiley and Lonnie Hobbs, Jr. We would like to say congratulations to all of the participants that competed in events at the cluster:
Impromptu Speaking: Eric Valenzuela – Animal Sciences & Industry (ASI), 3rd Place
Elevator Speech Contest: Jordan Bailey - Animal Sciences & Industry (ASI), Ag Business option, 1st Place
Lincoln Douglas Debate: Raymond Thomas – Agriculture Economics, Team 1st Place
Each of the students that participated will compete at the National MANRRS Conference April 1-4, 2020 in Minneapolis, MN. Thank you all for your participation in the K-State MANRRS Chapter.
The office would like to say a huge thanks to all of the students, faculty, and other persons that have supported and helped us with all of our events over the past few weeks.
Please join us, TODAY, Tuesday, October 15, at 4:30 p.m. for the “Growing Our Mindset: Why Diversity Matters in Agriculture” in the Leadership Studies Building, Town Hall Building with Troy Anderson, VP of Ardent Mills as the facilitator.
For more information on future events, please contact our office at 785-532-5793, or our Director, Dr. Wiley, at zwiley@ksu.edu. Enjoy the week!