Author: Caelin Bragg

Passionate about or interested in learning more about the Honors College? Want the opportunity to informally connect with other honors students and faculty?

If the answer to any of those questions is “yes,” then consider attending the Honors College General Assembly from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 14 in the Shocker Hall plaza to celebrate with the Cohen Honors College the end of the year accomplishments and updates, presented by Dr. Kimberly Engber, dean of the Honors College.

Join the College of Fine Arts in person or via livestream on the School of Music Facebook page for the final Distinguished Guest Artist in the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18 in Wiedemann Hall.

Tate Addis, a Wichita State alum, will perform works by Ager, Bossi, Barié, Isoir and Widor on the great Marcussen organ. Tickets are available online and at the door. And don’t miss the conversation with the artist immediately following the intermission.

Join AHINSA for a colorful celebration of Holi starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 15 in front of Hubbard Hall. The party will be a vibrant and lively affair, filled with music, games, refreshments and plenty of colors. Entry to the party is just $5, and attendees will get to experience the joy and energy of the beloved Indian festival in the company of like-minded individuals.

At the Holi party, participants can expect to groove to the beats of one of the best DJs in town, play exciting games that will test their skills and agility, and savor delicious snacks and drinks that will keep them energized throughout the day. But the highlight of the event will be the colorful powder that AHINSA will give out to everyone, so attendees should come dressed in their whitest clothes and get ready to be doused in a rainbow of hues as they celebrate the spirit of togetherness and joy that Holi represents.

Whether they’re a first-time attendee or a seasoned Holi veteran, AHINSA hopes the party is an unforgettable experience for participants that will leave them with memories to last a lifetime, so grab some friends and family and come join AHINSA for a day of fun, frolic and festivity.

For questions, email ahinsa@wichita.edu. Follow AHINSA on Instagram and Facebook.

Join the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for a public lecture by Dr. David Gutman, assistant professor at Texas Tech University.

The lecture, titled “First-Order Methods for Riemannian Optimization,” will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, April 14 in 372 Jabara Hall. Refreshments will be available at 2:30 p.m. in 353 Jabara Hall.

Interested in learning more about hosting virtual meetings in Microsoft Teams? Attend the new ITS training sessions listed in myTraining titled “Virtual Meetings in Teams.”

The sessions will focus solely on the meeting functionality in Teams, including creating meetings, meeting settings, screen sharing options, meeting polls, break out rooms, attendance lists, meeting recording, meeting whiteboards and more.

To learn more about the additional features of Microsoft Teams, like chat, Team channels and group file storage, look for the “Teams Essentials” and “Teams Advanced” training sessions. All Teams training sessions will be in regular rotation. Select “Notify me of new sessions” in myTraining to be the first to hear when new sessions post.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) is hosting the #WSUWeSupportU “Preventing Suicide” training from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 20 in 264 Rhatigan Student Center.

Learn about tools to support the community and assist someone in need. Students, staff and faculty are welcome to sign up for the training. Sign up on myWSU under the myTraining section or on the CAPS website. All participants will receive a #WSUWeSupportU T-shirt at no additional charge.

The Student Ambassador Society (SAS) is accepting applications for the Amie Montgomery Scholarship. The scholarship is in honor and memory of Amie Montgomery, a founding member of SAS. Two students will be selected to receive a $500 scholarship.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, April 14. The following are required for scholarship consideration:

• Scholarships will be awarded annually to students enrolled full time at Wichita State.
• Recipients should have a commitment to volunteerism.
• Recipients may not be members of the Student Ambassador Society.
• Consideration will be given to students with a minimum cumulative 2.75 GPA.
• Awards will be made with regard to financial need once all other criteria are met.

Make sure to catch the latest episode of the “Forward Together” podcast, where President Muma speaks with Jonna Mendez, the former chief of disguise at the CIA, about her time at Wichita State and the path that led to be an expert in disguise, identity transformation and clandestine imaging.

Watch it here — wsu.news/FTJonnaCIA — or listen at wsu.news/ftpodcast or on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts or Apple Podcasts (iTunes).

The next episode will feature current Shocker students and their experiences learning, working and growing at WSU. Subscribe here and be notified when new episodes are available.

Student innovators from across Wichita State will compete for up to $10,000 in start-up capital during the 2023 Shocker New Venture Competition (SNVC) Trade Show.

The competition started with 40 teams and judges narrowed the field down to 15 after the Business Model Video round. Teams were judged on their ability to identify a problem, clearly define a solution for that problem and market a fix through a three-minute video.

They were tasked with succinctly encapsulating their business concept through a market analysis, a clear value proposition, and a sustainable competitive advantage. The following teams will go on to the Trade Show round of the competition:

• Bauble Budger: Treavor McLeland, Jennifer Hoefler, Vindya Kumari Kariyawasam Ampegama Gamage and Abdulaziz Alsaihati
• Botanic Buddy: Ivan Weiss Van Der Pol
• Chiropractor Marketing Solutions: Gavin Dick
• Female Engineering Matters: Karen Duong, Jessica Gorton, Angelica Perez, Rahmah Alsukayr and Rosa Chicas
• MDESIGNS: Emily Caswell, Jose De Santiago, Marha Jean, Jett Mattison and Clarissa Rincon
• Optimum Wellness: Olivia Gallegos, Chase Anderson, Zachary Vanfossan and Faizan Ahmed
• Player Card: Jacob O’Connor and Jon Peterson
• Rise Mobility: Amogh Gokhale, Alana Cahill, Louie Tipton, Devin McConico and Alex Valdovinos
• Roomers: Ashton Jeter, Cole Krizek, Chamnau Chamnan and Ian Gaza
• Secret Squirrels: Bo Henry, Shannon Looney, Luke Schuessler and Javier Agudo
• Taram Inc.: Manoj Ram Thanthaloor Krishnamaraja, Vinoj Kumar Thanthaloor Krishnamaraja and Eliot Deschamps
• Testkey: Nicholas Vasilescu, Ben Gorman, Christian Kindel and Jared Goering
• Tracer: Kyle Dodson, Andrew McLeod, Joseph Boley, Guoyao Yue and Katelyn Tran
• Under Pressure: Julie Gonzalez-Morales, Ticie Dumas, Kami Bartholomew and Romina Fretes
• Vision-Vest: Grant Johnson, Jun Chang Teoh and Keenan Nguyen

The Trade Show will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 21 at Koch Arena. Teams will set up booths and pitch their concepts to business leaders who will be serving as judges.

Trade Show judges will be given 10,000 Shocker dollars to invest in the students’ ventures. At the close of the Trade Show, the six teams with the most investments by the judges will be announced. These teams will advance to the final round from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, April 28 in Wichita State’s Devlin Hall.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend and witness this next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Sponsors of this year’s competition include Erin Cummings, IMA Financial Group, INTRUST Bank, Moral Holdings and NetWork Kansas.

The seventh and final step to being a Suspenders4Hope mental health advocate is to refer students in potential distress to Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) or submit a concern to the CARE Team.

CAPS encourages faculty and staff to take a proactive role in the mental health needs of Wichita State students.