Author: Caelin Bragg

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.

The sixth step to being a Suspenders4Hope mental health advocate is for faculty and staff to add a “mental health advocate” tag to their email signatures.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will feature one step a day for the following two weeks on how to be a mental health advocate. Stay tuned for the last step.

Step five to being a Suspenders4Hope mental health advocate is for faculty and staff to wear their official Suspenders4Hope T-shirts available at the Shocker Store to showcase their support and advocacy for mental health. They should also post selfies of themselves in the shirt with the hashtag “#Suspenders4Hope.”

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will feature one step a day for the following two weeks on how to be a mental health advocate. Stay tuned for the next steps.

The fourth step to being a Suspenders4Hope mental health advocate is to regularly check in on students and encourage them to check in on their peers.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will feature one step a day for the following two weeks on how to be a mental health advocate. Stay tuned for the next steps.

Step three for faculty and staff to be Suspenders4Hope mental health advocates is for them to share their stories, like John Kirk has for his fellow students, and be visible, vocal and vulnerable.

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will feature one step a day for the following two weeks on how to be a mental health advocate. Stay tuned for the next steps.

Step two in becoming a Suspenders4Hope mental health advocate is to complete the “Preventing Suicide” training to learn about the tools available to assist those in need. Participants will receive a Suspenders4Hope T-shirt upon completion of the training.

Faculty and staff can sign up for training through the Suspenders4Hope homepage

Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) will feature one step a day for the following two weeks on how to be a mental health advocate. Stay tuned for the next steps.