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Second round of scholars completing fourth year
   KGF Scholar update

   The Kansas Golf Foundation saw its first class of Junior Scholars graduate last May. This month four more students who make up the KGF’s second class of scholars complete a fourth

year of college. There are four students in the class with former recipient Tommy Zuzelski having moved out of state during his college career and thus becoming ineligible for the scholarships that go to Kansas high school students attending college or universities in the Sunflower State.
One of the four remaining students will graduate this month and move on to Ph.D. program in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University and the three others are scheduled to finish up their degrees next school year.
The Foundation recently took time to touch base with the University of Kansas’s Jessie Garrett, Betsy Dower and Jim Krieger and Wichita State’s Tyler Simmons. The scholars were asked about their college experience and about their plans as their time as students dwindles.

Jessie Garrett, University of Kansas
Kansas student Jessie Garrett is on her way to being a rocket scientist. She’ll soon have a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from KU and has been accepted to a Ph.D. track in the Aeronautics and Astronautics program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Her research will involve nanomaterials, namely carbon nanotubes in tradition carbon fiber/epoxy Jessie Garrett

composites.
   “I am extremely excited about this move,” the Pratt student said. “If you could have asked me what I wanted to do a few months before I began graduate school searching, I would have said the exact research topic I'll be working on, and wouldn't have dreamt that it would be at a school as wonderful and reputable as Purdue.”
   As she trades crimson and blue for Boilermaker old gold and black, Garrett says she won’t forget her time at Kansas.
“I have genuinely loved every minute of being a Jayhawk. Attending the University of Kansas and majoring in Aerospace Engineering has not only been an experience of academic learning and achievement but also one of self discovery,” Garrett says. “I came from a small town in south central Kansas and attended a small high school. Coming to Lawrence broadened my horizons in many different ways.”
   Garrett says one of those was developing an interest in teaching.
   “Unexpectedly, I discovered my love of teaching. I have taught College Algebra for two years to over 100 students,” she says. “I expanded my teaching this semester to include the Intro to Astronautics course for the Aerospace department. The thrill and joy of teaching others was unexpected and may be in my future once I complete my education and graduate research.”
   But college has meant more than just studying and preparing for a career to Garrett.
   “I also was surprised how quickly I was swept away with enthusiasm for KU athletics,” she says. “Every Saturday in the fall was devoted to KU football and winter revolves around catching every Jayhawk basketball game. Being able to be on campus during KU’s Orange Bowl victory and the basketball national championship was an unbelievable experience and one I will cherish.”
   “During the last four years I have also had the opportunity to meet many new people with a world of different experiences. My best friends come from anywhere between Kansas City and Vermont and I owe my sanity to their ability to distract me from school occasionally. My love for KU and the memories I have here will remain long after I walk down the hill and graduate. …I will remember my time at KU with pride and fondness.”

Jim Krieger, University of Kansas
   Four years goes by pretty quickly, but Kansas City’s Jim Krieger will get another year at the University and he’s happy to do it.
   “Time sure does fly!” he admitted recently. “Thankfully, I have another year to bask in

nostalgia while atop Mt. Oread.”
   Krieger, who’s spent a year abroad studying in China, plans to finish his degree next year in Lawrence, before moving on to grad school.
   “I won't be graduating this May,” he says. “I will instead spend next year finishing up my psychology and philosophy degrees, leaving me to graduate next Spring.”
   Krieger calls the five months he spent studying in Hong Kong last spring “quite a life-changing experience.”
   “I was leaving everything I knew, all my comfort in life, all my friends and relatives…everything that was built up in my mind for 20 years,” Krieger says. “Being there for five months has to have an impact on you…has to change you.”
   The social impact had a particular effect, Krieger admits.
   “I was there by myself and kind of forced to redefine myself in a way, because no one knew me because I was 8,000 miles from home,” he says. “I study philosophy, so I went over there with certain definitions built up in my mind about certain things. I took some classes over there and it changed the way I think about life and philosophy in general. And on a personal level, leaving for five months, the place where you were born and raised was quite an experience.”
   All along he’s kept his options open.
   “I have a few options…I’m either going into grad school which would mean I would be going further into the academic theatre and maybe teaching,” says Krieger. “I’ve been looking at law school as well, maybe going into law. Some of my relatives are also lawyers so they have encouraged me that way.”
   One thing is for sure, college is expensive and the deep-thinking Krieger says he appreciates the support the KGF has provided during his time at Kansas.
   “I think it’s been incredibly invaluable, not just from the financial aspect, but I think from knowing that someone outside my family and close friends cares about my education and wants to support me and thinks my education is valuable to the community,” Krieger says. “I’m really grateful for it.”

Betsy Dower, University of Kansas
   And another KU student who wants to spend a little more time in Lawrence is Hutchinson’s Betsy Dower. She’ll get to do that as her plans include completing a degree next fall.
   “I will be graduating this December with a B.A. in Human Biology and a minor in Leadership Studies in addition to having completed all of the Pre-Medicine class requirements,” Dower told

the Foundation recently.
   And Dower has already begun making plans to get a jump start on her career the following spring.
   “Since I will be taking an extra semester to finish up I will be in Lawrence again next year, I plan on taking the second half of the year to get some ‘real world’ work experience and prepare applications for Medical School,” she says. “I am currently looking into jobs at hospitals and clinics in the Kansas City and Lawrence area.”
   Dower entered her junior year at the University of Kansas with a 3.4 grade point average. When she wasn’t attending classes like Organic Chemistry with its lab and lab lecture, Dower was spending Christmas break working with United Cerebral Palsy in Dallas as part of the Alternative Breaks program.
   “They plan trips to places all over, where students can go and volunteer to work with people with disabilities,” Dower explained. “…the best part of the trip was undoubtedly spending time with the clients and staff at UCP Dallas. I plan on applying again to be part of the Alternative Breaks program this year.”
   Dower thanked the Foundation for its support during her time at Kansas.
   “It’s been great, especially when I just spent $600 on books that I know I will be returning for next to nothing in just a few months,” she reported. “It’s been a huge help. My parents are putting four kids through college and it’s been a blessing to them. It’s really been amazing meeting the people (through the KGF) and talking with them.”

Tyler Simmons, Wichita State University
   One of the few Kansas Golf Foundation scholars still competing in athletics is Wichita track & field performer Tyler Simmons. Simmons competes in the long jump and triple jump. He recently claimed a first place medal at the Oregon Relays.
   A business student from Beloit, Simmons says he plans to complete his degree at WSU next

fall.
   “I will be graduating in the fall next year with a degree in Finance and a minor in economics,” Simmons said recently. “I will then start grad school that spring.”
   And he still has some eligibility left on the track.
   “I also will be finishing my last year of track next year,” he adds.
   Simmons performance this year is especially impressive considering he missed a season due to a weight room injury in December of 2008.
   “I dislocated my shoulder over Christmas break this year and that injury has kept me from being an athlete for the first time since I was a little kid,” Simmons told the Foundation at the time. “They found out I tore my labrum so I ended up having shoulder surgery the first week of February.”
   He’d already begun a successful Shocker track career in his first two years at WSU. As a freshman, Simmons finished seventh at the MVC Indoor Championships in the long jump (21-11 3/4) and seventh at the MVC Outdoor Championships in the triple jump (45-0 1/2).
   As a sophomore, his indoor season included a sixth in the triple jump (45-10 1/2) and an eighth in the long jump (22-8) at the MVC Championships. He won the season-opening Jayhawk Classic with a leap of 23-5 and placed second at the Air Force Invitational with a career-best performance of 24-3 ½ (the No. 8 indoor long jump in school history). During the outdoor season, Simmons placed fifth in both the long jump (23-4) and triple jump (47-0 3/4) at the MVC Championships.
   Simmons says he really has appreciated the financial support provided by his KGF scholarship.
   “It’s really meant the world to me; (it’s) helped me out with school which will help me forever,” he told the Foundation last year. “Scholarship money is very important for what I’m trying to get accomplished at school.”