HAYS – Garden City will be the first stop in the 2020 edition of Fort Hays State University’s three-state, 12-city student recognition program (SRP) tour.
The annual, month-long series recognizes high school and transfer students who are interested in learning more about FHSU and those who have been awarded scholarships from the university for the next academic year. The event also provides an overview of what makes FHSU a special place, both in and out of the classroom.
The Office of Admissions encourages all juniors and seniors in high school, as well as all prospective transfer students, to attend these free events.
The Garden City event begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at Garden City High School.
There is still time for students and their families to sign up, if they haven’t already, by going to www.fhsu.edu/srp. The SRP schedule, below, includes the core area served at each program site, but students are welcome to attend any SRP program. However, they must RSVP by calling 785-628-5673 or by signing up online through the link.
This year, the tour will feature four new scholarships with award levels ranging from $15,000 to $6,000 over four-years, or $3,750 to $1,500 yearly. They are the $3,750 Tiger Pride Scholarship; the $2,750 Victor E. Scholarship; the $2,000 Black and Gold Scholarship; and the $1,500 Hays City Scholarship.
Scholarships awarded under the revised scholarship program can also be fully renewable, provided students meet renewal criteria. These scholarships are not need-based, and there are no built-in award amount reduction for students who secure additional financial awards from other sources.
Fort Hays State’s enhanced scholarship program will include three levels of transfer scholarship awards, ranging from $500 to $1,500. These awards are based on the student’s GPA and the completion of at least 30 credit hours.
A highlight at each event is when President Tisa Mason individually recognizes students who have already been awarded scholarships to FHSU for the next academic year. Other university officers, administrators and faculty also attend the programs to answer questions and to visit with prospective students and their families and friends.
Another highlight is the dessert or pizza buffet after the recognition portion of the program. Dessert is served at the Garden City SRP. Students and their friends and families have the opportunity to mingle with FHSU faculty, staff and administrators before and after the scholarship presentations.
Since its beginning in the 1987-88 year, Fort Hays State’s SRP program – unique in higher education – has had the mission of recognizing all students interested in college, and their friends and families. the public is welcome to attend.
Students and families in Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska can sign up now to attend programs in their areas. High school juniors, seniors and transfer students have already been invited to Student Recognition Programs in their areas.
Each SRP event features three drawings – one for a $600 book scholarship, one for a $500 FHSU Student Recognition Program Scholarship, and another for a laptop computer.
Four $500 SRP scholarships are awarded at the reception in Hays.
The program schedule:
Garden City, 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at Garden City High School, 2720 Buffalo Way. Dessert will be served.Garden City serves students from 13 southwest Kansas counties and four southeast Colorado counties: Finney, Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Morton, Scott, Seward, Stanton, Stevens and Wichita in Kansas; and Baca, Bent, Kiowa and Prowers counties in Colorado.
Dodge City, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at Dodge City High School, 2201 W. Ross Road. Pizza will be served. The Dodge City SRP serves eight counties – Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Gray, Hodgeman, Kiowa and Meade – and Ness City in Ness County.
Beloit, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at Beloit High School, 1711 Walnut. Pizza will be served. The Beloit SRP is for students from the Kansas counties of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic and Washington and from the cities of Osborne and Downs in Osborne County. Students from the Nebraska counties of Clay, Jefferson, Nuckolls and Thayer are also invited.
Great Bend, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at the Great Bend Event Center, 3111 E. 10th St. Pizza will be served. Students invited to the Great Bend SRP are from Barton, Pawnee, Pratt, Rice, Russell and Stafford counties and from the cities of Bison and Otis in Rush County.
Colby, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, at Colby High School, 1890 S. Franklin. Pizza will be served. Students from nine Kansas counties, two Colorado counties and four Nebraska counties are invited to the Colby SRP: Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas and Wallace in Kansas; Cheyenne and Kit Carson in Colorado; and Chase, Dundy, Hayes and Hitchcock counties in Nebraska.
Overland Park, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Doubletree Hotel, 10100 College Blvd., serving 12 eastern Kansas counties and the Kansas City metropolitan area. Dessert will be served. The Kansas counties served are Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Doniphan, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte.
Topeka, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 1717 SW Topeka Blvd. Dessert will be served. Topeka serves students from 14 counties: Brown, Coffey, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Lyon, Marshall, Morris, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee and Wabaunsee.
Wichita, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Marriott, 9100 Corporate Hills Drive. Dessert will be served. The Wichita SRP serves students from 19 south-central and southeast Kansas counties: Barber, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Reno, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson and Woodson.
Salina, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Hilton-Garden Inn, 3320 S. Ninth St. Pizza will be served. Students from eight counties are invited to Salina: Chase, Clay, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Marion, McPherson, Ottawa and Saline.
Kearney, Neb., 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at the Holiday Inn, 110 S. Second Ave. Dessert will be served. Students from 14 Nebraska counties are invited to the Kearney SRP: Adams, Buffalo, Dawson, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, Hall, Harlan, Kearney, Lincoln, Phelps, Red Willow and Webster.
Hays, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, in the Fort Hays Ballroom of FHSU's Memorial Union, 700 College Drive. Dessert will be served. The Hays SRP serves students from seven counties: Ellis, Graham, Norton, Phillips, Rooks, Smith and Trego counties and from the cities of La Crosse in Rush County, Natoma in Osborne County, and Ransom in Ness County.
Denver, 2 p.m. Mountain time Sunday, March 1, at the Renaissance Denver Hotel, 3801 Quebec St. Dessert will be served. The Denver SRP serves students from all Colorado counties except for Bent, Baca, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Kit Carson and Prowers counties, which are served by SRP programs in Colby and Garden City.