The 2015-16 Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship recipients were celebrated at a luncheon on April 13 at the Sauder Alumni Center. Twenty-nine student-athletes from the intercollegiate sports offered at Emporia State were honored, including track NS field senior Morgan Brant who is an indoor All-American and the school record holder in the high jump.
A native of Edmond, Oklahom, Brant chose Emporia State because she felt at home in Emporia even with Edmond being several hours away. Brant also came to Emporia State because of how unique the athletic department is in regards to how connected and supportive each Emporia State athletics program is of one another. This scholarship has meant the world to Brant.
“Receiving a scholarship has helped my academic career greatly by providing financial aid that I would have struggled to obtain alone,” Brant said. “Without the scholarship I would have had to devote less time to my academics and athletics and spent that time at a job to make up the financial difference.
“My grades would have suffered tremendously without this scholarship and because of it, I am able to successfully obtain my college degree in May. I am privileged to have been thought of so highly by the university, athletic program and my coaches. It is nothing short of an honor to be here today.”
The Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship Program was established by the late Earl W. Sauder with a gift in excess of $1 million in support of the 2004 Emporia State student scholarship campaign, Building Blocks for Success. Since Earl Sauder’s death, son Steve Sauder and his wife, Bobbi, continue to enhance the scholarship with numerous gifts of their own, including a significant gift to the Now & Forever Campaign that doubled the annual output of the Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship in 2013.
“My brother and sister will agree with me, but we think the university added 10 years to our father’s life,” Steve said. “He was involved enough in athletics to know that Emporia State was terrific with what they had, but knew they needed to do more than less. When my father provided the gift of the Earl W. Sauder Student-Athlete Scholarship, he wanted to spread the gift across all 15 sports.”
Steve Sauder is the president of Emporia’s Radio Stations, Inc., (KVOE AM & FM and KFFX-FM) and also a founder and chairman of the Board of Managers of ValuNet, Emporia’s fiber-optic broadband network that makes it one of only two gigabit communities in Kansas.
Below are the 2015-16 Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship recipients, sport and major:
- Morgan Brant, track & field, marketing
- Justin Brown, football, health promotion
- Kathryn Flott, women’s basketball, elementary education
- Aaron Gile, baseball, interdisciplinary studies
- Tawni Griffey, women’s tennis, accounting
- Sydney Hartman, volleyball, health promotion
- Amelie Heun, women’s soccer, biology
- Evan Koehler, baseball, business administration
- Grace Linton, women’s soccer, athletic training
- Payson Maydew, track & field, accounting
- Kyrstie Miller, women’s basketball, physical education
- Terrence Moore, men’s basketball, recreation
- Landon Nault, football, biology
- Heather Polson, track & field, biology
- Wyatt Sander, track & field, health promotion
- Emily Schoenfeld, track & field, psychology
- Hanna Shield, track & field, biochemistry & molecular biology
- Keenan Smith, men’s tennis, history
- Jarrett Stastny, football, communication
- Taylor Steen, baseball, recreation
- Jacie Stephens, softball, health promotion
- Micah Swank, men’s basketball, health promotion
- Jason Tetuan, football, accounting
- Duke Tibbs, track & field, accounting
- Caitlin VanVleck, softball, nursing
- Donovan Walker, football, accounting
- Dalton Wheat, baseball, management
- Josie Williams, volleyball, rehabilitation services education
- Brent Wilson, football, management
For information about how you can be a part of Now & Forever, the Campaign for Emporia State University, please contact campaign manager Carol Cooper at 620-341-6463.