Author: Julia Wright

The College of Applied Studies (CAS) will induct seven new members into its Hall of Fame this fall. The inductees are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college and their fields. A celebratory banquet will take place Sept. 26 on campus.

• Dr. Robert Lane – Distinguished Career Award
• Mary Myers – Service Award
• Korey Torgerson – Alumni Award
• Bonnie Bing Honeyman – Community Engagement Award
• Dr. Shirley Lefever – Distinguished Career Award
• Dr. Joseph Wei-Cheng Mau – Distinguished Career Award
• Aliyah Funschelle – Recent Alumni Award

Wichita State University’s Teacher Apprentice Program (TAP) will welcome 24 new Kansas registered teacher apprentices for the 2025-26 academic year. These paraeducators, who are employed across 14 Kansas school districts, will begin the next step in their journey toward becoming licensed teachers while continuing to serve in their local schools.

Districts represented in this growth span from northeast Kansas districts like De Soto, Lansing, Eudora and Riverside, to central districts such as Salina and Lyons, and all the way to Liberal in the southwest.

The WSU TAP program partnered with the Kansas State Department of Education to pilot the Kansas Registered Teacher Apprentice initiative, which aims to address teacher shortages by supporting paraeducators in earning their teaching credentials through a registered apprenticeship model.

The expansion reflects the continued success and impact of this innovative approach to teacher education.

Wichita State’s new Athletic Training Simulation Lab is now fully operational, giving athletic training students a dedicated space to enhance their clinical knowledge and skills. Located within the larger Athletic Training Lab, the space replicates real-world clinical scenarios in a safe, hands-on learning environment.

Students work with trained simulated patients to practice assessments, communication and decision-making before starting clinical rotations. Faculty can observe and guide scenarios remotely, offering targeted feedback to strengthen clinical reasoning and interpersonal skills. The lab also emphasizes teamwork, adaptability and patient interaction — key components of professional readiness.

Charvi Sharma, a graduate student from Hyderabad, India, is pursuing her master’s in Exercise Science within the Department of Human Performance Studies and is set to graduate in fall 2025. With a background in physical therapy, she developed a strong interest in research during her studies in India.

At Wichita State, she’s contributed to several projects, including research on back muscle activity using electromyography and the usability of neurocognitive mobile apps in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The Parkinson’s study earned first place at GRASP 2025 and was accepted at regional and national conferences.

Sharma also conducted research on blood flow restriction and passed the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) on her first attempt. She says mentorship and support from faculty played a key role in her success.

The first annual SELebration conference took place June 2 at the Maize Performing Arts Center, bringing together educators, counselors and school community members for a full day dedicated to social-emotional learning (SEL).

Organized by Drs. Lyndsey Brown, Christie Henderson, Jill Wood and Kimberly Moody — all from the College of Applied Studies — the event featured 20 breakout sessions, more than $500 in SEL-focused giveaways and a keynote by Hanna Kemble Mick that explored the connection between SEL and artificial intelligence.

Participants left feeling both inspired and equipped, with many sharing how they planned to apply new strategies in their schools and communities.

Special thanks to the College of Applied Studies, Maize USD 266, Project Teacher, Le Luci Lighting and Design, Hope Bunker and Credit Union of America for making the event possible.

“SELebration was more than a conference,” Brown said. “It was a powerful reminder of why we do this work. And we couldn’t be prouder of what we created.”

Wichita State sport management student Liam Crawford recently served as a media host relations assistant during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Wichita in March, gaining hands-on experience with media operations, technology support and game-day logistics.

“This is a sport management experience that you can’t get anywhere else,” Crawford said. “I am so grateful that I had a role in putting on such a great event for the city of Wichita.”

The opportunity helped him connect classroom learning to real-world practice and gave him a new lens for viewing the sports industry.

“My whole vision of sports has changed,” he said. “When I sit down and look at any sporting event, I see more than just the game — I see the behind-the-scenes and what coordinators are doing just to put on that sporting event.”

Education in Kansas is entering a new era, and the Propellus Tech Summit is leading the charge.

Co-hosted by Wichita Public Schools and Wichita State’s College of Applied Studies, the two-day summit (May 28-29 at the Rhatigan Student Center) offers an immersive, future-focused professional development experience for educators at all levels.

Attendees will explore AI tools, platforms like Canva and Adobe, and emerging tech through keynotes, interactive sessions and hands-on workshops. Free registration is available for WSU and USD 259 educators and students. A $100 registration fee applies to all other participants.

With nearly 30 years in law enforcement, Wendy Hummell saw firsthand the need for mental health support in public safety. Now a graduate student in WSU’s clinical mental health counseling program, she’s using her experience to provide culturally competent care for first responders.

She helped lead a 60-member peer support team, launched a wellness program at the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, and hosts the “Guns and Yoga Podcast” to spark conversations around mental health and resilience in law enforcement.

Education in Kansas is entering a new era, and the Propellus Tech Summit is leading the charge.

Co-hosted by Wichita Public Schools and Wichita State’s College of Applied Studies, the two-day summit (May 28-29 at the Rhatigan Student Center) offers an immersive, future-focused professional development experience for educators at all levels.

Attendees will explore AI tools, platforms like Canva and Adobe, and emerging tech through keynotes, interactive sessions and hands-on workshops. Free registration is available for WSU and USD 259 educators and students. A $100 registration fee applies to all other participants.

Two graduate students from Wichita State’s Department of Human Performance Studies took first and second place at the 2025 GRASP (Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects) symposium.

Charvi Sharma, a master’s student in exercise science, earned first place for her research on the usability of neurocognitive mobile apps among adults with and without Parkinson’s disease. Toomaj Amiri, a master’s student in innovation and design, received second place for his interdisciplinary project introducing PARROT, a wearable device for assessing and improving tongue function.

Both projects were developed in the Human Performance Laboratory with support from department faculty.