Author: j478w937@wichita.edu

Wichita State fine arts senior Samantha Bunce is one step closer to becoming a full-time art educator. In fall 2025, she began student teaching at Wichita Brooks Middle School. Under the guidance of art educator Lauren Gilmore, Bunce crafted a creative learning environment for students at this STEM and arts magnet middle school.

That fall semester, throughout the school week, Bunce spent an hour a day learning how to be a successful teacher. In the classroom, she assisted Gilmore with art projects, preparation, organization and classroom management. Bunce stepped into her role by planning, teaching and grading her own lessons as a student-teacher.

In May 2019, Gonzalo Neira Maquilon graduated from Wichita State with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and another in anthropology. Driven to serve his community, he earned certificates in community psychology and human factors while attaining his bachelor’s degrees at Wichita State. Later that year, he began his master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology and graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Since graduating from Meredith College in 2021, Maquilon has poured his heart into human resources through various post-graduate roles. In his current role as a human resources specialist for the City of Wichita, he reflects on human resources’ influence on his work and his own “… impact on the life of others at work.”

In December 2023, Timothy “Tim” Cao earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with multiple emphases in economics, finance and real estate, with a minor in business analytics from Wichita State.

Cao continued his education at the Barton School of Business and in December 2024 he earned his master’s degree in economics and quantitative analysis with a data analytics concentration. Now at POET, Cao is a business support analyst, where his expertise in data analysis is vital in POET’s operations. A year after becoming an alumnus, Cao reflects on his academic and career journey with Wichita State’s support.