01/04/19
NOTE: Media representatives are welcome to attend to learn more about the educational opportunities FHSU provides to its students and to meet parents, students and members of FHSU's faculty, staff and administration.

HAYS, Kan. – Denver will be President Tisa Mason’s first stop of 2019 in Fort Hays State University’s annual month-long, 12-city, three-state tour to recognize high school and transfer students who have been awarded scholarships from the university. The event also provides an overview of what makes FHSU a special place, both in and out of the classroom.

The Denver Student Recognition Program begins at 1 p.m. Mountain Time Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Renaissance Denver Hotel, 3801 Quebec St.

A highlight at each event is when President 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 Denver 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 events provide them with the opportunity to meet faculty and staff from the university. 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.

For more information or to sign up, visit www.fhsu.edu/admissions/srp/.

Many high school seniors and transfer students will receive certificates for a variety of scholarships awarded to them by FHSU.

Scholarships to be awarded at the SRPs include the $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction, the $2,000 University Scholar Award, the $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award, and the $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. All are awarded only to incoming freshmen enrolling in college for the first time, but each is renewable provided students maintain the minimum required academic standing.

A renewable $1,500 scholarship is available for transfer students, and a $1,000 non-renewable transfer scholarship is also available.

Other one-time awards recognized at the SRPs are the $900 or $500 Academic Opportunity Awards, given to scholars by individual academic departments.

Each SRP event also features two scholarship drawings – a $400 FHSU Student Recognition Program Scholarship and a $600 textbook scholarship – and a drawing for a laptop computer. Four $400 SRP scholarships are awarded at the reception in Hays.

The SRP schedule 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 RSVP link at www.fhsu.edu/admissions/srp/.

The program schedule:

Denver, 1 p.m. Mountain time Sunday, Jan. 20, 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.

Wichita, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, 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, Jan. 27, 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.

Great Bend, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, at Great Bend High School, 19th and Morton (east entrance door). 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. 7, 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. 10, 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. 10, at the Ramada Inn, 420 SE Sixth St. 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.

Beloit, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, 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.

Kearney, Neb., 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, 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. 17, 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.

Garden City, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, 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, Feb. 24, 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.

Cutline: FHSU President Tisa Mason visits with students at the 2018 Dodge City Student Recognition Program in February.