Author Archives: tmiles

Truman Students Complete FLITE Internship at Boeing

Boeing FLITE interns Christopher To, Waymon White, Kimberly Carlton and Blake Miller

Four Truman students completed the Boeing Future Leaders in Thought and Experience (FLITE) internship during the 2013 summer.

The Boeing FLITE Internship Program is a unique, fast-paced 10-week internship program designed to create world-class inclusive thought leaders. The program structure teaches participants to drive innovative and creative business-focused solutions. Four days during the week are spent working at Boeing in a specific business function. Every Friday throughout the internship, the students participate in FLITE School, which is separated into five sections: Beyond Business Basics; Captain and First Officer Session; Ready for Takeoff; Thought Leaders Take FLITE; and 20/20 Vision. This structure was designed to maximize the FLITE participants’ learning experiences and increase their business acumen, as well as create more immediate synergies between professional development and impactful results.

FLITE is a true partnership between Boeing and three select Midwest universities: Truman, Saint Louis University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For the 10-week internship, interns live together in the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Oak Hall Dormitory. The summer culminates with the interns presenting to Boeing executives about their experience. This internship allows Boeing to identify top talent earlier in their academic careers while providing students with an unparalleled learning experience that they can apply to their business classes.

Expo Connects Students with Future Career Paths

More than 695 students attended Truman’s Career Expo, which took place on campus Oct. 2. Representatives from 107 businesses, non-profit organizations and graduate schools were on hand to recruit Truman students.

Several organizations hosted on-campus interviews for internships and jobs Oct. 3, with 214 students taking part. Additional companies collected resumes and coordinated both on-campus and on-site interviews for later dates.

In addition to seniors seeking full-time employment, many undergraduate students use the Career Expo to find summer internships with a wide variety of companies such as Cerner, Aldi, Monsanto, 3 Interactive and Target.

The University hosts a Career Expo in both the fall and spring semesters and many Truman alumni come back to campus to participate. For information about how to participate in the next Career Expo, taking place March 5, 2014, contact Polly Matteson, assistant director and employer relations coordinator of the Career Center, at pollym@truman.edu.

Mark Your Calendar — Career Expo March 5, 2014

Solar Panels Added to Campus Buildings

In an effort to reduce University energy consumption and make the campus more sustainable, solar panels were installed on five buildings during the summer.

Barnett Hall, Ophelia Parrish, the Student Union Building, Magruder Hall and the Health Sciences Building all had solar panels installed on the roof during the summer. Each building can produce up to 25 kilowatts, accounting for about two percent of their total electrical needs for any given year. At the current cost of electricity, the solar panels should save at least $2,400 per year.

While the economic benefits to the University are a plus, they are not necessarily the driving force behind the installation of the solar panels. Truman’s strategic plan calls for making campus more sustainable by reducing the consumption of resources.

Additionally, the solar panels will eventually be connected to monitoring software that instructors can incorporate into their classrooms. Students will be able to see how much electricity the panels produce and get a better understanding of how they work.

The implementation of the solar panels on campus is due largely to the work of representatives from the President’s Sustainability Action Committee, Facilities Management and Campus Planning. In March 2013, the small group presented the idea to the University administration. Shortly thereafter, a request for proposals was sent out and a contract was awarded to Brightergy of Webster Groves, Mo. Installation began in early August and the panels were producing electricity by the first week of class. Additional panels may be added in the future.

Devil’s Tongue Flower Blooms in Greenhouse

After eight years on campus, a unique flower in the University Greenhouse bloomed for the first time.

The Devil’s Tongue flower bloomed in the middle of July and reached the peak of its bloom at an estimated size of two feet in height and six inches in diameter. It shares the same genus as the Corpse Flower that bloomed in 2013 at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.

This plant is one of two Devil’s Tongue flowers located in the University Greenhouse, but was the first one to bloom. Tony Wilmes, a biology lab technician, said these particular flowers take a long time to mature, and only bloom about once every 10 years. Whereas most flowers release a sweet smell to attract bees and other insects for the purpose of pollination, the Devil’s Tongue uses flies to pollinate, and therefore smells similar to a dead animal.

While a small section of the Greenhouse is allocated for research, a majority of the facility is used for teaching purposes.

Aside from the pungent Devil’s Tongue, the Greenhouse is home to more traditional flowers. It also contains some banana trees and several pitcher plants, which are carnivorous plants that trap and digest insects. The University Greenhouse is typically available for public viewing between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the week. Visits can also be arranged through the Biology Department Office located in Magruder Hall 2004, or by calling (660) 785-4597.

Five Earn Fulbrights

Truman Fulbright, recipients, from left to right: Ashley Kleiner, Clara Dahmer, Shawn Bodden and Hope Schaeffer. Not pictured: Bethany Hoekzema.

Five Truman graduates are currently serving as Fulbright scholars for the 2013-2014 academic year, a distinction that places the University in the top five master’s colleges and universities in the nation for number of award recipients.

All of Truman’s Fulbright recipients teach English in schools or universities. Students selected and the countries for which they received grants include: Shawn Bodden, Georgia; Clara Dahmer, Andorra; Ashley Kleiner, Taiwan; and Hope Schaeffer, South Korea.

Additionally, Bethany Hoekzema, an MAE graduate, was named one of 12 recipients of the Fulbright/HAEF Teaching Fellowship co-sponsored by the Fulbright Program and the Hellenic American Educational Foundation. Hoekzema is currently teaching in Greece. Fellows act as young ambassadors and provide a cross-cultural educational experience by infusing their culture, ideas, language and knowledge into the school’s community.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program awards approximately 1,800 grants annually in all fields of study and operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Truman was recognized in the Oct. 28 online edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education for its 10 Fulbright applicants and five recipients.

Class Project Grows into Local Non-Profit Organization

2013 Green Thumb Project Staff Members

Watching a Truman volunteer project grow into a non-profit organization isn’t something every student gets to experience. Brockell Briddle (’13) has worked tirelessly since 2010 to watch what was once a small seed grow into something larger than she could have ever imagined.

The Green Thumb Project began in the spring of 2009 as a small 800 square foot schoolyard garden on the campus of Ray Miller Elementary School. It was created by a class of Truman students enrolled in a “Grassroots Environmentalism” course taught by Michael Kelrick, chair and professor of biology. The garden fulfilled a service-learning component for the course and resulted in a University-student run, after-school “Garden Club” program for elementary youth. By encouraging learning through experience-based methods, the program included many interdisciplinary activities to engage the children. Journaling and art projects, as well as applying concepts of science and math through planting and harvesting vegetables, were all part of the outdoor class curriculum.

Since the class project, the garden and the program have grown into something much larger. In the spring of 2010, MAE student Ashley May and Briddle joined together to revitalize the effort.

“When I learned about the garden and the idea of the program, I was truly inspired and saw a great deal of potential,” Briddle said.

Truman MAE students teach a lesson outdoors to students in the summer school program.

The two young women catalyzed on the opportunity of leadership and began expanding the after-school program to include a broader education and community focus. That summer, they began taking the elementary school students to the local farmers’ market to sell their produce. They incorporated the ideals of entrepreneurship and social-enterprise into their curriculum and emphasized the importance of creating a closed-loop agriculture system to their students.

In 2011, Briddle and May filed for Missouri non-profit status and coined the name “The Green Thumb Project.” They began fundraising, writing grants and organizing community events. In 2012, they partnered with the skills USA team at the Kirksville Area Technical Center and received a $10,000 “Community Enhancement Grant” from Lowe’s Corporation. This grant, in conjunction with a land donation from the Kirksville School District, enabled the Green Thumb Project to build a new 2,400 square foot garden and outdoor classroom that enhanced the overall structure of the program.

In Briddle’s final year of study at Truman, she focused her efforts toward serving the interest of the Green Thumb Project. Under the advising of Kelrick, Briddle designed an internship around non-profit administration and capacity building for the organization. Her efforts resulted in securing more community partnerships, annual funding and stipends for internship positions.

Briddle believes her greatest accomplishments for the Green Thumb Project to be within the past year. She attributes much of the success to the hiring and efforts of an AmeriCorps VISTA member James DeBiasi. Last fall alone, DeBiasi assisted in hosting more than 25 classes and helped coordinate more than 550 students (K-5) in the new outdoor education site.

“All of our lesson plans are aligned with current state learning standards. Our job is to assist the teachers and facilitate them in using the outdoors as a tool for learning,” Briddle said.

Other successes last year include creating a Board of Directors for the organization, hosting more than 100 Truman student volunteers and organizing a “Farm to Table” community dinner. New partnerships, including the Northeast Missouri Community Action Agency and the Kirksville Housing Authority, have enabled the Green Thumb Project to offer services to the greater community. Last season, the Green Thumb Project staff contributed time to the Jamison Street Community Garden, created an online local food buyer’s program and built more than 20 community garden beds at Village 76 in Kirksville.

Briddle credits the partnership of Truman and the Kirksville School District for much of the Green Thumb Project’s success.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of Truman faculty, student volunteers and the open-mindedness of [the Kirksville School District],” Briddle said.

In coming years, the Green Thumb Project hopes to become an established 501(c)3 and continue to build their capacity as a non-profit organization.

“The Green Thumb Project has been a way for me to give back to my home community, and I have developed a deep passion for it,” Briddle said. “I hope others will join me in enabling this project to grow and thrive.”

Briddle believes the simplest way to get involved with the Green Thumb Project is with a donation of money or time. The project is currently in need of a CPA and an attorney, but welcomes volunteer help of any kind. To make a donation, become a volunteer or learn more about the organization, visit greenthumbproject.org or email gtgarden.raymiller@gmail.com.

Runner Returns After Battle with Cancer

For many Truman students, “back to school” comes with a series of inconvenient tasks. Moving in, buying books, signing leases and trekking around campus in the triple digit heat can surely lessen the excitement a new semester brings. However, for sophomore agricultural business major Miranda Biddle these were welcome changes that not only signify the return to classes, but a return to normalcy.

Miranda Biddle, an agricultural business major, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma in early 2013. She returned to the classroom and the track in August after completing her treatments.

To any other person, Biddle seems like an average college student – she enjoys hanging out with her friends, attending class and running cross country and track for Truman, but her friends, professors, teammates and coaches know there is more to her story.

Early in 2013 Biddle was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system that affects only around 1,200 people in the United States annually. Biddle was diagnosed after returning from winter break when she noticed that she was having trouble keeping up with her teammates. When she went to doctors she was originally diagnosed with the flu, but Biddle knew that something else was wrong.

“I remember thinking, ‘I don’t think that’s right,’” she said.

After running x-rays and CAT-scans her cancer was diagnosed.

While the news surprised her family, friends and teammates, Biddle felt a sense of relief at finally knowing for certain what was impacting her running. After learning her diagnosis, Biddle’s competitive edge came out as she was determined to show cancer “who’s boss.” She compared her six chemotherapy treatments and 25 rounds of radiation as the hardest running workout of her life.

“I just looked at it as a workout,” Biddle said. “Each treatment was a rep, and I had to get through it even though I had to do it again and again, and on my final one I told myself, ‘Okay, get through this last one and you are all done.’”

Though the treatments were difficult, Biddle was adamant that she not be treated any differently, especially when it came to schoolwork. Although her treatments required her to return to her home in Aledo, Ill., she remained enrolled and completed her entire class load for the semester. With the help of her professors, she made it work by watching recordings of lectures online and driving back to Kirksville to take tests.

Not only did Biddle, who finished her last treatment Aug. 23, return to Truman this school year, but she also returned to train with her teammates. Less than a month after barely being able to run for five minutes, she was attending regular practices and hopes to be in shape for competing during the spring track season.

Undergoing the treatments for cancer has made Biddle appreciate the small things in life. Her favorite part of finishing treatments was the freedom she regained; the freedom to go outside or listen to lectures in person, to run, or even be able to simply move around.

Her battle with cancer also helped her become a more compassionate person. Biddle describes the connections she made, with not only other people struggling with cancer, but with those who are helping to fight it, as something she is truly grateful to get out of the situation. She hopes to get involved with organizations such as the American Cancer Society in the near future.

For now Biddle is just happy to be back in classes. Though many would consider her luck to be bad, Biddle considers herself blessed. The support she received from everyone she met at Truman—her roommates, teammates, coaches and faculty—helped lift her spirits during the last year and continue to keep her moving forward.

Looking back Biddle said, “Going through all of this made me realize even more, how much of a good decision Truman was.”

Origins of a Tradition

When Sarah Seberger and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) had a breakfast meeting with then Truman President Darrell Krueger in the fall of 2009, the topic of discussion was school spirit and how to increase spirit across the campus. Seberger, who was serving as the vice president of SAAC, proposed to the committee that they have a designated day of the week for wearing Truman apparel. The committee thought it was a great idea as most of them had spirit days in high school. Once she got the approval of Linda Anderson, Truman’s associate athletic director and the SAAC advisor, she reached out to Laura Bates, Center for Student Involvement director, Liz Jorn, instructor in exercise science, and the members of Student Senate. This informal group brainstormed and ended up with the foundation for Truman’s Purple Fridays with the ultimate goal to encourage campus pride in being a member of the University and being a Bulldog. Student Senate voted on a resolution* deeming the first Purple Friday as Dec. 11, 2009.

The group worked hard to encourage students, faculty and staff to wear purple every Friday to show their Truman Spirit. A more formal Purple Friday committee was formed in the fall of 2010 and additional activities were added that included student gatherings in the Student Union Building and music on the Mall, as well as giving out prizes every Friday to reward those who were found showing their Truman Purple Spirit.

The Purple Friday Committee is now under the umbrella of Truman’s Student Government, but continues to have involvement from Residence Life, the CSI and SAAC, along with other students dedicated to showing their support and pride for Truman State University by wearing purple every Friday.

Beyond Campus Purple Fridays
Seberger graduated from Truman in 2010, but she still tries to wear purple on Fridays. “In law school, that wasn’t hard, but now that I am actually practicing law it is going to be a little more difficult,” Seberger said. “Wearing purple is actually a great way to accidentally bump into Truman alumni or people familiar with the school who want to talk about it. I ran into an alumna at Costco who was wearing a Truman T-shirt. We happened to unload our carts at the same time and both of us had Truman car decals. It was great to talk for a few minutes about Kirksville and Truman athletics. I certainly continue to feel that sense of pride in Truman and being a Bulldog.”

* THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT,
•   Supports in conjunction with Student Athlete Advisory Committee “Purple Fridays”—a day in which students, faculty and staff are encouraged to wear purple and visibly show support and pride for Truman State University;
•   Encourages all students, faculty, staff, student organizations, Student Affairs departments, the Athletics department and all other departments to participate in the “Purple Fridays” event beginning on Dec. 11, 2009; and
•   Supports programs designed to increase school spirit and respect for the quality institution in which they attend.

Work Begins on FLATS

After years of planning and fundraising, construction officially began on the Forest Lake Area Trail System (FLATS) with a groundbreaking celebration Oct. 3 by the petroglyph site in Thousand Hills State Park.

Phase one of the trail is an eight-foot-wide ADA-accessible concrete path between the petroglyph site and the marina at Thousand Hills State Park. Phase two will connect the two campgrounds and phase three will connect Kirksville and Thousand Hills State Park.

More information about the FLATS project, including ways to make a donation, can be found online at kvflats.org or by emailing flatskv@gmail.com.

Stokes and Pershing Get Upgrades

Stokes Stadium and Pershing Arena have each received modest upgrades in the past two summers to better enhance the Truman experience for spectators.

Construction crews completed the installation of the new Pershing Arena bleachers in late August 2012. The process included removing the wooden bleachers and installing new bench seats, and approximately 400 chair-back seats behind the Bulldog benches, closer seating on the west side and additional seating on the north baseline.

The project, funded by the Student Athletic Fee, began with the removal of the bleachers in late May 2012. Those seats had been in place since 1979 when the old arena court was shifted from the east/west alignment to its current north/south configuration.

In addition to the bleachers, a new sound system and acoustics were installed during the summer to enhance the audio and gameday presentation for Bulldog events.

In summer 2013, Stokes Stadium received new aluminum bleachers and 132 purple chair-back seats. New handicap seating was also added to the bottom of the grandstand, bringing the total seating capacity to approximately 4,000.

Other improvements to Stokes Stadium in recent years include a synthetic field in 2008 and new lights in 2007—both paid for with the Student Athletic Fee—as well as a new sound system in 2012.

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