About Jordan Fry

Jordan Fry is a Special Topics Reporter for the Prairie and a senior Broadcast Journalism major. She began writing for the Prairie in the Fall of 2010 and became a staff reporter in the Fall of 2011.

WTAMU student wins advertising scholarships

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Stacy Saultz, a WTAMU junior Advertising and Public Relations major, is the recipient of two advertising scholarships – a $2,500 national Advertising Hall of Fame Legacy Fund Scholarship awarded by the American Advertising Federation and a $1,500 Advertising Education Foundation of Houston Scholarship.

According to the American Advertising Foundation (AAF), the Advertising Hall of Fame Legacy Fund Scholarship was established to reflect the high ideals of the Advertising Hall of Fame and encourage future advertising leaders.

Candidates are evaluated on their academic achievements and volunteer efforts within the community. The scholarship provides financial assistance to an undergraduate student in his or her junior year who demonstrates a strong desire to pursue a career in the advertising industry. Continue reading →

Father and daughter graduate together from WT

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Bailey McKinney Wesley and her father Clint Wesley McKinney. Photo courtesy of Carol McKinney.

Bailey McKinney Wesley shares several things in common with her father whose name, ironically, is Clint Wesley McKinney. Clint jokes that a stipulation of his daughter getting married was that whomever she married must have his middle name, Wesley, as a last name. Clint walked his daughter down the aisle last October when she married a man whose last name was a reflection of her father’s.

On May 12, Bailey and Clint will share another major milestone – tossing their graduation caps together as part of the same graduating class.

Bailey will be finishing her bachelor’s degree in Psychology while Clint will complete his bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, and the two will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas at the same ceremony.

“It was really important once we realized we were able to graduate together to make sure we graduated together,” Clint said.

But in a twist of fate, it almost didn’t happen. Bailey recalled receiving a letter after applying for graduation informing her that she was one credit shy from being able to graduate.

“I flipped,” she said. “I started crying.” Continue reading →

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PULSE raises awareness for Sexual Assault Prevention

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Peers Understanding, Listening, Speaking, Educating (PULSE) is partnering with Family Support Services to raise awareness for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We’re trying to increase awareness to reduce assault and give victims comfort in knowing they’re not alone,” Stephanie Brackett, assistant director of Student Activities and PULSE advisor, said. “Sexual assault happens more often than people think.”

PULSE and Family Support Services has organized events to get students and the community involved while increasing awareness.

One such event, the Human Awareness Ribbon, took place last Friday at Westgate Mall where participants formed a teal-colored ribbon, which signifies the official awareness ribbon of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“The ribbon is a way to bring the community together,” Nelly Villagomez, Family Support Services peace project educator, said. “It gives survivors of sexual assault a voice.” Continue reading →

WTAMU organizations will host Earth Day events

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Jordan Fry

The Department of Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences is partnering with other campus organizations, such as the Geology Society and Beta Beta Beta, to host an Earth Day event on April 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event, coordinated by Juan Gil-Donato, Department of Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences research assistant, and Morgen Ayers, a senior Environmental Science major, will consist of information tables in the JBK featuring special speakers who will discuss different environmental projects and issues. There will also be hands-on activities outside the JBK.

Gil-Donato explained that when the Earth Day event started in 2008, it covered basic things like recycling, water conservation and other things people can implement in their daily lives. However, this year the information is more complex.

“We’re making it bigger and better,” he said. “We want to show people that Earth Day isn’t just about recycling and conserving water. It’s more complex than that.” Continue reading →

WT will host Superhero 5K

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Jordan Fry

The Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) is partnering with Amarillo Area CASA to host the CASA Superhero 5K on April 14.

The race will begin at the WTAMU Pedestrian Mall and will cover a 3.1 mile stretch of the entire campus, with a Kids 1K and Family Walk at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K starting at 9:00 a.m.

The concept of the 5K originally began as a class assignment.

Daniel Zewde, student athlete and Mass Communication major, explained that an assignment in a Public Relations and Publicity class he took was to develop a campaign for an organization. He said that as an athlete he looks for opportunities to get involved in the community and CASA was a good fit.

He then talked to Courtney Lee, director of Student-Athlete Services, about making his idea a reality.

“I ran it by her and she really liked the idea,” Zewde said. Continue reading →

Miscellaneous: This Week in Photos

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Check out the miscellaneous photos for this week! To read more about the stories related to these, check out the following links:

WTAMU to host premarital seminar

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jordan Fry

National Marriage and Divorce rate trends. Graph by The Prairie staff.

WTAMU will be hosting a Great Start Premarital Seminar on March 31 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Leann Gables, a Student Counseling Services professional counselor, said the seminar will cover topics such as communication, conflict resolution, finances, relational intimacy and passion.

“The seminar is very interactive,” she said. “After receiving the information, couples will get to discuss the information with each other.”

Paula Schlegel, instructor of Communication, said premarital counseling is beneficial because it gives couples the opportunity to discuss issues that may have not come up or been addressed before. Continue reading →

University prepares for another zombie invasion

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Zombies are scheduled to attack campus-wide on March 28 through April 1. “Humans vs. Zombies,” sponsored by RHA, is returning for a second year, largely in part to its great success last year.

“Over 250 people played last year,” Nicole Moore, RHA president, said. “We had a lot of really positive feedback and everyone had a really good time.”

The Humans vs. Zombies committee is expecting an increase of players this year.

“We think the game will be a lot bigger this year,” Moore said. “We’re expecting at least 300 players.” Continue reading →

Retired U.N. economist to lecture on ending poverty

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Ending Poverty poster. Courtesy of the WTAMU web site.

Dr. Donald Lee, a retired United Nations economist and advocate of poverty eradication, will be speaking about efforts to end poverty on March 6 at 7 p.m. in the Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall.

Lee’s lecture, “Ending Poverty: The United Nations and Millennium Development Goals,” will discuss global poverty and what the U.N. is doing to end it.

Lee has worked with the U.N. for 20 years and was formerly an economics professor at Deakin University in Australia.

Lee’s background in economics is longstanding. It came about from his interest in liberal markets and led to his concern for global poverty. Continue reading →

Kids Kollege beneficial to WTAMU students parents

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jordan Fry

Web Editor’s Note: This is part three of a three part series. To read part one, click here. For part two, click here.

Kids Kollege, WTAMU’s on-campus childcare service, is not only cost efficient for students, but also provides flexibility for class schedules.

“Our rates are usually much lower than other daycares and we are more flexible based on students’ schedules,” Darla Jenkins, director of Kids Kollege, said. “We have a minimum of two days a week while most daycares have a minimum of three to five days per week.”

Jenkins said this helps students who only have class two days a week because they don’t have to pay for days their child is not there.

Kids Kollege is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and ranges in age from 18 months to five years old.

Currently, there are three different childcare rates – student, faculty/staff and a community rate. The rates start at $15 per day or $12.50 per half day.

Jenkins said most of the children who attend are students’ children because students are given priority. Continue reading →