Two decades ago, student members of the Kansas State Student Foundation launched an initiative to help support students in unprecedented financial need. This mission is alive as ever today, as K-State Proud celebrates its 20th anniversary of “students helping students.”
K-State Proud is a nonprofit initiative under the Kansas State University Student Foundation, advised by Candace Stimmel.
“The whole point about K-State Proud is raising money to help students when they have an unexpected emergency,” Stimmel, director of volunteer engagement for the KSU Foundation, said. “Think, you know, a car breaks down, they need to get it repaired so they can get to their job or to class, or they’ve got some medical debt or one of their parents loses some of their income and can now no longer financially support them while they’re at school. K-State Proud is there as a safety net for any Wildcat.”
Lela Spitler, vice president of stewardship for the Student Foundation, reviews the Student Opportunity Award applications. She said having students make the decisions for K-State Proud introduces considerations and perspectives that would be missed otherwise.
“I’m able to bring the perspective of what it looks like to actually try to pay your way completely through school right now,” Spitler, junior in nutrition and health, said. “This is how difficult it is. I think that it’s really unique too, with our student review board, that we’re able to really put on the lens of students and have a really empathetic view when we’re seeing the issues that students are going through. We know that these are people that could be sitting next to us in class.”
Spitler said the biggest goal of K-State Proud is “keeping students on campus.”
“Our big goal with the Proud fund is to be able to give out awards to students who are in emergent financial need, who have some type of emergent situation that has come up and would have to drop out, stop school, leave K-State in some capacity if they were not to get a Proud award.”
A few cases in particular stood out to Spitler, including a mother who received a Proud award to travel to her home country.
“We had an international student, she was a Ph.D. student, who moved here and she moved here alone,” she said. “Her son had to stay back in the country that she was from and there was bombing going on in her country, and she lost all communication with her son. She couldn’t get ahold of anyone in her family or her son and she could not afford to fly back home, and we were able to fund her travel to go home and check on her home, check on her family, check on her son, to give her the mental and emotional well-being to be able to to get through. You know, how are you supposed to go sit in class every day when you don’t know if your child is okay?”
Stimmel said K-State Proud started with two students who wanted to make a difference.
“Emily Besler, during her time at K-State, and her friend Matt King, ran for student body president and vice president and came up short in that bid. The result of that was K-State Proud. So they took a loss and they wanted to still leave a legacy in their senior year, and that’s how K-State Proud was born. They took what they learned through their campaign and they turned it into a fundraiser that has now become an annual tradition at K-State.”
K-State Proud differs from scholarships and financial aid, as the awards are decided by students and not dependent on factors like GPA or merit.
“As the adviser for StuFo, I just find it very humbling to be a part of a legacy of this magnitude,” Stimmel said. “You know, the heart of K-State Proud will always be students helping students, and that has been the same for 20 years.”
To fund the year-round awards, K-State Proud relies largely on student donations collected through an annual campaign.
“February 7 through February 20 is this year’s campaign,” Stimmel said. “All the money that’s raised, every single dollar, goes back to the fund to help students. We don’t keep any of that for any operating costs.”
During the campaign, the Student Foundation tables around campus to spread the word about K-State Proud and collect donations. Students can donate a minimum of $25 to receive a Proud t-shirt, with a logo designed by students.
Joy Clemence, president of the Student Foundation, said Proud award stipulations changed this year.
“In the past, students have to have exhausted all other financial resources including student loans,” she said. “So basically, if the student wasn’t in debt and they had an emergency situation, they had to go in debt before we would award them, but this year we’ve taken that out of our requirements so we can award more emergency situations.”
To apply for a Proud award, you simply must be a student at K-State.
“Applications are accepted year round,” Stimmel said. “… It truly is open to any degree-seeking student and we review applications on a weekly basis. So those applications come into the SFA office. They provide just some basic information to the committee so that they can make a decision and look over the application, and then the committee in turn reports back to the SFA office on if they’re able to say yes or not, and then from there, the money gets applied to the student’s KSIS account.”
Saima Tanveer, senior in interior design, is one recipient of a Proud award.
“As a KSU student, there are moments when the pressure of balancing academics, finances and personal responsibilities can feel heavy,” she said. “Receiving this award felt like a small push forward, one that reminded me that continuing was possible and worthwhile. For students who may be in a similar situation, I would say this: Never underestimate how much a little support can matter. Hope is incredibly important in life, and sometimes all it takes is one small push to keep going.”
K-State Proud is not only rewarding for the award recipients. Stimmel said the chance to make a difference is impactful for the Student Foundation’s volunteers, as well.
“When I talk to some of the alums, when they reflect back on their time and what it meant to them to be part of this, I think it’s really instilling in them what’s so true about K-Staters,” she said. “It’s all about the K-State family and helping each other out, and we see that definitely shine through in the volunteers of our students. They have a heart to want to give back to this campus while they’re here and make an impact, which is awesome.”
Clemence said K-State Proud’s 20th anniversary speaks to the initiative’s impact.
“It’s incredible. We’ve given out over a thousand awards and each award, on average, is $1,500, so we’ve awarded a lot of money. We’ve raised $2 million, so it’s encouraging. I hear people all the time around Manhattan talking about K-State Proud, or wearing their K-State Proud shirts. … That’s the best part, is that people accept it every year.”
With 20 years in the rearview mirror, Stimmel said the future holds more opportunities for student involvement with K-State Proud.
“What I’m really excited for in the future is to get more students involved in this beyond the Student Foundation members. I think there’s an opportunity for other students that want to either become advocates to help spread the word about the availability of the awards, or maybe even serve on our SOA review committee.”
To apply for a Student Opportunity Award through K-State Proud, visit ksufoundation.org. To donate to the K-State Proud fund, visit proud.twentyfor.org.
