As diversity continues to be an important issue on our campus, it’s also a significant issue nationally – especially in STEM fields. Alumna Anita Csoma was recently recognized among 100 Inspiring Women in STEM by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine for not only her work in the field, but her dedication to inspiring and encouraging a new generation of young women to consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). After earning her Ph.D. in geology from KU, Anita worked with major oil companies ConocoPhillips and Shell. We were able to hear more from Anita about the award, her work style and her training as a violinist! 

2015 was a big year for Alina Zheng; in the same year that she celebrated her sweet 16, she also earned a bachelor’s degree from KU. Alina said she was able to accelerate through education from a young age, and with Advanced Placement credits and careful planning she was able to graduate from KU in just two and half years. She was honored at the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences undergraduate recognition ceremony on Dec. 13 and was greeted on stage by her father Charlie Zheng, KU professor of aerospace engineering. We asked Alina about her favorite KU memories and her childhood dream of becoming president. 

Major: Political science, minors in mathematics and economics

High in the mountains just outside Santiago, Chile, a group of scientists are looking toward the sky, capturing information about every corner of our universe. Led by KU alumnus Stuartt Corder, astronomers at ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) have been able to uncover never-before-seen features of space. Recently, they’ve captured the clearest picture ever taken of planet formation around an infant star. The revolutionary image shows in great detail the planet-forming disk surrounding HL Tau, a sun-like star located approximately 450 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. It shows concentric rings that suggest planet formation is already occurring around this young star.

Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, was on a commercial flight in 2006 that would end up changing his life and guiding his future.

In a time when girls were still wearing bloomers in gym class, Anne Levinson tried out for the boys’ baseball team in junior high. Such an act, when most people expected young girls to sit still and be quiet, was not very well received. Working to open doors so that more people can have opportunities has characterized Levinson’s life and shaped her impressive career. That seemingly minor episode of trying out for a boys’ team as a kid foreshadowed the trailblazing endeavors that Levinson would undertake at the University of Kansas and beyond.

On the first day of the new semester, Megan Lease made history. Megan defended her dissertation, “A Strong Woman of the Lord: Performing Gender at the Intersection of Sport and Evangelical Christianity," making her the first student at KU to receive a PhD from the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. KU is one of only 14 programs in the United States that offer a PhD in Women’s Studies. After her defense we were able to catch up with Megan to learn a little bit more about KU's first Women's Studies doctoral candidate.

Hometown: Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Undergraduate major: History

Tell us more about your dissertation: My dissertation examines how female Christian athletes negotiate various and sometimes competing gendered expectations as Christians, women, and athletes.

As a first-generation college student and a single parent earning minimum wage, Alyssa Cole was stressed and frustrated. At the end of her rope, she decided to write a letter to the one person she thought could help, President Barack Obama. “Writing to him was basically a last resort,” Cole, a Garden City senior, said. “If anyone could help me it would be him. … At least I can make him aware of the issues single parents are facing when they are trying to get their education and take care of their families as well.” A few years later, Cole received a phone call from the White House.

It’s a story that could've been taken straight from the script of a romantic comedy. For most of their lives, they had been just missing each other. Brian Moots, Ph.D. candidate in French, grew up in Southern Missouri, just three hours from the hometown of his future wife, Angela Moots, also a Ph.D. candidate in French. Brian received his undergraduate degree in history from Missouri State University, but decided to further pursue studies in French after a study abroad trip to Quebec. Angela received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Arkansas, but she also decided to further her education in French after a study abroad trip to Paris. The pair went on to receive master’s degrees in French and they both took a year off between master’s and Ph.D.

Leaving her home on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota to study at KU changed Jordyn Gunville’s life in more ways than she ever imagined. Her move to Lawrence led her down an eye-opening path to her future in community health. Gunville grew up in Eagle Butte, South Dakota in the poorest county in the United States. A county where the suicide rate is double the national average and where the life expectancy is 45. This served as motivation to get a great education. “I was surrounded by oppression. I wanted to change the cycle of oppression, the cycle of hopelessness,” said Gunville, a senior in applied behavioral sciences. Regardless of the poverty surrounding her childhood, she believes that growing up in those conditions fuel her drive to be a catalyst for change. Gunville immediately fell in love with campus when she first visited.

Waiting with bated breath for the results to be posted, the excitement in the room was palpable. After a moment of silent scanning, a single shout goes up and the team erupts. Jumping up and down, the cheers from the crowd signal that the team of Jyleesa Hampton and Quaram Robinson made it to the final round of a national circuit debate tournament for their first time. “Debate is just very fun. It’s very exciting. You get a rush, win or lose, for the love of the game,” Hampton, an Overland Park senior, said. “I just felt such community and such love from the KU Debate team.”

Marcus Florez, B.S. in chemistry, Class of 2015 

Katherine Gwynn, B.A. in English and women, gender & sexuality studies, Class of 2015 A