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

Amy Esplund, M.A. in speech-language pathology, Class of 2015 

Adam Sundberg, Ph.D. student in history, Class of 2015 

Vashti Goracke, B.F.A. in dance, Class of 2015

Vashti Goracke has a bittersweet relationship with dance. Some days are good, some days are bad. There can be lots of pain. But she wouldn’t trade anything for the ability to tell stories and say whatever she’s thinking and feeling through dance.

Marquise Paige, B.S. in geology, Class of 2015 The student carrying the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ banner at graduation this year is not the same student he was as a freshman four years ago. Student senator. Geology major. Camper. Researcher. None of these were experiences Marquise Paige, a Wichita senior, had envisioned when he first enrolled at the University of Kansas. He described himself as a shy student who was planning to keep his head down, get good grades, and graduate with a degree in petroleum engineering. Yet, within a few months of arriving at KU, he was running for Student Senate and soon after, headed for a new major. “When I first started KU, I was really introverted. I didn’t really talk to people a lot and kept to myself. I didn’t know a lot about myself because I didn’t have a lot of experiences,” Paige said.