thursday, October 2, 2003
the university daily kansan
news
5A
Student's love of University inspires career choice
By Zack Hemenway
zhemenway@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Every face in the crowd and every name in the phonebook has a story behind it. Every week, Kansan staff writer Zack Hemenway tells the story of a randomly selected KU student.
Ashley Wendler doesn't know exactly what she wants to do with her life. But she does know where she wants to do it.
"Ideally I'll be at KU forever," she said. "I love the university atmosphere. I never want to leave."
Wendler, Shawnee junior, is such a fan of student life she said she sometimes wished she could take five years to graduate.
Though she plans to graduate on time, her degree won't necessarily sever her ties with the University. Wendler, a political science major, plans to attend graduate school and study higher education, paving the way for a career within the University.
"I don't want to teach, but I really like the whole college
experience," she said.
Wendler said her dream was to direct freshmen orientation. She said universities needed to make freshmen aware of opportunities.
"You don't want to all of a sudden realize you're a junior and you haven't done anything," Wendler said.
Wendler's junior year is far from this hypothetical image. In addition to her classes and job,
she participates in many campus activities.
Audrey Tarwater, Olathe
"Ashley's crazy, she does anything to be involved," Tarwater said. "I really respect her for that."
senior and Wendler's best friend, said Wendler was always willing to add another activity.
Wendler just joined the KU Ambassadors program, a step toward her desired career. Students in the program take visiting high-schoolers and parents on informational campus strolls.
"We're the dorky people who give tours and walk backwards," Wendler explained with a laugh.
Wendler said she was looking forward to being an ambassador and talking to prospective students about college life, but she was a little nervous about one aspect of the tours.
"I don't know about walking backwards." she said. "I don't want to be the girl that trips."
Tarwater, who said her friend was always calm and collected, doesn't expect Wendler to be that girl. But Wendler's friends have been wrong about her before.
Wendler said she surprised her friends when she joined her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, her freshman year.
"I wasn't their idea of the typical sorority girl," she said.
Three years later, Wendler is a proud sorority resident and proponent of group living.
Wender is looking at graduate schools and knows she might have to leave the campus she loves sometime in the future. She plans to make the most of the year and a half until graduation.
"You only get four years," she said. "You have to use your time and not let it go to waste."
Megan True/Kansan
Ashley Wendler, Shawnee junior, and Julie Shapiro, Overland Park junior, took a break from studying to chat yesterday afternoon in the backyard of the Alpha Gamma Delta house, 2005 Stewart Ave. Wendler said she spent a lot of time studying.
tion would be "KU forever," but she is keeping her options open. Her post-graduate decision will be on her mind as she tells high
school seniors why they should come to the University. But it won't affect her concentration too much.
After all, she just can't be "the girl that tripped."
- Edited by JJ Hensley
Museum facelift nearly on display
Lindsey Gold/Kansan
The Natural History Museum has gone through renovations as a part of a remodeling project on the 100-year-old building. Part of the renovations included removing the old flooring to expose the building's original tile floor.
By Amber Byarlay
abyarlay@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In a few weeks, the gift shop of the Natural History Museum will sport a new look.
It's a small part of building renovations that began in February, but the most noticeable to the public. During the renovations the museum has also added new lab space and taken steps to bring the building up to fire code.
The building did not have sprinklers or fire protection systems because it was built 100 years ago, said Bob Rombach. University fire marshall and special projects manager.
Ten years ago museum officials embarked on a three-part renovation plan that included adding fire alarms and protection in stairwells, Rombach said.
Work on the second phase began last winter and included installing more sprinklers in the building and improving access to the building's exits.
Changes to everything but the lab space should be complete by the end of October, Rombach said.
Improving access included renovating the gift shop because visitors have to go past it to exit the building. Gift shop renovations were also done to give the shop more room for merchandise said Brad Kemp, assistant director for public programs.
Jason Wolvington, gift shop manager and gallery director, said he was eager to have the construction done. While renovations have been made the staff has been relocated to the hallway to the right of the main entry.
"We're kind of shoved in the corner," Wolvington said. "It will be nice to get our space for the staff and visitors because it will make their experience a whole lot better."
Because of limited space the gift shop has only been able to sell small items like pencils and postcards, Wolvington said. This has affected sales but renovations have
not affected the number of visitors the museum has had, he said.
In addition to giving the gift shop more space the renovations added space, to the informatics lab. The new work space is for software development and will be located on the museum's sixth floor.
informatics is a scientific field that gathers information and creates databases about animals, especially the ones kept in museum collections.
Having information, such as where an animal came from and its physical characteristics, allows scientists to track animals and observe any changes in their behavior.
Kemp said the University's lab was one of the leading informatics labs in the nation. The lab is working on creating software to record animal information. The University's informatics lab received a National Science Foundation grant that will provide money for 15 new staff members, Kemp said.
Jim Beach, assistant director of informatics, said he was excited about the new lab space.
"The space will provide a home and natural lighting for 15 souls who are software developers saving the species of the world with leading edge Internet database software tools," Beach said.
Kemp said the informatics lab addition should be completed in three months. The only task remaining is adding windows to the lab.
The third, and final, phase of the renovations includes putting fire sprinklers throughout the building and will be done in about a year. Rombach said.
"That will bring the building as close to current code as we probably could ever get it," he said.
Rombach said millions of dollars have been spent to make the building meet fire code during the last ten years. The money has come from the state and private donations.
Edited by JJ Hensley
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