THE UNIVERSITY OF JALYA KANSAN
MONDAY AUGUST 12, 2007
MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007
NEWS
7A
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Andrew Wacker/KANSAN
Jaybowl employees Trent Overbye, KU alum from Berryton, Kenny Goodell, Wichita senior, and Tim Fields, Lincoln, Neb., prepare tents to be rented out for several events throughout the year. "Hawk week is probably going to be pretty nuts, everyone wants to rent these things." Overbye said.
Hawk Week gets in gear
Week-long welcome acclimates students to campus
BY JEFF DETERS
jdeters@kansan.com
More than 10,000 students participate in Hawk week each year.
Heidie Grove, Hawk Week Coordinator, said the week-long event has always had one common goal.
"We provide Hawk Week for new students and returning students because we want it to be a celebration for the beginning of the school year," Grove said. "It's a way for new students to get acclimated to the University of Kansas through traditions and different student activities that are involved."
Events scheduled for tonight are an ice cream social at 6:30 p.m. at the Adams Alumni Center, Traditions Night at 8 p.m. at Memorial Stadium and Rock-a-Hawk at 10 p.m. at the Visitor Center parking lot. Students can enjoy free ice cream before going
to the stadium to wave the wheat and sing the alma mater.
Grove said this year's Traditions Night would look different than it had in the past. It's going to have more of a pep rally-type setting where different student organizations will do performances. At Rocka-Hawk, students can enjoy a night of snacks, music and dancing.
Grove said Hawk Week, which is funded by various campus organizations, was focused on new students but all students were welcome.
"It's just kind of a week-long fun opportunity for students to have to attend events and be a part of KU traditions and become a part of the KU family." Grove said.
Throughout the week, buses are being provided to shuttle students living in the residence halls to major events for free.
Aaron Quisenberry, associate director of Student Involvement and director
Leadership Center, said 100 student groups would provide information to attendees at Tuesday night's events.
"It's a real fun, cool outdoors experience for students," he said.
Tim Fields, Lincoln, Neb, senior, has been to many Hawk Week events. Fields also works at the Jaybowl and took part in Union Fest on Sunday night, where students enjoyed free cosmic bowling. Fields said Beach 'n' Boulevard and Traditions Night were two of his favorite events during Hawk Week and encouraged everyone to participate in some way
"It's a very fun time," Fields said. "It's a good chance to get involved and see what everything has to offer."
For more information about Hawk Week, check out page 3 of the Back to School section.
Edited by Dianne Smith
One week, months of work Grove brings experience, enthusiasm to Hawk Week job
SPOTLIGHT
Heidle Grove, a project coordinator and academic advisor at the University, is coordinating Hawk Week this year. This is her first year in charge of the Hawk Week activities, which began Sunday.
BY JEFF DETERS
jdeters@kansan.com
Heidie Grove is busy year-round. She splits her time between advising in the University Advising Center and coordinating Hawk Week, which takes year-round planning. She also helps plan Success Week in September.
While growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Grove dreamed of having a career as a fashion designer.
"I always knew I was just one of those people that love fashion and learning about it," Grove said. "It was just always an interest area for me."
Grove earned her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, where she majored in communication studies and apparel merchandising.
While at Iowa State she studied abroad in Swansea, Wales. She didn't know anybody in the program, but that didn't stop her from proving that she could travel alone from Germany to Prague by train.
Her experience studying abroad changed her life and her goals.
"It was something that I wanted to do, and I guess I learned that I could survive and I could do this and that there's all this world to see," Grove said. "I wanted to be part of it and learn more about it."
"I thought, 'I want to share this with other people.' she said.
After college, she worked for a dot-com business in Omaha for about a year and then decided to go back to school and get a master's degree in education at Miami University in Ohio. She worked as an academic adviser to 250 students in a residence hall.
Grove said she found a lot of students were from the east coast
or the Chicago area at Miami University in Ohio.
"They were very high-achieving students just like they are at KU." Grove said.
"The thing I find out about KU students is that they are just so wonderful, so welcoming, so friendly, hardworking, very strong-valued," Grove said. "And I can't say enough about the students here."
Shanda Hurler, assistant director of the University Advising Center and former Hawk Week coordinator, said Grove's diverse background and work ethic has had a positive influence.
"She's done a great job of learning the ropes on her own and bringing her own touch to Hawk Week," Hurler said. "I think she's perfect to be Hawk Week Coordinator."
Grove has met with students and staff on campus to find ways to make Hawk Week better every year. When she isn't working, Grove likes to read, workout and spend time with her husband Stu,
and family and friends.
Grove and her husband are sports fans. While attending the men's basketball game against Iowa State University last year in Allen Fieldhouse, Grove said, she didn't take sides.
"I went in neutral garb," she said.
Grove said that in the future she would like to explore the option of living abroad and teaching English. She'd also like to travel to Thailand, Australia and other countries.
But for now, Grove is happy where she is. Although she has traveled all around the world, she feels right at home at the University.
"I feel like I'm definitely part of the KU family," she said. "This job has been amazing because I've gotten connected with so many people on campus and got to work with a lot of amazing staff and students. It's everything I hoped it would be."
— Edited by Dianne Smith
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