Senior Honorees

Chase majored in psychology and minored in sports management and organizational leadership and learning. Since Chase arrived at WSU, he has immersed himself in many clubs, organizations, and learning opportunities on campus. He served as a Team Lead on the Shocker Navigators (tour guides), was an active member of the Student Ambassador Society, a member of the Honors College Ambassadors, was the President and Founding Member of Shockers (Taylor’s Version), did a undergraduate research with faculty in the College of Applied Studies, and he is a four-time intramural champion. In his past involvement on campus, he was a member of Delta Upsilon and won 2020 Most Outstanding New Member in fraternity life on campus. During all this, Chase still dedicated his time to his studies and achieved a 3.98 undergraduate GPA.

Nicole (Nikky) Bloomquist is earning a double degree in political science and Spanish, with a minor in homeland security and the honors law and public policy track. She also earned the Latin America and Latinx Studies Certificate and the Global Competency Certificate. Nikky has been in numerous organizations such as Model United Nations, Student Ambassador Society, the International Buddy Program, El Cafecito Spanish Conversation Group, and Shockappella. She also served as the co-president of the Wichita Pro Bono Immigration Clinic for a year. Nikky has worked on campus as a Shocker Navigator for the Office of Admissions, a student assistant in the Office of Study Abroad, and a tutor for TRIO Student Support Services. Nikky has also spent some of her semesters in Washington D.C. and Bilbao, Spain.

Destanee is an honors nursing major from Hutchinson, Kansas with completed minors in public health and health administration. She has always been interested in the medical field but has yet to declare a nursing specialty. In high school, she participated in an international medical competition through Health Occupation Students of America becoming the only individual in Kansas to ever rank in the top 5 internationally. Destanee was also a part of the Wichita State Dance Team, and was captain for two years. She was in Student Ambassadors Society, Ambassadors for Diversity and Inclusion, Delta Gamma, Mortar Board Honors Society, a Passage Leader, a PASS Mentor, as well as an Intramural Captain. Destanee held an on-campus job as a Social Media Intern in the Office of Admissions where she ran the Official TikTok page for the university.

Wendy De Loera will be graduating with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a minor in university honors on a law and public policy track. Wendy was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of one. As a first-generation American and college student, she has assisted in establishing the Wichita Pro Bono Immigration Clinic, the Immigration Student Advocacy Organization, and a Latinos Lead program at WSU. She was involved in Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO) as Vice President and Mortar Board National Honors Society as President. Wendy has also interned for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, D.C. Wendy plans to either pursue a Master of Business Administration or obtain a Juris Doctor degree to work in immigration law.

Kaelyn Hannah majored in media arts with a concentration in filmmaking and a minor in communication. She has worked as a team lead for Shocker Navigators, was a senior fine arts Transition Mentor and in Student Ambassador Society (SAS), was also a First-Year Seminar Peer Coach, and a multimedia intern for the Office of Admissions, First-Year Programs and Student Success. She was selected to speak at the 2022 CIVSA Student Development Institute and selected to speak at the 2023 Regional NODA conference. In 2022, she was awarded Outstanding Member of the Year and is also a recipient of the Phenomenal Woman Award and Transition Mentor of the Year Award. For the future, she plans on pursuing a Masters of Arts in communication and expand her production company Khaos Productions to create a platform for women in film.

Kayce Litzau moved to a city eleven hours from her hometown of Greendale, Wisconsin, and played division one volleyball, while majoring in product design and manufacturing engineering. Kayce gained skills in manufacturing and problem solving and applied them at an Electro-Mechanical Hardware Engineering internship at the renowned Rockwell Automation where she renewed competitive edge documents by analyzing competitors’ products. She was also on the Dean’s list and made the AD Honor Roll 7 times. As a junior she was the volleyball representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and as a senior she was the president, while also having the opportunity to attend the American Athletic Conference Academic Symposium. She believes her time at WSU has given her a strong foundation to start her future career.

David Liu majored in nursing with minors in honors, psychology, and chemistry. Originally from Los Angeles, he chose WSU for its community and nursing program. David was involved in Ambassadors for Diversity and Inclusion, Honors Ambassadors, and Student Government Association. David has also been a Supplemental Instruction Leader, Passage to Success Leader, Pass Mentor, and an Academic Mentor. He also worked as a undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Moriah Beck’s lab in the Chemistry department, where he studied protein-protein interactions with implications on cancer metastasis. He has presented at multiple scientific conferences and has been awarded K-INBRE Summer Scholar and K-INBRE STAR Trainee grants. David hopes to find a job in an ICU and continue in the healthcare field along with his passion for research.

Orel Ovil started to play tennis at the age of six in Petah Tikva, Israel and has played professional tennis all over the world. While practicing tennis professionally, he served three years in the Israeli Defense Forces as a Human Resource and Battalion Adjutancy. He then decided to play college tennis, ranking at 122 in singles. He chose to major in business management and business marketing and minor in management information systems and information technology. He served as a team captain and team representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). He dedicated at least 40 hours a week to athletic team practices, study hall, tutoring, mentoring, and travel. Orel also coaches tennis for all group ages for amateurs and professionals. For the future, he plans to use his experience to develop and coach young players to fulfill their dreams.

Lucy Schneider is a first-generation college student from Caldwell, Kansas, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in sport management. She was an active member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church, the Student Ambassador Society, College of Applied Studies Ambassadors, and was a founding member of the Residential Advocacy Delegation. Lucy served on various university development committees, including the Shocker360 app and Major Mapping Initiative. She has held multiple jobs on campus, including being an Events and Marketing Intern for the Office of Admissions, a Resident Assistant for Housing and Residence Life, and a Student Academic Assistant for Wichita State Athletics. Lucy has also volunteered over 1000 hours. For the future, she plans to further her education by pursuing a Master’s in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling.

Mary Elizabeth Thornton studied middle school mathematics education through the College of Applied Studies. She spent two and half years as a Shocker Dancer and joined Alpha Phi her freshman year and held a total of ten positions within the chapter. Mary Elizabeth worked at the Wichita State Child Development Center where she was able to do a research study combining math and dance. During her junior year, Mary Elizabeth attended LeaderShape, and met Dr. Teri Hall who she then worked for as a student assistant. At the start of her Senior year at Wichita State, she joined the Student Government Association as an Underserved Senator and then later as the Student Body Vice President. After graduation, Mary Elizabeth will be moving to Charlotte, North Carolina to teach 8th grade math and hopes to get her masters degree in education someday.