Rising Professional Award

The Rising Professional Award honors significant contributions made by a graduate in the early stages of his or her career. Recipients have demonstrated significant professional accomplishments in the areas of design, business, human behavior, teacher education, or health sciences.

Here is a list of our latest recipients.

Erika Smith- Marek '15
Professor
National University
Pensacola, Florida

Sarah Truman '15
Optometrist
Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center
Leavenworth, Kansas

Amber Grisamore '09, '13
Food Safety Program Manager
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Manhattan, Kansas

Sam Emerson '14,'17
Associate Professor
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma

Austin Stock '10
General Manager
Kirkwood and Co.
Highland, Kansas

Mari Erb '18
Director of Retirement Services & Operations
RPS Retirement Plan Advisors
Austin, Texas

Todd Crane '06
Emergency Physician
Sound Physicians
Manhattan, Kansas

Roxanne Martens '11, '13
Director & Financial Advisor
CGN Advisors
Manhattan, Kansas

Madison Parker '19, '21
Administrator
Wheat State Manor
Whitewater, Kansas

Sarah D. Corn '08, '09
Surgery Clerkship Director; Clinical Assistant Professor; Surgical Oncologist
University of Kansas School of Medicine & Wichita Department of Surgery
Andover, Kansas

Larissa Holt '12
Senior Sales Strategist & Executive Assistant
Buckle
Overland Park, Kansas

Sarah Kuborn '15,'18
Assistant Professor
Southeast Missouri State University
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Wally Walstrom '05, '07
Director of Sports Medicine
Hays Medical Center
Hays, Kansas

Krystal Collier '16
Stylist & Producer
KcStyles by Krystal
Los Angeles, Califorina

Sarah Asebedo '04, '11, '16
School Director & Associate Professor
Texas Tech Univeristy
Lubbock, Texas

Arianna Levin '15
Design Director
Adore Me
New York, New York

Katy Oestman '11
Principal
Daybreak Consulting, LLC
Las Vegas, Nevada

Jill Joyce '18
Assistant Professor & Interim Graduate Coordinator
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma

Past Recipients

2022: Kristen Buchman, Grace Burghart, Cole Foster, Sydney Hall, Joseph Lightner, Marc Lindstrom, Alyssa Mix, Tiffany Oppelt, Tonya Ricklefs, Brenna Shields, Derek Tharp, and Lauren Koepp Tines

2020: Ryan Baldwin, Brian Bollinger, Sara Bonnes, Lacey Boven, Klaire Brumbaugh, Brooke Cull, Monica Ebert, Staci Gann, Amy Guerich, Teagan Hamblin, Janet Holden, Clark Holdsworth, Clara Valadares Kientz, Corey Miller, Uyen Thuy Xuan Phan, Heath Rath, and Kelby Stehl

2019: C.J. Aducci, Jamie Bosse, Robert T. Davis III, Meghann Day, Cody Derby, Trent Jones, Mitchell Keating, Audrey Koehn, Katrina Marshall, Laura McCabe, Michael Minnis, Kale Monk, Monica Nelson, Kristen Brunkow O'Shea, Pratik Patel, Jake Quigley, and Kara Schmidt-Robben