Author: Emily (Pascoe) Oertling

I have the honor of being the 2018 – 2019 Graduate Student Council President. I wish all of the graduate students a prosperous future. Thank you for all of your service and your contributions to making Manhattan, Kansas a beautiful community.

Role: Coordinator, Instructor, MC, PR

Partners: Connected Fair Trade, The Sewing Workshop, 4 All Humanity, Fenceline Fabrics, Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design at K-State, Montclair State University Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship

Date: August – September 2018, Panel Discussion October 15th, 2018

Fall 2018 Apparel Production I students were instructed through a sustainable design project. The project utilized fabric made in Choa Cruz, Guatemala, courtesy of Zoe Schumm with 4 All Humanity, and was natural dyed with the leadership of Dr. Sherry Haar. The leave motifs were created with leaves from the K-State Tree Walk and the Manhattan City Park Tree Walk. Students work was on display for Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Week hosted by the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship at MSU. The project concluded with a panel discussion on Women’s Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Kansas.

Students are currently completing their looks with donations from our panelist Linda Lee. Garments will be on display at the ATID Showcase of Excellence in the Spring.

Fall 2018 AT300 Students

Role: Co-Chair, Graduate Student Council President

Partners: Jordan Kiehl (Student Governing Association President), Provost Charles Taber, Dr. Pat Bosco (Vice President of Student Life), Lynn Carlin (Special Assistant to the Provost), Craig Bourne (Executive Assistant to the Provost), Huron Consulting Group

Date: Launch November 16th, 2018. Role ends with the completion of the GSC Presidential term in May 2019

A SEM working group comprised of twenty students has been organized at the request of the Provost Office. Students on this working group will be serving on various task forces that will work to develop and brighten the future of K-State for all students. These task forces include Out-of-State Recruitment, Marketing and Communications, Transfer Students, Student Success, Graduate, Global, and International Students, Enrollment Data, Technology, and Systems.

Members of the working group will meet with their assigned taskforce but also come together on a periodic basis to debrief, share in ideas and thoughts, and speak on student concerns.

Photograph by Sherry Haar.

Role: First Author, Presenter/ Competitor

Project: Designing Home Goods for Socially Responsible Production. A Lions in Four Sponsored Project for Manufacture by Multi-Skill Level Artisans in Kerlala, India

Partner: Sahar Ejeimi, Project Co-Designer, and Second Author

Course Title: Completed in Textile Surface Manipulation, Instructed by Dr. Sheery Haar

Date: Project Completed December 2017, Presented November 8th, 2018

The purpose of Research and the State is to have Graduate Students from across campus present their work to their colleagues and the general public. It is crucial for competitors to communicate how their work impacts the state of Kansas, as the winners will go on to compete against fellow Regents Universities at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS) in February 2019. At this time students can also speak to legislators.

Primary aspects of this project that impact the state of Kansas include: supporting the development of sustainable business, supporting women entrepreneurs, selecting and growing the most environmentally friendly fiber crops, selecting and fostering the use of natural dyes.

My presentation was selected from a group of 12 presenters in the social sciences category to attend CGRS.

Role: Product Developer

Partners: Steve Bellinger, CEO Radiation Technology Inc., Nuclear Engineering Graduate Students, Department of Defense

Date: February 2017 – Products in Field Testing

No images permitted. 

A partnership between a Manhattan radiation technology company, K-State, and the Department of Defense lead to the creation of a mobile bomb detection unit. The mobile unit is a tactical vest made from ballistic nylon, nylon spacer mesh, and diamond rip-stop. The unit encloses 16 detection devices and is designed to be comfortable, sleek, and avoid attention.

The design team won an R&D Design 100 Awards from R&D Magazine in 2017.

This project was covered by Topeka Capital, for more information visit here.