Our 2024 Honored Alumni
Oct. 3, 2024
Kirkland honored with Distinguished Alumni Award
By TENA L. COOK, MARKETING COORDINATOR
CHADRON – Chadron State College alumnus Dr. Jake Kirkland of Lincoln will be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award during Homecoming Oct. 19.
Kirkland earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1973 and a master’s degree in Educational/Counseling Psychology from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln in 1981. His dissertation studied college students’ perceptions of classroom experiences and environments as related to Diversity and Multiculturalism. Kirkland earned a doctorate in Adult Education with an emphasis in Community and Human Resources from UNL in 2002.
He began his career in the Office of Career Services at the University of Nebraska-Omaha
as a Career Counselor from 1981 to 1986. From 1986 to 1987, Kirkland was an advisor and counselor where he provided academic advising for undergraduate students and personal, social, career, and mental health counseling for undergraduates, graduates, and staff.
At UNL’s Counseling Center from 1986 to 1992, he helped students with academic, personal, social, and career-related issues and concerns. He became the center’s coordinator from 1991 to 1992. He was also a counselor with UNL’s Career Planning and Placement Services from 1992 to 1993.
After serving as the Assistant Director of Career Services from 1992 to 2014, Kirkland became the Interim Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs from 2015 to 2016. During this time, he also served as the Interim Director of the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center and Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services.
Kirkland’s professional affiliations include the Nebraska Counseling Association. He was a member from 1977 to 2016 and chaired the Human Rights Committee from 1994 to 2015. He has been a member of several other state and national associations affiliated with career and academic counseling.
He has received more than 30 honors and awards related to his professional and volunteer work. Kirkland’s scholarly contributions include articles about job seeking and resume advice for high school seniors.
He has presented, co-presented, or participated in panels at numerous leadership, counseling, and college admissions symposiums. He has also given talks about goal-setting to elementary and middle school children.
Additionally, Kirkland has assisted in planning and organizing conferences related to multicultural counseling, academic success, diversity, career exploration, and institutional team building.
In his community, Kirkland has been a member of the Lincoln Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1988 to the present and served on the Voter Registration Outreach Committee from 2019 to the present. He has assisted with the annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther Youth Rally for nearly 20 years. He has also been a volunteer with Cornhusker State Games and Big Brothers and Sisters.
Recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award must have attended CSC for at least two years or earned at least 60 hours and have demonstrated exceptional service to the college and distinguished themselves in their career or their community through volunteer efforts.
Ryan S. Morgan of Magnolia, Texas, - Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Morgan graduated in 2005 with a comprehensive bachelor’s in science. He was honored with the Platinum Eagle award for student leadership prior to graduation, and was elected as Student Senate Vice President in 2003-04 and President in 2004-05. He was president of the Blue Key National Honor Society in 2004 and completed an internship with NASA’s Lunar and Planetary Institute in 2005.
He earned a master’s in geophysics from the University of Wyoming, and while there received a NASA Space Grant and completed a geophysical internship in the Gulf of Mexico.
Morgan is a Vice President and Senior Director of Exploration in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico with Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY). Morgan guided a reorganization to modernize the exploration team’s structure and function to align with corporate objectives, increasing leases by more than 70 percent since 2021.
As an exploration manager in the Gulf of Mexico from 2019 to 2021, Morgan led a team of geologists, geophysicists, and engineers of all experience levels to mature drilling opportunities. He also guided his team through the transition following OXY’s acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC).
In 2019, Morgan was an asset manager of the Marlin Hub in the Gulf. He led a multi-disciplinary team while balancing the need to optimize mature assets and explore new opportunities.
Under his leadership as an asset manager with APC from 2017 to 2019, the Holstein Spar in the Gulf achieved an eight-year production high. Previously, he was a planning manager in APC’s division of International and Deepwater Exploration from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he evaluated portfolio submissions and trends, presented portfolio strengths, risks, and opportunities to company leaders.
Morgan contributed to more than $600 million in exploration opportunities during his work with APC from 2008 to 2015.
The DYA award is presented to recipients 40 years of age or younger or who graduated at most 20 years earlier from Chadron State. Recipients must have shown exceptional service to the college through volunteer efforts, distinguished themselves in their chosen career, or active involvement in their community.
Alyssa Sanders - Class of 2016 - Distinguished Young Alumni
Chadron State College alumni Ryan Morgan, Jake Kirkland, and Alyssa Sanders will be honored with awards during Homecoming on Oct. 19. The Studnicka Family will also be honored with the Family Tree Award.
Distinguished Young Alumni Awards are presented to recipients 40 years of age or younger or who have graduated at most 20 years earlier from Chadron State. Recipients must have shown exceptional service to the college through volunteer efforts, distinguished themselves in their chosen career, or active involvement in their community.
Sanders, a native of Dalton, Nebraska, graduated magna cum laude in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She works in the private sector for HDR Engineering, supporting infrastructure design projects in the areas of project management, project controls, and strategic communications.
Sanders began her career as a Deputy State Fire Marshal with the State of Nebraska, managing statewide safety programs and facilitating public communication on fire-related issues. She was the continuity of operations planner and public information officer and co-managed the National Fire Incident Reporting System. She also managed the Joint Information Center in the State Emergency Operations Center and led the Public Information Officer during a $500 million flooding event that affected 84 Nebraska counties.
She later transitioned to the Nebraska Military Department as the State Emergency Response Commission Coordinator within the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. During her time in emergency management, Sanders became part of Nebraska’s newly formed Incident Management Team as a Public Information Officer III, assisting communities statewide during disasters and critical events. In addition to her work in Nebraska, she was assigned to assist with multiple types of severe storms in Kentucky.
Outside of her professional roles, Sanders serves her community as a volunteer firefighter and an emergency medical technician.
The Studnicka Family - Chadron State College Family Tree Award
The Family Tree Award is presented annually at Family Day or Homecoming to families with a tradition of attending CSC. The recipient family must include a minimum of three generations of graduates. At least two of the family members must have a record of outstanding service to the college, the alumni association, their community and/or their profession.
Matriarch Ella Schlaman Studnicka was born in 1916 in Lodgepole, daughter of Dick and Doretta. She died in 2000.
Attended Lodgepole High School
Earned a teaching certificate in 1934 and a bachelor’s in Elementary Education in 1963.
She worked from 1934 to 1944 at Sunol-Chappell schools, then Sidney Public Schools from 1962 to 1978, when she retired.
She and her husband, Lumir, had nine children: LaNita, Cheryl (deceased), Louella, Robert, Janet (deceased), Cynthia, Steve (deceased), Lila, and Ronald.
LaNita was born in Champaign, Illinois. She graduated from Sidney High School
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Education in 1966. She was the president of LSA (we need the full name), treasurer on the Campus Center Board, secretary of Cardinal Key, a member of Sigma Delta Nu and Alpha Phi Sigma.
Now retired, she taught English at Scottsbluff Senior High 1966-1971, Aurora High School 1971-72, and Grand Island High School 1972-1975. She taught at Grand Island Senior High 1982-2007. She earned a master’s from the University of Nebraska -Kearney in 1991. She taught at Central Community College 2008-2015.
She and her husband, Herbert, have four children: Gretchen Twohig, Sara English, Richard Roeser and Adam Roeser.
Cynthia is married to Steve Yantzi. They live in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and have three children: Lindsay, Phillip, and Julie.
She graduated from Sidney High School and earned a bachelor’s in biology education in 1976. She minored in chemistry and was a tutor. She then went on to earn a Bachelor's in Nursing degree from Creighton University in Omaha where she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi and Daughters of the Crossed Sword.
She worked as a Registered Nurse and Certified Nursing Assistant in Chadron, Sidney, and Kemmerer. She was also an educator in Chadron, Kemmerer, and at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Her other positions included administrative assistant at the Pine Ridge Job Corps and church organist.
Steve, son of Bill and Darlene Yantzi, graduated from CSC in 1977 and worked as a coal quality supervisor with P&M Coal and Chevron Mining. He is now retired.
Ronald was born in Sidney in 1961. He earned two bachelor’s degrees in 1985, one in Agri-Business and Industrial Technology. He was the vice president of his senior class club and a member of the Industrial Arts Guild.
He and his wife, Michelle, have one son, Seth.
From XXXX to present, he operated the family farm. He was a county supervisor with Farmers’ Home Administration (FmHA) from 1986 to 1994.
He earned an associate’s degree in aviation maintenance technology in 1982 from Western Nebraska Technical College. (is this name correct?)
From 1994 to 1998, he was the loan production officer at Nebraska State Bank. From 1998 to 2001 he established and worked with Mortgage Banker Studnicka Consultants. From 2005-2006 he was a credit manager with FEC (we need the full name). From 2007-2011 he was a financial analyst with Cabela’s. From 2012-2014, he was the payroll manager and controller with Adams Industries. From 2014 to the present, he has been farming.
In 1981, he was named Nebraska’s County Supervisor of the Year for FmHA.
Seth graduated from Sidney High School and earned a bachelor’s degree at CSC in Math Education, grades 6-12, in May 2024.
He was an Eagle Leader, a member of the Blue Key Honor Society, and a member of Kappa Mu Epsilon.
He is a math teacher at Sidney High School.