Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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In their apartment, O ' Haro and S ' r , Ler watch a news program. O ' Hara and Stryker agreed living together benefitted their working relationship- It all began with the foun- dation of friendship we had established, O ' Hara said. Through living with Travis, I am now able to anticipote what he ' s thinking and I am better able to understand his perspective Photo by Nicole Donnert Working in their office in the K-State Student Union, Nov. 25, John O ' Hara, senior in finance, and Travis Stryker, fifth-year in architectural engineering, wrap up their day before leaving town for the three- day Thanskgiving break. Student Body President O ' Hara transcribes his phone messages while vice president Stryker sched- ules a December meeting. Photo by Nicole Donnert presidential teamwork z 23

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by Lindsay Porter John Mathew O ' Hara Senior in finance Student Body President Hometown: Solina, Kan. Favorite book: The Hobbit by J. R.R.Tolkien Favorite movie: Good Will Hunting Favorite sport: football, basketball or tennis Free-time activities: traveling, relaxing, watching college football with friends Favorite Manhattan hangout: Porter ' s or Kite ' s Stryker said: You can tell he ' s a finance major. He ' s conser- vative and organized. He ' s passionate about the things he does. Travis Eugene Stryker Fifth-year in architectural engineering Student Body Vice President Hometov n: Topeka Favorite book: Lift by Bob Vosburgh Favorite movie: Joe Dirt Favorite sport: snow skiing Free-time activities: going flying, spending time with his fiance Favorite Manhattan restau- rant: Rock-a-Belly Deli, Carlos O ' Kelly ' s or Kreem Kup O ' Hara said: Travis is dependable, trustworthy, hard- working, business-oriented, driven and determined. mgful Student leaders, fraternity brothers, off- campus roommates and friends, student body president and vice president completed projects through hard work, long hours and powerful team effort. Student Body President John O ' Hara, senior in finance, and Vice Presi- dent Travis Stryker, fifth -year in architectural engineering, met at Delta Upsilon fraternity in fall 2001. Though the pair lived together only one semester at DU, they shared an apartment with Christopher Althoff, graduate student in business administration, during their term in office. Ahhough they shared an office and an apartment, Stryker said they were rarely in the same place at the same time. We have not seen each other much at home and we ' re almost never in the office at the same time, he said, but we can always find each other. We ' re going in different directions throughout the day so we ' ll try to get together at the end of the day to catch up. While working on university projects, O ' Hara said constant com- munication was necessary to keep each other informed. We kind of work together on everything, but one of us is in charge of the project, Stryker said. We both help each other out. We ' re big into teamwork and having multiple ideas. Althoff said th e duo ' s differences strengthened their working relationship. Travis is more logical, he said. As an engineering type, he ' s very analytical. John is more emotional. He looks at the effects for the people. It really blends well. A lot of what they deal with is two-sided — there is a logistical side that Travis understands and John looks at how an issue will affect the students. It helps them do great things. Students in different colleges, O ' Hara and Stryker related to a greater vari- ety of student issues because their combined experiences covered more areas, Stryker said. He said they used varying experiences to watch each other ' s back. We play devil ' s advocate to each other, Stryker said. I can ' t think of something we truly have opposite views on. We do have a friendship and that is most important. We question each other ' s ideas about where we ' re headed and what actions to take. We know not to let something break up our friendship. I think a tru e friend questions everything to make sure you do the right thing. Ahhoff said O ' Hara and Stryker ' s actions reflected their commitment. They care a lot, he said. If they have bad days... sometimes they are worried they didn ' t do a good-enough job. They take things seri- ously. They are passionate individuals. 22Dstudent life

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-r f I u •■ ' r- y fij. : 0 4 . At the K-State Student Union, Bolakumar Knsh- namurthi, graduate student in computer science, loads his bags into the van with Nitu Narula, graduate student in computer science. They were driven to Kansas City International airport with other students to fly home as part of the Interna- tional Rides Program. Kelly Thocker, graduate student in student counseling and personal services, drove the shuttle- The best part for me is knowing that they ' re safe and not having to take Roadrunner and spend their hard-earned money, she said. Photo by Nicole Donnert Waiting for the International Rides shuttle to arrive a t the K-State Student Union, TJitu Narula talks with friends as Darius Draudvila, sopho- more in kinesiology, talks with his roommate Josef Karos, senior in kinesiology. The program initiated its first run to the airport Dec, 17 and continued through finals week. International students were picked up at the Union and Jordine Ter- race Apartments ' Thomas J. Frith Community Center. This program assists in making these students ' lives a little bit eoiser in a very unfamiliar setting, Kelly Thocker said. Photo by Nicole Donnert 24nstudent life