By RORY MOORE
FHSU University Communications
Fort Hays State University’s Student Engagement, Teacher Education, and Speech-Language Pathology Departments collaborated with Serena’s Sunflower to sponsor the 4th annual Serena’s Sunflower 5K and Color Run outside the Fischli Willis Center for Student Success on Saturday. The race honors Serena Blaske, a former Fort Hays student in the teacher education program and student athletics manager who passed away in 2021.
Linda Feldstein, associate professor in teacher education, organized the event to memorialize Baske with her family.
“She was very involved in sports around the university,” Feldstein said. “After she passed, her parents started a memorial scholarship in her name, and we wanted to find a way to raise some money to fund that scholarship. We wanted it to be something that was active and sports-oriented. So, we decided on a 5K. Everything we’ve raised will go directly to the scholarship fund.”
On average, the event has raised approximately $1,000 for the scholarship fund and has continued the impact Blaske had on Fort Hays.
“Serena was the football team manager,” Feldstein said. “She was involved with basketball and intramurals and was really embedded in the life of the university. People talk about what a lovely person she was; big smile, lots of friendly words for everybody she met, and she was a really remarkable individual.”
Blaske’s parents, Keith and Michelle, co-sponsor and participate in the run to remember their daughter and keep her legacy alive.
“It’s overwhelming to know that even four years later, the school still cares about what she did and is still supporting her memorial scholarship that we give out every year,” Michelle said. “The first year [we did this], people came out and said she would talk to them during all the events, from football to the media, and when she was lifeguarding at Gross [Memorial] Coliseum.”
Keith said he is also overwhelmed by the support they have received and is proud of the legacy Serena left behind at Fort Hays.
“All the support we get from everybody, it’s growing,” he said. “It’s getting bigger each year, and we hear about the stuff that she did, which we didn’t know about. All the good things she did.”
Donations can be made to the Serena Blaske Athletic Scholarship at https://foundation.fhsu.edu/serena-blaske-memorial/.