2024 FHSU Fall Conference

The 2024 Fall Conference at Fort Hays State University will gather students for a fall conference filled with amazing speakers, sessions, learning opportunities and staff bonding for KSPA member schools. We are excited to offer three different regional events happening during September and October. Welcome to Fort Hays State University and enjoy your day in Hays!

Here’s what’s in store for you today!

MONDAY, OCT. 7

REGISTRATION: 8:30-8:45 a.m.

Advisers, please check in your group when arrive in the lobby outside of the second floor ballroom of the Memorial Union. Enjoy donuts and juice to start the day off right.

WELCOME : 8:45-9:00 a.m. in the Ballroom

Members of the KSPA board of directors will welcome students and advisers, announce recent KSPA award winners, and outline the schedule for the day and the KSPA offerings for the rest of the year. 

SESSION SCHEDULE*

Session 1: 9:10 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Session 2: 10:10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m

Session 3: 11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

*Full schedule of speakers for each session will be released by Sept. 6

Here’s who will be sharing their wisdom with you at the conference:

Jessica Augustine, Hays High School

Jessica Augustine started her career at Kapaun Mt. Carmel, where for six years, she advised the newsmagazine and yearbook and began a videojournalism program. She then taught English and journalism at Rock Creek for 11 years, reviving the newspaper, creating a newscast and improving the yearbook. In 2019, she started teaching at Hays High School, where she advises the newsmagazine, online newspaper and yearbook, along with teaching journalism, photography and web design. She also instructs English, education and leadership courses for Highland Community College, is a JEA, KSPA and NSPA member, has earned her CJE, has judged for KSPA, NSPA and CSPA, and has been a KSPA Board Representative for Area 1 since 2020.

Nick Schwien, Fort Hays State

Nick Schwien is the Fort Hays State University Tiger Media Network director. Tiger Media Network content creators are responsible for generating content for tigermedianet.com, Fort Hays State University’s online student news dissemination platform, as well as creating video and audio content for playback on our online and terrestrial television station and online radio network.

Nickole Byers, Main Street Media

Nickole Byers is a 21-year veteran of the rural journalism industry. Her company, Main Street Media, owns 24 newspapers in three states, and she acts as a GM for an average of six papers each week. She also serves as the Northwest Kansas representative on the Kansas Press Association Board of Directors. She has served a variety of capacities on several non-profit groups, including Chamber of Commerce president, vice president and secretary, and the Ellis High School Alumni Association president.

Jeremy Deckard, Freelance Media Consultant

Jeremy Deckard was the editor of a KSPA All-State Newspaper in 1999, worked at a college newspaper and two community papers, taught high school history, and was a yearbook advisor. He taught collegiately, worked as a media consultant for a professional baseball team, and covered the Kansas City Royals for five years including the 2024 World Series. He is now working as a scout for a national website and would like to share stories about how modern journalism has evolved in the classroom and business world.

Alicia Feyerherm, Fort Hays State student

Alicia Feyerherm is a senior at Fort Hays State University majoring in Information Networking and Telecommunications with an emphasis in Digital Media Production and Journalism and a minor in Public Relations and Advertising. A native of Hays, Kan., Alicia was part of Hays High School’s newspaper and video production staff. Alicia has won several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards and earned first in Feature Writing at the state KSPA contest in 2019. As editor-in-chief her senior year, the newspaper was awarded All-Kansas distinction. Now a student journalist at Fort Hays, Alicia has worked for Tiger Media Network as a writer and video producer and works as a Communications Assistant at Midwest Energy.

Jeffrey Welch, Wichita High School South 

Jeffrey Welch advises the yearbook, newspaper and news website at Wichita High School South. He is the journalism pathway lead for the Wichita Public Schools and a long-time member of the KSPA board. In addition to teaching at South, he is also an adjunct instructor at Butler Community College.

Cristina Janney, Hays Post

Cristina Janney is the editor of the Hays Post. She has been a reporter, editor and publisher in Kansas for more than 30 years, winning various state and national awards for writing, photography, radio and design.

• Your All-Kansas Yearbook Entry: Save postage by bringing your yearbook to the conference to submit for an All-Kansas yearbook critique. If you haven’t registered your school’s 2023-2024 yearbook for our critique service, it’s not too late! You can purchase one here. Be sure to fill out this form to send with your book or you can email the completed form to the KSPA office (staff@kspaonline.org).
• A laptop: some sessions will encourage you to learn on your laptop during the session.

• The event is in the Memorial Union, 600 Park St, Hays, KS 67601. Most meeting rooms can be found on the second floor, although some sessions will meet on the second floor outside the ballroom before walking to another location on campus.
• For more information on parking, please visit this LINK. Busses can unload in the orange cones outside of the circle drive of the union and park at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Check out the Memorial Union map here.

There is no break in the day for lunch. Once the last session concludes, schools are free to dine wherever they choose. If schools are interested in grabbing lunch at the union after the conference is over, here is a link for the food options in the FHSU union: https://dineoncampus.com/forthays/

Below are the schools that are registered to participate in the conference at this location: