Emporia State University hosted its annual Black and Gold Gala as part of its week of homecoming festivities Friday.
The event honored Natasha Oakes, Tony Schountz and Martin Teasley, three distinguished alumni university President Matt Baker said exemplify the spirit of ESU.
A professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and pathology at Colorado State University, Schountz got his master’s degree in Biology in 1991 before completing his doctorate at Kansas State University. His time at ESU, Schountz said, paved the way for his career to blossom.
Like Schountz, Teasley said his time at ESU was invaluable to his post-grad endeavors. A 1972 graduate of the university masters program for library sciences, Teasley spent his career working in the National Archives, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, the White House and more.
As an alumnus with a grandson graduating from ESU in December, Teasley said he couldn’t be more proud to pass the hornet tradition down to the next generation.
The deputy athletic director, chief administrative officer and senior woman administrator at West Virginia University, Oakes said she still couldn’t believe she was being honored at Friday’s gala.
Her experience as an ESU track and field athlete, Oakes said, shaped the way she now leads an NCAA Division I athletics department– a facet of her university experience Oakes said she’s incredibly grateful for.
ESU’s annual Black and Gold gala is held every year to honor alumni and community members during homecoming week.
