WS
Wyatt Sander
  • Health Promotion
  • Class of 2018
  • Louisburg, Kansas

Wyatt Sander Named an Earl W. Sauder Scholar

2016 Dec 14

Wyatt Sander of Emporia, Kansas, was one of 36 student-athletes from all 15 of Emporia State's intercollegiate sports named as 2016-17 Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholars. Those student-athletes were celebrated Nov. 28 during the annual luncheon at the Sauder Alumni Center.

Kent Weiser, executive director of intercollegiate athletics, said a key aspect of his selection process for each Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholar is a question he asks himself about the late Earl W. Sauder.

"I had the honor of knowing Earl Sauder for many years," said Weiser. "Something I always ask myself during the selection process is 'Would I be able to introduce this young person to Earl Sauder, and would he be proud of them?'"

Earl Sauder established the Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship in 2004 with a substantial gift in excess of $1 million. Even after his passing in 2006, the Sauder family has continued to build on his legacy by enhancing the scholarship with gifts of their own.

In 2013, Earl Sauder's son Steve Sauder and his wife, Bobbi Sauder, gave a significant gift to the Now & Forever Campaign that doubled the annual output of the Earl W. Sauder Athletic Scholarship.

"I know that Earl would be very proud that these student-athletes are Hornets as well as their success in their lives - their academic lives and athletics," said Weiser. "Without the endowed gift by Earl Sauder and the follow-up gift by Steve Sauder and the Sauder family, I can't tell you the impact that it makes on the athletics department on our ability to recruit and to have teams that we're proud of."

Sander, a junior majoring in Health Promotion, competes in track/cross country for ESU.

Steve Sauder is the president of Emporia's Radio Stations, Inc., (KVOE AM & FM and KFFX-FM) and also a founder and chairman of the Board of Managers of ValuNet, Emporia's fiber-optic broadband network that makes it one of only two gigabyte communities in Kansas.

"I went with my son Jamie and the Central Missouri Mules to watch them play in the national baseball tournament one year," said Steve Sauder. "While I was there, I spent time with their coaches and saw firsthand what a significant gift could do for their baseball program.

"I came home and one day, my dad and I were talking and I told him that if he gave a substantial gift to Emporia State Athletics, it would be transformative. When he established the scholarship program, he made sure that all 15 sports were taken care of. There's some irony that my father was never an athlete, but became the benefactor for this scholarship, which is important to what goes on here. We're really proud of it."