Monday, August 13, 2007
Heidie Grove is busy year-round. She splits her time between advising in the University Advising Center and coordinating Hawk Week, which takes year-round planning. She also helps plan Success Week in September.
While growing up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Grove dreamed of having a career as a fashion designer.
Heidie Grove, a project coordinator and academic advisor at the University, is coordinating Hawk Week this year. This is her first year in charge of the Hawk Week activities, which begin Sunday, Aug. 9.
“I always knew I was just one of those people that love fashion and learning about it,” Grove said. “It was just always an interest area for me.”
Grove earned her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, where she majored in communication studies and apparel merchandising.
While at Iowa State she studied abroad in Swansea, Wales. She didn’t know anybody in the program, but that didn’t stop her from proving that she could travel alone from Germany to Prague by train.
“It was something that I wanted to do, and I guess I learned that I could survive and I could do this and that there’s all this world to see,” Grove said. “I wanted to be part of it and learn more about it.”
Her experience studying abroad changed her life and her goals.
“I thought, ‘I want to share this with other people,’” she said.
After college, she worked for a dot-com business in Omaha for about a year and then decided to go back to school and get a master’s degree in education at Miami University in Ohio. She worked as an academic adviser to 250 students in a residence hall.
Grove said she found a lot of students were from the east coast or the Chicago area at Miami University in Ohio.
“They were very high-achieving students just like they are at KU,” Grove said.
Jaybowl employees Trent Overbey, KU alum from Berryton, Kenny Goodell, Wichita senior, and Tim Fields, Lincoln, Neb. senior prepare tents to be rented out for several events throughout the year. "Hawk week is probably going to be pretty nuts, everyone wants to rent these things," Overbey said.
“The thing I find out about KU students is that they are just so wonderful, so welcoming, so friendly, hardworking, very strong-valued,” Grove said. “And I just can’t say enough about the students here.”
Shanda Hurler, assistant director of the University Advising Center and former Hawk Week coordinator, said Grove’s diverse background and work ethic has had a positive influence.
“She’s done a great job of learning the ropes on her own and bringing her own touch to Hawk Week,” Hurler said. “I think she’s perfect to be Hawk Week Coordinator.”
Grove has met with students and staff on campus to find ways to make Hawk Week better every year. When she isn’t working, Grove likes to read, workout and spend time with her husband Stu, and family and friends.
Grove and her husband are sports fans. While attending the men’s basketball game against Iowa State University last year in Allen Fieldhouse, Grove said, she didn’t take sides.
“I went in neutral garb,” she said.
Grove said that in the future she would like to explore the option of living abroad and teaching English. She’d also like to travel to Thailand, Australia and other countries.
But for now, Grove is happy where she is. Although she has traveled all around the world, she feels right at home at the University.
“I feel like I’m definitely part of the KU family,” she said. “This job has been amazing because I’ve gotten connected with so many people on campus and got to work with a lot of amazing staff and students. It’s everything I hoped it would be.”
— Edited by Dianne Smith
Study abroad sets students up for success
Deadline to apply for summer, fall and 2009-2010 academic year programs is ...
Data shows study abroad myth is untrue
Students who study abroad are more likely to graduate in four years ...
Hawk Week gets in gear
Traditions Night, a student-favorite, takes a different look this year, with a ...
Scholarship named in honor of honors lecturer
The Mary A. Klayder Scholarship was donated by professor of English Bernard ...
KU 11th in study abroad participation
During the 2006-2007 school year, more than a quarter of KU undergraduates ...
Student chosen as Young Ambassador
Brandy Groff is one of 25 students chosen nationwide to promote study ...
KU students adjust to life abroad
Several departments at the University offer resources for students far from home.
Campus groups reach out to new students
New students looking to find their place at the University had the ...
Students learn to study abroad on a ...
As the dollar’s exchange rate worsens, people learn to live frugally in ...
University student named as Rhodes scholar
Kelsey Murrell became the University's 26th Rhodes scholar after a year-long application ...
Who's Who: Keri Green
After realizing that her career in law was not making her happy, ...
Student studies abroad in small village
KU student Chelsea Cooley learns to appreciate the environment while studying in ...
Internships let students work abroad
By interning in Europe, KU students from differing academic backgrounds get unique ...
Students suffer returning from studying abroad
Thousands affected by reverse culture shock upon return to American culture.
Senior promotes studying abroad in Germany
After his own meaningful study abroad experience in the country, Andreas Graf ...
Pre-law fair brings 70 schools to campus
The annual event provides students the opportunity to survey their post-grad options.
Crime still an issue despite fewer students
As the student population drops in the summer months, crime remains unabated.
KU Information Technology promotes Hawk Drive to ...
Previously available only to faculty and staff, the service promises one gigabyte ...
Miyakawa: More than 'study' abroad
Students miss opportunities by avoiding interaction with locals.
Know your Student Senate candidates
Learn more about the candidates for Student Senate
A Matter of interpretation: Student and believer
For Kim, spending a lot of time learning in an academic environment ...
KU grad left legacy of courage
2010 graduate Jessica Roark, who battled cancer for most of her undergraduate ...
Study abroad is possible despite economy
Financial aid and personal budgeting can make travel affordable.
From foster child to college grad
Former foster children face a difficult road in college.
Students throw on aprons to tackle foreign ...
ECM class A-Broad Cuisine offers an opportunity for students to further their ...
KU study abroad program ranks within top ...
The University tied for seventh with Michigan State.
Organization provides internships abroad
Ashlee Crowl has traveled all over Europe, and thanks to a student-run ...
KU law student has plenty to cheer ...
KU launches new study abroad in China
Business students can choose from two Chinese universities.
Studying abroad in Africa enriching
Weak dollar attracts students to United States, ...
The falling dollar and economic growth in home countries are favorable for ...
Petition supports Israel program
The University’s study abroad policy does not allow students to study abroad ...
Professor says call to stage was call ...
Dennis Christilles, a professor in the department of theatre and film, says ...
A matter of interpretation: Mimic and freelancer
Kim Bates, KU's interpreter coordinator, spends a significant amount of her time ...
Programs certifying more students
More students are involved in University programs dealing with service, research and ...
Donation boosts study abroad program
A donation from Larry and Donna Horner will raise the maximum scholarship ...
A Matter of Interpretation
Kim Bates depends on her love of learning, teamwork and faith as ...
Summer internships now available
The KU Office of Study Abroad offers internships in various fields.
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID