(Cushing, Okla.) The Cushing Chamber of Commerce Business After School was held on Monday, January 26, 2015. Business After School is a Chamber program that honors Cushing’s education community.
Each month, one educator, one support staff and two high school seniors are honored. A reception is held at 4 p.m. in the Cushing Chamber of Commerce board room the last Monday of each school month (with the exception of September and December). Receptions are open to the public.
Those honored for the month of January were: Dr. John Konrad, teacher; Quita Baker, support personnel; Hannah Burris, CHS senior and Jordan Hogrefe, CHS senior.
A little bit about the honorees:
Dr. John Konrad teaches Advanced Physical Science, AP Physics and Biology at Cushing High School. He received a BS degree from Oklahoma State University and has a Ph. D. in engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Konrad spent 35 years in the aerospace industry, 10 years teaching and is a former astronaut. He and his wife Connie, have three children: James, John and Sarah. When asked what his greatest joy as a teacher has been, Dr. Konrad said, “Helping students mature to thinking, productive member of society.”
Support personnel Quita Baker, has worked with the Title VII students at Harrison School for the past four years. Quita is married to her husband Jeff and they have three children: Mallori, Cade and Jared. She enjoys floral design, sewing, gardening and photography. She also stated, “I work with the most amazing staff and consider it a privilege to be a part of the Harrison family.”
Hannah Burris, CHS senior, is the daughter of Kent and Margie Burris. She has a sister, Mariah and a brother, Ben. Her hobbies include swimming, sewing, volleyball, fishing and watching movies. Hannah is a member of the student council, National Honor Society and Tomorrow’s Leaders. She also plays basketball, participates in track (high jump) and cheer. She loves teaching swim lessons and states, “It’s so fun to see how much the children progress.” She sees herself in five years graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in strategic communications.
Jordan Hogrefe, CHS senior, enjoys singing and playing saxophone. His parents are Joe and Missy Hogrefe. He has one brother, Jared. Some of Jordan’s hobbies include listening to jazz and classical music. When asked to humbly say something he does really well, Jordan stated, “He considers himself a fairly decent singer. I’ve been singing practically my whole life.” In five years, he will be attending Southwestern Oklahoma State University, majoring in Music Education.
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