Meet Alex Watkins

📍 Hometown: Blue Springs, MO
🎓 Major: Educational Studies and Psychology

➜ Why did you choose K-State and the College of Education?

I’m a first-generation student, so the college experience was new to me. I visited K-State on a tour, and it was the classic, cheesy K-State story...once I was here, I felt at home.

We all say it, but it’s real. I came here and immediately found a community.

I started in psychology because I wanted to be a school counselor. After a semester, I took a gap semester and then talked to Lindsey Thyer, an education academic advisor. She gave me the full overview of the College of Education, and I was intrigued.

I felt so at home, and I felt like I was part of something that was going to make a positive difference. It seemed like the place I was supposed to be.

➜ What has being a first-generation college student meant to you?

Leading up to college, I didn’t enjoy school and was told I shouldn’t attend college. I was told to go directly into the workforce.

I’m highly dyslexic and dysgraphic, so I thought that meant I wasn’t supposed to go to college. I started working a little bit and realized how much I valued knowledge, education and making an impact.

As a first-generation student, you have to make a full sacrifice and decision for yourself and tell your family that you’re going this route. I had to make that decision on my own and decide that I valued making an impact through education more than I did in the workforce.

➜ What organizations are you involved in on campus?

⭐ As a College of Education ambassador, you can feel the college’s direction, motivation and impact on students when you walk into the room.

Shortly after I joined, I became the recruitment officer. I built a network within education and became confident interacting with everyone — professors, the dean, students, faculty and staff.

It showed me the behind-the-scenes of the College of Education, and I learned to become the person I wanted to be. Through the role, we revamped the entire recruitment process and increased recruitment by 50%.

I was very passionate about the organization, so I ran for and was elected president. I can’t explain how much of a positive impact it’s made on my career and my life. It takes up a lot of time, but it’s time that I value and enjoy.

⭐ I’m also involved with Ed Astra, an organization focused on bringing rural educators back to rural schools. It’s truly eye-opening to see how fulfilling a teaching job can be.

⭐ I am also involved with Call Me MiSTER, a motivated community of male educators working together to be strong role models for future students while supporting one another on the path to becoming teachers.

We travel to elementary schools to host STEM fairs, and you can feel the joy of the kids and teachers. Students are applying their knowledge about science while having a phenomenal time.

They could have a great or difficult situation at home, so you really feel your impact in moments like that.

➜ What’s the atmosphere like in the College of Education?

The atmosphere is enthusiastic, optimistic and realistic.

In the College of Education, you walk in and get a smile. When I first switched to the College of Education and met with my advisor, I was treated as a friend instead of being placed in a hierarchical dynamic.

That was the biggest issue I had in high school. I never felt less than people with higher accolades, but I was always treated that way.

When I came to the College of Education, I was treated as an equal, a collaborator and a friend.

Joining the college influenced and empowered me to bring out my fun side, teacher side, giving side and more.

➜ What sets K-State apart from other universities?

The other Division I schools I toured felt like you were just going there to study, leave and get on with your career.

When I came to K-State, I was asked more about my life than I could even think about at the time. I wasn’t ready for someone to care for me at a university level because I was coming in as a student who wasn’t confident in school and had many learning disabilities.

When you come onto campus, everyone’s smiling and everyone’s greeting each other. All of Manhattan has the same environment. It’s just beautiful.

As someone from a metro area, you don’t meet that type of person very often.

➜ What’s one of your favorite memories from K-State?

For my first STEM fair with Ed Astra, we drove three hours to Sedan, Kansas, to visit a 1A elementary school.

I was running an egg-drop activity, and I had to climb onto the catwalk to drop them. I had about 70 eggs to drop, and I was getting ready to drop the first one when I heard my name being chanted.

Slowly, my name got louder, and 200 elementary students were chanting for me.

They did it every time I dropped an egg. It was the most heartwarming and impactful thing I’ve ever experienced.

The whole elementary school was chanting my name because it was a fun event that was making them happy. It was a really, really cool experience.

That same day, word got around that I was a big football player. I was in high school, but not in college. The kids took it as if I were the best K-State football player of all time.

Kids were coming up to me, asking for advice and having me sign things. I handed out more signatures that day than I have in my entire life.

I wasn’t going to tell them I wasn’t a football player because they were all so happy.

➜ What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to get my master’s in education and teach for a few years. I want to teach fifth grade, science, preferably, and coach on top of that.

Then, I plan to get my Ph.D. in psychology and become a college professor. I want to research epigenetics and the application of that, helping students with learning disabilities in a holistic fashion have a better chance at education and learning comprehension than I did growing up.

It’s truly the reason why I’m here: to give kids who feel unheard and unsupported, like I did, the chance they deserve.