Speakers

Michael Heppler is a nationally recognized presenter on graduate and professional school applications and scholarship/fellowships. He is well known for offering a unique and proven approach to requesting letters of recommendation.  He is the creator and director of the Graduate School Prep Program (GSPP). This program is a series of seminars for undergraduate research scholars seeking successful strategies for submission of graduate school applications. This will be his 21st year to present this seminar at the Ronald E. McNair Heartland Research Conference in Kansas City, MO.

Mr. Heppler served as the Assistant Director in the Graduate College and Director of McNair Research Scholar Relations at Oklahoma State University from 1997 -2011. Over the past 25 years he has made presentations to over 3,000 undergraduate research scholars including research scholars in McNair and LSAMP programs.

A few additional honors and recognitions he has received for his work  are serving a featured speaker and the Moderator at the 2020 KY-WV (LSAMP) Regional Conference, National TRIO Day – Builder of Bridges Award, and received the highest rating as a seminar presenter at the Inaugural Oklahoma Ph.D. Boot Camp.

Mr. Heppler has been a strong advocate for first generation and under represented students knowing and understanding the graduate school preparation and application process.

Dr. Sara Mata is the Executive Director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives and Assistant Teaching Professor in Intervention Services and Leadership in Education (ISLE) at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Mata received a Bachelor’s in Sociology with an emphasis in Juvenile Corrections and Treatment, a Master’s in Community Counseling, a Master’s in Sociology, and a Doctorate in Social Foundations from Oklahoma State University.   

Dr. Mata is a 2022-2023 HACU-Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities La Academia de Liderazgo Fellow, a 2022 NASPA Pillar of the Profession, and currently serves on the Executive Committee for the NASPA Foundation Board as Member at Large. In addition to national service, Dr. Mata serves her local community as a Vice President of the Board for CASA-Court Appointed Special Advocates of Sedgwick County, a Board Member for the Mid America All-Indian Museum and is on the Education Committee for the Kansas Hispanic Education & Development Foundation (KHEDF).

Throughout Dr. Mata’s career in higher education, mentoring and advocating for students has been at the core and primary purpose of the work. Dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, Dr. Mata has mentored McNair Scholars, Honors Scholars, and OK-LSAMP-Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Scholars. Sara has been an avid supporter of NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education NUFP- Undergraduate Fellows Program and is a proud mentor to incredible mentees in the profession, in graduate programs as well as a current NUFP.

Dr. Rebecca Rodriguez Carey is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Emporia State University. She joined the department in 2018 after completing her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Missouri, where she also earned a minor in College Teaching and was a Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program Fellow. Her teaching and research interests include women and crime, women’s incarceration, gender, families and qualitative methods. She regularly teaches courses on introductory sociology, criminology, women and crime, sociology of gender and victimology and employs a range of high-impact learning practices in her teaching. Her current research study relies on in-depth interviews she conducted with women who were once pregnant in prison, in order to better understand how incarceration transforms pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. Her work can be found in Women & Criminal Justice and in Caged Women: Incarceration, Representation, & Media. She is a co-founder of the EAT Initiative, a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort aimed to combat food insecurity at ESU and in the greater Emporia community. She is active on campus and serves as the advisor of the Criminal Justice Student Organization among other initiatives. She was also named a 2022 recipient of the ESU Assessment Champion Award for her contributions to data-driven teaching practices. She received her M.A. in Sociology from the University of Missouri. A native Kansan, she earned her B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice from Wichita State University.

A third-generation Kansan, Dr. Kaye Monk-Morgan is the president and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), an internationally recognized center of excellence for leadership development and civic engagement. She previously served as the inaugural chief impact officer. Her work fosters civic leadership for stronger, healthier, and more prosperous communities in Kansas and beyond.

Service and education have been hallmarks of Monk-Morgan’s personal and professional story for decades. Prior to her time at the KLC, Monk-Morgan dedicated her talents to higher education. Over 30 years, she served in roles ranging from residence hall director to Assistant Dean of Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and ultimately the Vice President for Strategic Engagement and Planning. Her areas of responsibility varied over the years and included community and economic development, strategic planning, assessment and accreditation, and coordination of WSU’s First-Generation student services. Her longest appointment was as director of the TRIO Upward Bound Math Science program.

An active community servant, Monk-Morgan has served on non-profit and corporate boards at the local, state, regional and national levels. She currently serves as a board member for: NXTUS, a non-profit that catalyzes startup ecosystems, The African American Museum of Kansas; and Emprise Bank. She is a trustee for the Wichita Land Bank; and advisor to the Ulrich Museum at Wichita State University.

Her professional service record includes service as the board chair of tri-state, regional and national boards including Council for Opportunity in Education, a Washington-based, college access and success professional association and advocacy group. She is an advocate and faculty member for NASPA’s Center for First Generation Success, faculty for the Higher Learning Commission’s Advancing Strategy Institute, and member of the International Leadership Association.

A proud first-generation college graduate, Kaye has an earned Bachelor of Chemistry/Business, a Master of Arts in Public Administration, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Her research interests center on women in leadership and first-generation student success. She presents internationally on both topics.

While all of this is important, what really counts to Kaye is that she is a teacher, student, mentor, mentee, daughter, sister, auntie, wife, and most importantly a mother.  She is a life-long learner, aspiring yogi, wannabe long-distance runner and tried and true girlfriend.  She lives in Wichita, KS, with her husband Derek.  They share two, Wichita-based, young adult sons, Payton and Cameron.