Kansas Stories

Patti Unruh - Daughters of the American Revolution
I'm a 5th-generation Kansan. My paternal great-great-grandparents, Eslie and Susan Quiett, migrated from Illinois to Kansas before 1859 (before Kansas became a state in 1861). Eslie and Susan Quiett operated the ferry that ran on the Kansas River at Tecumseh from 1865-1873. I am honored to serve on the Kansas 250 Commission as we prepare for the United States Semiquincentennial!

Holly Lofton - Chair of Kansas State Fair Board & Director of Lindsborg Visitor's Bureau
A Montana native, my Kansas story begins as a 4-year-old, moving with my educator parents to western Kansas as they accepted new teaching jobs in a rural community. I have loved the High Plains of this state, as a result of growing up in this area, and more than the Plains...the people. The people of Kansas seem to know the importance of community—helping each other with everything from advice about a new baby to fixing a flat tire. I truly believe Kansans are experts in doing community. My Kansas story has continued, as an adult, now living in central Kansas, again choosing rural as a way of life for my family. My husband and I have raised our five children in Kansas from birth, and each of them loves this state the way that we do. It is proudly home to each of us. We continue to champion rural living for Kansas as we serve in multiple capacities on Kansas boards, committees, and as volunteers. Kansas has been good to us, and we hope to be equally good to Kansas.

Stacey Knoell - Executive Director for Kansas African American Affairs Commission
A Kansas Legacy My roots in Kansas run deep—three generations on my mother’s side and two on my father’s. It’s a history marked by resilience, service, and a steady belief in the power of education and community. On my maternal side, the story begins with my great-grandfather, Isaac Franklin Bradley, Sr., who was born enslaved in Joplin, Missouri. Despite those beginnings, he forged a remarkable path, eventually settling in Lawrence and becoming the first Black man to graduate from the University of Kansas School of Law. His legal career blossomed in Kansas City, Kansas, where he served as a lawyer and later as a judge. He was elected Justice of the Peace, appointed Assistant County Attorney in Wyandotte County, and helped found Douglass Hospital—the first Black community-owned and operated hospital west of the Mississippi. It was also the first modern hospital in the region to welcome all patients equally, regardless of race. He was also part of a national movement for civil rights. In 1905, he became a founding member of the Niagara Movement alongside W.E.B. Du Bois, advocating for direct action against racial segregation. This movement would later lay the groundwork for the formation of the NAACP. His son—my grandfather, Isaac Franklin Bradley, Jr.—continued the legacy, also graduating from KU’s School of Law and building his own legal career in Kansas City, Kansas. My mother, Frances, was part of that same tradition of service. A KU graduate as well, she dedicated her career to teaching music in the public schools of USD 501, nurturing generations of students in KCK. On my father’s side, my grandfather moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where he raised eight children while working for the U.S. Postal Service. He also ran a family business—Robinsons Delivery—that thrived for four decades. And like so many of his generation, he served our country in World War II. Taken together, my family’s Kansas story spans the legal system, public education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and military service. These are just threads in the larger tapestry of Kansas history—Our story is part of what makes Kansas’ story great.

Dr. Crystal J. Davis - Founder and CEO of CJD Consulting Solutions
My Kansas Story of Resilience and Servant Leadership By Dr. Crystal J. Davis I was born in Kansas City, Kansas, but Junction City is where my soul took root. It’s where I raised my son, built my business, and nurtured a vision that would eventually span the globe. In 2005, I launched CJD Consulting Solutions, LLC, not from a boardroom, but from a humble Kansas home office with a refurbished printer, a secondhand desk, and a fierce belief: that leadership starts with service. As a Black woman, a single mother, and a faith-filled founder, my path wasn’t easy. But Kansas has a way of making you strong. The wind doesn’t care about your resume. The prairie doesn’t hand out shortcuts. Out here, you learn that perseverance is your currency, and service is your compass. From this soil, I’ve trained leaders in corporate boardrooms, military bases, nonprofits, and classrooms. I’ve helped people find their voice, restore broken teams, and lead with compassion from a town many people couldn’t find on a map.. I live by our state motto: Ad Astra Per Aspera. But it’s the “Per Aspera”—through difficulties—that has defined me. As a mother. As a servant leader. As a woman who chose to bloom where she was planted—and keep blooming. Through the grit, through the fire, through the sacred soil of a state that never gives up, Kansas rises. And so do I.

Angeline F. Johnson - Business Owner
Six years ago, I made a life-changing decision – I moved to Kansas. As an African American woman venturing into a new state, I carried both hope and uncertainty. Diversity mattered to me, and I wondered if Kansas would truly be a place where I could thrive. Kansas became the soil where my entrepreneurial vision took root and flourished. Starting a business is never easy, but this state provided the foundation I needed. Through the challenges of those early days – the long hours, the uncertainty, the learning curve – I discovered the true meaning of "Per Aspera." Through difficulties, yes, but not alone. The friendships I've built here are lifelong bonds with people who embody the Kansas spirit of genuine care. My professional colleagues have shown me what community service really means – they reflect a shared belief that Kansas is a state for all, where we take care of one another because that's who we are. When I held the keys to my first home I ever bought, I understood that Kansas had given me something I had only dreamed about before. Homeownership, business ownership, community ownership – Kansas made space for all of it. I won't pretend the journey has been without challenges. But what has held me here are the genuine people who live here – people whose lights shine bright enough to illuminate hope, who truly embrace the humanity of diversity, and who see differences as strengths rather than divisions. Kansas taught me that "Ad Astra Per Aspera" isn't just about enduring difficulties – it's about finding people who will walk through those difficulties with you, who will celebrate your victories as their own, and who will help you reach for stars you didn't know you could touch. Six years later, I'm not just living in Kansas – I'm helping to write its continuing story!

Kayanna Adams - High School Teacher
I am Kansas through and through—born on its plains, educated in its classrooms, and shaped by its communities. I grew up here dreaming of becoming the kind of history teacher I once needed: someone who could make the past come alive and give students more than dates and names. My goal was to return to my alma mater and offer the kind of education that could open doors. In April 2017, my path took a sharp and devastating turn. While driving with my two young children, I hydroplaned and flipped my vehicle several times. Thanks to their car seats, my children were unharmed, but I was ejected from the vehicle. I woke in the hospital with broken legs, neck, back, ribs, and shoulder blade, battling a severe infection that eventually led to the amputation of my left leg. At just 23 years old, with two children under the age of five, I faced life as a new amputee. I was denied disability, and my previous employment was no longer possible. In 2020, I decided surviving wasn’t enough. I enrolled at my local community college, determined to earn a degree despite my rocky academic past. I graduated with pride and soon transferred to Fort Hays State University to pursue dual bachelor’s degrees in History and Secondary Education. Then, the dream came full circle: my alma mater offered me a position as an emergency substitute teacher. Walking into those same hallways, not as a student but as an educator, felt like coming home. Now in my third year teaching high school social studies—U.S. History, Civics, Native American History, and Current Events—I will graduate in December and step into a licensed teaching role in January. I’m also pursuing a master’s degree through Fort Hays' accelerated master's program in History, with eyes on a PhD and the university classroom. Kansas has taught me that hardship doesn’t have the final word. The road may be rough, but it can still lead upward—toward hope, toward achievement, toward the stars.

Jay Price - Historian, Wichita State University
In an odd way, my per aspera challenge has been connecting to Kansas and the place. Finding a sense of place has been a story throughout my life. Although I was born in New Mexico because I was the son of transplants from Michigan, I never felt like I was really a New Mexican… more of a native born foreigner. So, to answer that all too common question that I received over the years: what brought you to Kansas? The answer is academia. In the academic field, you go where the job is. I applied for a position at Wichita State University and received it. The Sunflower State is the friendly embodiment of that “Midwest nice,” but welcoming transplants is complicated. This is the place where high school ties are a very big deal and a point of pride is being a third, fourth, or 5th generation Kansan…which is well-meaning but sometimes can give that sense of “if you don’t have roots here, then you will never really be one of us." I did find that I have a few ancestors who are buried near Hillsboro, BTW. On the other hand, I have long said that Kansas will give you a chance if you give it a chance. It takes effort to reach out and learn the local stories and traditions. Over the years, these connections have included friends across the state, now generations of students, colleagues who took an outsider under their wings, and, having married a Kansan, a network of in-laws. One thing they taught me was that it was not about being from Kansas as much as demonstrating that you are willing to take the journey to work with the state going forward. Together, they helped show how rich and complicated this state has been. Kansas is a place of ideals and falling short of those ideals. It is that place where the North, the South, the East, the West, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the Great Plains all come together. One can make a meaningful life here. After all, icons like John Brown, Carry Nation, and even Dwight Eisenhower were not actually born in the state. I call myself a Kansan by choice. I don’t know if I will ever call myself a Kansan without the qualifiers…not because I am opposed to Kansas, but quite the opposite. It feels like claiming something that I should not. Truly being a Kansan is perhaps indeed a status to which one must be born or at least go to school to claim. Maybe it is that my childhood memories are of frito pies and biscochito cookies and not cinnamon rolls and chili. My folks are still in the Southwest, and I travel to see them regularly. Each direction I go, however, whether to the Southwest or to Kansas, I say I am going home.

Jessica Andrews - Business Owner 
As a born and raised Kansas native, my roots run deep in this state. I’ve always believed that strength grows here—through the soil of hardship, faith, and perseverance. My journey began right here in Junction City, where I’ve spent most of my life. As a young single mother with little to my name, I had to learn early on how to navigate life with grit and grace. There were many days filled with uncertainty, and more than a few where I cried from sheer exhaustion—not because I was giving up, but because I was simply tired. Still, I pressed on. I leaned into my passion for beauty and service. With God as my foundation and my son as my motivation, I built my business—Js Makeup Artistry Inc.—from the ground up. What started as a dream has become a full-service beauty and skincare brand serving individuals across Kansas and beyond. I also earned my license as an esthetician and educator, pouring my knowledge and experience into the next generation of artists and entrepreneurs. Through it all, Kansas has remained my home, my grounding place. The support of this community, the lessons learned through struggle, and the opportunities to serve have all shaped who I am today. Now, I get to empower individuals not just through beauty, but through purpose. I remind them they are seen, valued, and worthy—just as I had to remind myself during my own journey. My story is one of transformation, resilience, and legacy. I’m proud to be a Kansas girl through and through, still here, still growing, and still believing that no matter how tough the road gets, something beautiful is always on the other side.

Addy 
8th Grade

Christina
8th Grade

Holden 
7th Grade

Abbey 
6th Grade

Karliegh 
6th Grade

MaKyna
6th Grade

Neely
6th Grade