Dance therapy

May 26, 2015 by
Kailea Tilden dances in front of the Millenium Arch on campus.

Kailea Tilden dances in front of the Millenium Arch on campus. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Everyone has a passion for something. For Kailea Tilden, that passion is dance.

Through dance, Tilden can show off her own uniqueness. Teaching others to dance, she says, helps her draw out their confidence and creativity, too.

“Dancing definitely improves the lives of others,” says Tilden, who graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences in May 2015. “It’s fun, it’s exercise, and you get to express yourself and be creative. It’s just a really great experience for everybody that’s involved.”

Tilden taught dance at a Rolla studio for two years before starting her own program at the local health and fitness center.

Tilden performs during a production of "The Little Mermaid" by the S&T Ballet and Dance Club.

Tilden performs during a production of “The Little Mermaid” by the S&T Ballet and Dance Club. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

“I am the coordinator and sole instructor for the program, which has around 25 kids and includes seven different classes,” says Tilden, who has coached and choreographed for competition dancers for three years.

As a student, Tilden served as president of the Missouri S&T Ballet and Dance Club for two years. There, she directed, choreographed and starred in several full-scale dance productions and led a group of over 40 student dancers and children from the community.

“I am in the position to share my love of dance with many people each day – from toddlers to adults,” she says.

Tilden was also a member of the Scrubs Pre-Med Society. She completed over 60 hours of observation with physicians and physical therapists and plans to use that experience as a platform to launch her next endeavor.

Tilden shakes S&T Chancellor Cheryl Schrader's hand as she crosses the stage at commencement in May 2015.

Tilden shakes hands with S&T Chancellor Cheryl B. Schrader’s as she crosses the stage at commencement in May 2015. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

Next year, Tilden plans to enroll in physical therapy school. Her ultimate goal? Becoming a dancer-specialized physical therapist. Tilden believes that through dance, she will be able to help others better express themselves while they improve their physical and mental health.

“Dance is everything that I do,” Tilden says. “It has shaped me physically, mentally and emotionally. Everything I do has been influenced by dance in some way. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t dance. I can’t imagine.”

By Sam Ogunmolawa

Filed Under: Campus, Features, People, Students Tagged With: , , ,

‘It’s not a job, it’s a passion’

April 7, 2015 by
Patrick Murphy prepares the Missouri S&T baseball team’s uniforms before a game against Drury University.

Patrick Murphy prepares the Missouri S&T baseball team’s uniforms before a game against Drury University. Photo by Sam O’Keefe

For some, baseball is just a game. For Missouri S&T sophomore Patrick Murphy, it’s much more.

“I first started playing baseball in kindergarten, and it has been a pretty big part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Murphy says. “It has always been something that I’ve enjoyed.”

The native of Bartlett, Tennessee, played baseball through his senior year in high school. When he came to Missouri S&T as a freshman in the fall of 2013 he tried out for the university’s baseball team. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut. Instead, he asked head coach Todd DeGraffenreid about being an assistant on the team, and the coach named him the team’s first head student manager.

“Patrick Murphy has been the first student manager of the baseball team since I joined the team as head coach in 2003,” DeGraffenreid says.

As the head student manager, Murphy has the unofficial title of “director of baseball operations.”

DeGraffenreid says he wanted to “give him a title that is a more fitting description of what he does for the team.”

Murphy poses with the 2015 Missouri S&T baseball team and coaching staff.

Murphy poses with the 2015 Missouri S&T baseball team and coaching staff. Photo by Missouri S&T SID

Murphy has many tasks and responsibilities on the team, including managing the team’s inventory; supervising an assistant manager; helping prepare the field and team for practices and games; selecting walk-up music for players getting ready to bat; managing the team’s social media accounts, including @SandTBaseball, the team’s Twitter handle; washing the team’s uniforms and making restaurant reservations during road trips.

“He is hands-down the most committed person to this baseball program, aside from myself,” says DeGraffenreid. “He’s never missed a practice. He’s always the first one here. If we’ve got practice at 5 a.m., Murphy’s here at 4:15 (a.m). His performance is superior and unparalleled and this program wouldn’t be the same without him.”

When Murphy isn’t with the baseball team, he’s busy working toward a degree in business and management systems.

He originally came to S&T to study architectural engineering, but Murphy feels that he is now on the right path to success. “I feel like this major better suits me with the roles I have on the baseball team. I still want to do something sports-related once I graduate, but now instead of creating sports facilities, I’ll be managing sports teams.

I want to do something where I can look forward to going to work every day. That’s why I enjoy baseball so much – it’s not a job, it’s a passion,” he says.

By Sam Ogunmolawa

Filed Under: Campus, People, Students Tagged With: , , , , , , ,