Being the daughter of flower shop owners, my childhood home sparkled and blossomed with an overflow of decorations at Christmastime. In fact, decoration day was a multi-day marathon. The “nice” tree was always a real concolor Christmas tree. It was manicured with elegant department store baubles, ribbons and lights, on display in the front room. The more whimsical childhood ornaments and colored lights were reserved for the living room tree.

Home at Christmastime smelled of Frasier Fir and fresh baked cinnamon rolls. It was overrun by my jolly aunt, uncle, grandparents and hordes of Old English Sheepdogs and Corgis. It was flooded with the lilting melodies of our favorite Christmas carols contrasted by sibling arguments on a still Christmas morning.

The sights and sounds of Christmas resonate through my memory, taking me back in time and stirring anticipation for the celebrations to come. When you consider your holiday traditions, what layers the soundtrack of your memories?

The sweet smells of holiday treats? The bold red of a poinsettia leaf? The savory taste of a glazed ham? The joy found in gift giving? The quiet, brisk air of a long winter night?

Campus Christmas Traditions

Join us on Nov. 23, 2025 at 6 p.m. as Friends University illuminates the historic Davis clock tower! This time-honored tradition, now in its 27th year, on the Friends University campus at Rose Window Plaza is a symbol of the start of the holiday season for the campus and the Wichita community. Enjoy an evening of carols and festive music from the Friends University Singing Quakers and the Friends University Band, Christmas trees, cookies and cocoa, and much more as we celebrate the Ceremony of Lights. Santa will also be making a special appearance and available for photos!

Be sure to also grab tickets for our annual Christmas Candlelight concert which is taking place on Friday Dec. 5 through Sunday Dec. 7 at Sebits Auditorium in Riney Fine Arts. 

Tickets on sale now:

Fri. Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. Sebits Auditorium | TICKETS
Sat. Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m. Sebits Auditorium | TICKETS
Sun. Dec. 7, 2 p.m. Sebits Auditorium | TICKETS

A Great Weekend to be a Falcon

Thanks to you, our Falcon family, we had one of our most dynamic Homecoming weekends yet! Many of you returned home to campus to reconnect with peers, friends and faculty, cheering on our undefeated football team and marching in our homecoming parade.

Over 2000 Falcon fans and guests packed out the stands in a sea of crimson at Saturday’s hard-fought football game against McPherson. This year’s parade came alive with student-designed parade floats, vintage cars, a line-up of community service members, and our Falcon Flight alumni crew. Graduates from 1965 and 1975 got to reunite in our striking new Riney Fine Arts Center Chapel. And we got to highlight some distinguished athletes and service-oriented alumni at Friday’s special awards dinner.

It's a joy each year to see everyone catch up and share stories. Alumni like you make Homecoming weekend truly memorable. Plus, having the opportunity to introduce future Falcons to our close-knit community is quite special.

It’s a great day to be a Falcon!

A Belonging Place

At Friends University, we desire to create a place of belonging. We want students to be cared for and deeply known by their peers and professors. We hope that they experience life-giving spiritual formation, no matter what their faith background is. We desire that they discover their purpose and see the impact they can make on the community around them. It’s more than just fulfilling credits and earning a degree; it’s the relationship-forming, faith-strengthening, and resume-building experiences that will shape a student’s future far beyond their career.

But students cannot do this alone.

Many of you reading this were Friends University students yourselves. You relied on scholarship support to alleviate some of the financial burden. As a private institution, scholarships are critical to keep tuition costs down. These funds are only possible with donations from invested people like you. And because of our commitment to provide every traditional student with a scholarship, Friends University has been named the best value college in Kansas by Niche. The results were compiled using data from student surveys, tuition cost, and post-graduate financial earnings, among other data. 

You can help us maintain this commitment to provide a high-quality education to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. As we are approaching year-end, now is the time to give! Even a small donation can make a significant difference in a student’s life.

If you have any questions about your giving, feel free to reach out to Sanya Wiles, Vice President for University Advancement.

Give today!

Walter Disney '13

Marriage and Family Therapy graduate, Walter Disney was recently interviewed on the Cleared Hot Podcast, a program that boasts 172,000 subscribers on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of views. Disney shared experiences, both formative and trying, from his 13-year career as a medic, sniper and instructor in the US Navy SEALs at SEAL Team 3 in Coronado, California.

Disney is the Chief Therapist for Disney Family Therapy. He has focused his expertise on the critical and noble work of providing hundreds of veterans and first responders healing and recovery from post-traumatic stress disorders. The Kansas City native’s counseling methodologies have proven successful through his holistic, community-based approach.

Lori Hotzel '00

Computer information systems alumna, Lori Hotzel was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Kansas for 2025 by Women We Admire, a membership organization and “one of the fastest-growing professional women’s networks” and news outlets in the country.

Hotzel is the Chief Information Officer of the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), an organization considered the voice of children’s hospitals throughout the nation that represents over 200 members. Her career path has led her to a handful of prestigious leadership positions including vice president and chief information officer with Koch Industries and assistant chief information officer with the City of Wichita.

Hotzel is praised for her roughly 33 years of experience as an “accomplished strategic leader, performance-focused and results-driven professional with over 15 years of executive-level experience in IT operations and business strategy,” according to Women We Admire. Along with her other female counterparts, Hotzel represents the very best of the humble, innovative and community-focused Kansas spirit.

Congratulations to Lori Hotzel for this incredible recognition.