It was five minutes until deadline when junior accounting major Ryan Schrader made his way toward the Student Involvement Office with his application in hand on Sept. 21. The application for the Man and Woman of the Year award was made up of a resume, an essay and a letter of recommendation.

After waiting impatiently, Schrader was notified on Oct. 1 that he had been chosen for the second round of the competition. He then pulled out his phone and texted advisers on campus, the dean of Enrollment Management in the admissions office and other faculty on campus. Each congratulated him on the good news.

After collecting applications for the award, students like Schrader were notified that they were invited to a “call-back” of sorts. The potential winners will be interviewed by a panel starting today from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Woodman Alumni Center.

Currently sponsored by the Student Activities Council, Man and Woman of the Year takes place each year during Shocktoberfest. This year marks the 21st competition since it started in 1991. Coordinator of Leadership and Service Learning Nick Messing will be heading the event for the first time this year.

“I like getting to meet all these students and to help seek out the top students here at Wichita State,” Messing said. “It’s exciting to bring them all together and recognize them. Whether they win or not, it’s a great chance to represent those individuals.”

Many judges on the panel are Man and Woman of the Year veterans. The panel is made up of faculty, staff and one alumnus, with six judges for each gender.

“A lot of judges really enjoy doing it, so we have a lot of repeat judges over the years. They get very excited to participate and get involved in this,” Messing said.

An initial score is given to each applicant based on his or her application organization including who wrote the recommendation letter. During the interviews, judges will ask questions like “what does it mean to be a Shocker?” They also have the opportunity to ask spontaneous questions to ascertain how well the students can answer unexpected questions.

“In the past someone said they asked ‘If you could ask President (Don) Beggs any question, or if you could have a meal with him, what would you ask him?’” Messing said. “It helps them get the big picture of who that person is and their take on things.”

Schrader is confident about how he will do in the interviews. After all, he’s done them before.

“I’ve done a lot of interviews before…they’re really pointed questions. So I’ve gotten used to those,” Schrader said.

Schrader serves on the selection panel for the Dean’s Scholars program, a scholarship that he won as a freshman. He is also a part of the Student Ambassadors Society, where he works to recruit prospective high school seniors. Schrader is a common face in the Admissions office and works with the WSU Foundation to direct beneficiary’s money into scholarships for incoming students. He is also part of the International Student Union and the president of the Barton School Dean’s Ambassadors where he helps engage business students in the school and network them to the Wichita community.

But mostly, he says, it’s about getting other students connected and involved.

“A lot of students just come to class. And then they leave. And they go home. And you know, what a boring college experience. That’s just high school. Here, there are so many things you can do. Why not have fun and make friends, step out of your comfort zone,” he said.

The winning man and winning woman will each receive a $650 scholarship, with $300 for each of the finalists. Beyond the money though, Schrader hopes that being named “Man of the Year” will perhaps prove to freshmen students that being involved really can get you somewhere.

“Just engage in campus life,” he said. “You just have to stay on campus a little longer.”

Once the judges have eliminated some applicants after today’s interviews, Messing, with the scores from the panel of judges, will select the top four men and the top four women to be finalists. On Oct. 27, the winners will be announced at a banquet with finalists’ families attending. The following Monday, SAC will officially present the winners and finalists to Wichita State at the Songfest Awards Ceremony.