Welcome to Cowley County Community College

2020-2021 - Sydney entered her first two writing competitions at the Derby Public Library and won first place twice. One of her stories can still be found on their blog. It’s called “The Darkness in the Woods” from April of 2020.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sydney was incredibly bored and had nothing but free time. She created a character (the protagonist of her book) and was so fascinated by him that she decided he needed an entire book to explain his life and story.

Summer 2021 - This was when she first started taking online Cowley College classes!

2023 - She had been working on PLAGUED for some time and decided to send it to a freelancing editor, from whom she received the edits a month later. Sparking her fourth re-write, it was finally perfect, only needing a professional edit and polish.

December 31st, 2023 - She signed the first contract with her publishing house, Archway Publishing. That was the first big step toward publication.

2024 - March 4th, 2024 - The official day her book was published! At 18 years old, she had written a 136,000-word book. She also graduated with honors as a dual credit high school student the same day after taking every class online.

If you notice, her last name on the book does not match the name that we are using. Sydney Winegar will become Sydney Beatty following her wedding scheduled for September. So, she chose to go with her "forever name" on the book instead of her maiden name because once a book is published, it can not be changed.

2024 and Beyond - She is currently working and wedding planning, and in her spare time, Sydney serves at her church and is, you guessed it, writing a sequel to PLAGUED. She shared that she has big things in store for the series and hopes to continue to write and publish many more books. She has lots of poetry she wants to share, and many more fictional story ideas waiting to be explored and written.

2017 - Arturo graduated from Cowley College with a degree in Mass Communications and Journalism.

2018-2019 - He transferred to Kansas University for the 2017-2018 school year and made lasting friendships, but it wasn't for Arturo academically. He attended the school for one year and transferred to Fort Hays State University, where he completed his degree in 2019.

In 2019, following his graduation, Cowley College Director of Mass Communications Meg Smith assisted Arturo in securing an Internship with Dr. Harold (Doc) Arnett, the Marketing Director at SCK Health.

2020-2021 - Having previously met William Newton Hospitals Sarah Johnson when she was the Marketing Director at Cowley College and completed a work-study position under her direction for a semester. In 2020, Arturo saw Sarah working in Arkansas City, starting discussions regarding an internship in the Marketing Department at William Newton Hospital, which he began a short time later.

Through his internships and recommendations from Cowley College, Arturo secured a paid internship in Jewell/Republic County at FHSU in 2021.

2022 - Since 2022, Arturo has been working at his first official job as a marketing and communications coordinator at The National Auction Association, a 501 c6 organization. Since then, he has received a promotion to Marketing Specialist. 

2014 - After Cowley, Lena went to Pittsburg State University to study Marketing/Communications, where she interned in the University Marketing and Communications office. Lena ultimately graduated in December 2016 with a Bachelor's in Communication and a Minor in Marketing.

After graduating from Pitt State, Lena began a marketing position with Wheat State Wine Co. and immediately felt her calling. She loved the atmosphere and the friendships she was creating.

2016 - Lena thought she could've worked there forever because each day never felt like a job. Looking back on her time with WSWCo, Lena felt blessed to have found a business to work for, which allowed her to find a niche and hone her skills.

Lena met her husband in Fall 2017, and the two married in Spring 2019. The couple welcomed their first daughter in Spring 2021 and their second daughter in Spring 2024.

2022 - After WSWCo closed in December 2022, Lena became a stay-at-home mom to her daughter and started her own business, Helms Marketing and Events. She specializes in creating websites for small businesses, social media marketing, advertising, and large-scale events.

2024 - Lena recently started a new position with Kanokla as a Marketing Coordinator and is enjoying it so far! She continues to work in her small business and helps companies with marketing or event planning.

If she had anything to tell her 18-year-old self, who just chose a random degree because she wasn't sure what to do- Lena says she would say that it's ok not to know what you want to do because life will always work itself out. Lena truly enjoys her "jobs," especially her most important one, Mom.