After receiving my degree from Fort Hays State, I worked for Union Carbide selling rare and atmospheric gases and chemicals. Later, I fell into the job of turning around bankrupt businesses. Within 10 years, I went on to develop ventures and took ownership of 35 different businesses that included food distribution, a 2,700-head dairy, a paperback book printing company, several trucking companies as well as a medical project with a group of surgeons. Over the next 25 years, I developed, owned, and operated in partnership with several hospitals, surgery centers, surgical hospitals, medical office buildings, as well as a variety of tech businesses including one called Rocket Crafters—which will be launching satellites into orbit with a new rocket engine printed on a 3D printer. I also appear as a co-star on the popular HGTV show “Bargain Mansions” alongside my daughter Tamara Day, now in its third season. I have been happily married for 48 years and have 4 children—2 boys and 2 girls, as well as 9 grandchildren, all in the KC area. I own a ranch 40 miles south of Hays where I was raised and go back as often as possible.
What do you now do for a living? How did you end up choosing this career path?
In addition to the above, over the years I have also purchased many properties and as a young man I had limited resources, so I “employed” my four children and taught them construction and the value of hard work along the way. I enjoyed the process so much that I continued remodeling homes with my children, teaching them many trades, as my daughter Tamara demonstrates on the HGTV show, “Bargain Mansions.” While remodeling homes in Kansas City, a producer from California was visiting his parents and heard about Tamara. Through that connection I became involved with guiding Tamara as a mentor on the show in addition to continuing remodeling projects.
Why did you choose to attend FHSU?
My years at Fort Hays State are great memories and part of the reason I ended up at FHS was that my father graduated from there in 1942. He was a fabulous teacher of math and science for several years at Rozel, KS where I went to high school. I always thought that if a man as smart as him could take a great education from Ft Hays, then I could as well. In addition, I was in school in Oklahoma and decided that Fort Hays was more financially reasonable than going out of state. I had also gotten married my Junior year and that helped with my decision.
What are your favorite memories from your time as a student?
The camaraderie, the beauty of the campus, the smaller class structure and the excellent professors.
What advice do you have for current or prospective FHSU students?
A student can take a degree from any university, however it’s up to the student to decide what to do with it. My degree was in Chemistry, but I found after college that I was more interested in business than chemistry, and was able to put my degree to work in many different ways. Any student can meet any goal in their life, as long as they work for it and want it bad enough.
Tell us about someone at FHSU who has left a lasting impression:
Dr. Rumpel was one of my chemistry professors who left a lasting impression. He was an especially soft hearted, generous and caring instructor who made chemistry interesting.
In what ways are you proud to be a Tiger?
I am proud to say that I earned my degree from a smaller university which gave me all of the tools I needed to succeed. I’m proud to have Midwest Tiger values.
Ward Schraeder ’73
