I am a fifth generation Kansan. My Paternal Great Great Grandfather was William Duncan. He was a delegate to the Big Springs Kansas Constitutional Convention from the Ft. Scott area.
My maternal grandfather, Arleigh Locke, was born in a log cabin by the Neosho River near Chanute in 1884.

My maternal great grandparents were born in Neosho County. The family has traced our history back to the Revolutionary War and I am the 8th generation from a Revolutionary War Soldier, John Locke born in Frederick Maryland 1751. I am a member of the Polly Ogden Chapter of the Daughter's of the American Revolution. I was first attracted to the Manhattan area while attending a 4-H Leadership Camp at Kansas State University when I was in high school.

Currently I am a member of the KSU Leadership Studies Advancement Council and the Manhattan Area Technical College General Advisory Board.