2023 Topeka West Hall of Fame inductees include musicians, a doctor and the Voice of KU

Five alumni will be inducted into the Topeka West Graduate Hall of Fame on Sunday, alongside honors for four distinguished staff.

This year’s honorees, as part of the hall’s 12th class of inductees, represent a wide range of careers and graduating classes.

Ric Averill, Class of 1968

After graduating Topeka West in 1968, Averill went on to earn a bachelor's in music composition, as well as a master's in children’s theater, from the University of Kansas.

He used that education to springboard into a long career in acting, writing, directing and teaching children’s theater, having written more than 30 plays. Additionally, Averill is proficient in various musical instruments, including the piano, keyboards, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and other instruments.

Averill’s nomination noted that he is “a person that has made maximum use of his many talents in ways that have made the world a more interesting place.”

Cindy Wallis-Lage, Class of 1981

Cindy Wallis, a 1981 Topeka West grad, went on to earn a bachelor's in civil engineering at Kansas State University, and a masters in environmental health engineering at KU.

Her career led her to become a renowned expert in the water industry for her knowledge on water reuse, wastewater treatment and biosolids, playing a leading role in projects dealing with water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure around the world.

Wallis is author or co-author of more than 50 papers, 20 technical articles and seven textbook chapters on water. She was inducted into K-State’s Engineering Hall of Fame in 2022.

Paul Sehdev, Class of 1985

Paul Sehdev’s long career as a physician helping people in developing countries began soon after his 1985 graduation from Topeka West.

A member of a family of physicians, Sehdev attended Standford for his undergraduate degree and returned to KU’s School of Medicine for his doctoral degree.

While he was a resident at Oregon Health Sciences University, Sehdev took a two-year sabbatical to work at a remote clinic in Kenya that had no electricity or running water.

Sehdev has had a fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Maryland, a practice in that field in Portland and teaching positions in Portland and Mbarra University in Uganda. He was later medical director of the Providence St. Vincent Infectious Disease Department in Portland.

Beside his medical practice work, Sehdev has also published several papers on medicine in his field, including malaria resistance and clinical vaccine traits.

Jen Gunderman, Class of 1988

Jen Gunderman, a 1988 alumna, studied classical piano at Vassar College and later received a degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington.

Her career has taken her all over the world as an accompanist for several rock bands, and she continues to play keyboard and sign with several Nashville-based artists, including Sheryl Crow.

Apart from her performance career, Gunderman is also a music professor, having been at the Blair School of Music a Vanderbilt University since 2004. She specializes in American popular music history.

Brian Hanni, Class of 1998

Brian Hanni is the most recent Topeka West graduate to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, having graduated in 1998.

A passionate KU alumnus, Hanni is well-known today as the Voice of the Jayhawks, broadcasting men’s basketball, football and baseball since 2016.

More: 5 questions: Brian Hanni relives his call of Kansas men’s basketball’s national title

He started his broadcast career at KLWN, Kansas Athletics’ flagship radio station. There he created the “Rock Chalk Sports Talk” show, serving for 10 years as a broadcasting understudy to Bob Davis, who himself is a Topeka West Hall of Fame inductee.

Hanni is involved with various charitable efforts in and around the Lawrence area, including the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic, which brings former KU student athletes together to benefit local youths battling cancer.

Former Topeka West teachers honored as Distinguished Staff

In addition to the five alumni, four former Topeka West teachers will receive honors as Distinguished Staff on Sunday.

They include the following:

• Cherylene Lovett, a media specialist who helped grow the school library’s programs and offerings. She died of cancer in May 2021.

• Terry Sandling, a science and photography teacher who later worked in the superintendent’s office. Sandling passed away Feb. 10, 2023.

• Mary Beth Schroff, a family and consumer sciences teacher who was the first curriculum coordinator for Topeka West.

• Stan Seidel, an assistant principal who helped Topeka West grow its athletic offerings, particularly for girls.

The ceremony is 1:45 p.m. Sunday at the Douglas P. Goheen Theater at Topeka West High School. A reception precedes the ceremony at 1 p.m.

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at ‪785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka West's 2023 Hall of Fame class includes Brian Hanni