Kansas Wesleyan alumni Gus and Hannah Applequist announced Thursday evening that they will make a $500,000 donation to the KWU Power of AND Campaign. The gift is one of the early donations for phase two of the campaign, and it will be directed towards the university’s Music program.
“Hannah and I are proud to be products of KWU’s wonderful Music program,” offered Gus Applequist. “We cherish the friends we made, the education we received and the music we helped produce. This gift is an investment, both in the future of music at KWU and in the Salina music community.”
Hannah Applequist ’16 owns Applequist Percussion Studio in Salina while Gus ’14, the 2021 KWU Alumni Service Award Winner, is the CEO and founder of Fili Creative, one of the area’s leading audio/visual production companies. Hannah was a Music Performance major at KWU while Gus participated in multiple ensembles, but majored in Business Management. Both are longtime members of the Salina Symphony and well-known for their philanthropic influence in North Central Kansas. The latter is also a member of the KWU Foundation’s board.
The pair previously made a significant donation to the KWU Communications department, which was used to provide needed upgrades in media production equipment.
“We are deeply grateful for the continued support of Gus and Hannah Applequist,” said Ken Oliver, vice president of Advancement and university operations. “This gift enables us to move forward with our plans to improve the entirety of the musical experience at KWU. We look forward to announcing those plans in the coming days, but this gift will be a crucial part of taking the KWU Music experience to the next level.”
