Having forged a successful career as a political consultant while also continuing to give back to Cowley College, Gavin Kreidler was recently named the recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Tiger Alumni award.
Kreidler grew up in Colwich, KS and attended Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita. With both his sister, Laura, and brother in law, Jake Hocker, having previously attended Cowley College, Kreidler felt Cowley would be a good place to start his college career in 2007.“I knew I wasn’t ready for a big school yet and it made sense to go to somewhere with a small town environment where I knew I was more than a student ID number to faculty,” Kreidler said.
Kreidler moved into a four-plex apartment near Cowley College’s main campus. It was there that he met Eli Hilderbrand, who lived in the apartment across the hall. Kreidler and Eli forged an instant friendship.
“We were together pretty much every day for the next two months after that,” Kreidler said.
Tragically their friendship would be short lived as a fire at the apartment building on Oct. 2, 2007 would change their lives forever.
Three of the apartments were occupied, and all the tenants escaped unharmed except for Eli. Initially, Eli got out of the building after the fire broke out, however Eli went back in because he thought someone was still in the house, and then he could not get out.
Following the tragedy, Kreidler completed two years at Cowley and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Business Administration minor from Pittsburg State University in 2011.
As a way to honor his friend, Kreidler established the Eli Hilderbrand Memorial Scholarship at Cowley College in 2015. Kreidler plans to host a golf tournament in Lawrence, KS this August to help raise additional funds for the scholarship.
Cowley College vice president of institutional advancement, Dr. Kori Gregg, said the Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award was created in part to honor an alum who has brought pride to the college through excellence in career and community service and she cannot think of a more deserving individual than Gavin Kreidler.
Kreidler currently resides in Lawrence, KS and operates Kreidler Consulting Group as well as the Kreidler Real Estate Group. He has invested in a few other businesses as well.
Kreidler is humbled to join the list of former recipients of the Outstanding Tiger Alumni award.
Kreidler hopes the scholarship he established has helped a few students and will continue to grow each year. He is looking forward to returning to Cowley College to share in the Commencement exercises on May 13.