Prioritizing Student Success
Fifty years after a handful of architecture students first studied in the city, the Â鶹ӰԺ Florence Center now hosts hundreds of Â鶹ӰԺ State students annually, serving as the university’s flagship study abroad and international center.
Courtney Johnson journeyed from high school to a successful career to start a family, all while moving across the Southern United States and back to Ashtabula, Ohio. After she received her Bachelor of Technical and Applied Studies (BTAS) degree at the Â鶹ӰԺ State Ashtabula Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremony, she has one more stop, Columbia University. She will begin her Master's in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) at the prestigious university this fall.
Timothy Johnson said Â鶹ӰԺ State advisors, who knew he had been working on his degree for 15 years, helped him coordinate his schedule so that he could take in-person classes — while working a full-time job — and still have time to spend with his children. He earned an associate degree in December 2022 and a bachelor's degree in May 2023.
Timothy Mikes, ’17, MPH ’23, was a College of Public Health (CPH) graduate student committed to public health and a champion for the autistic community and students with learning disabilities. A new scholarship created by his family will support future CPH students.
Student speakers shared a common theme during Â鶹ӰԺ’s Regional Campus commencement ceremonies this spring: Support. The Ashtabula, Columbiana County (East Liverpool and Salem), Geauga (along with Twinsburg Academic Center), Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas campuses held commencement ceremonies earlier this month for close to 1,700 graduates.
When Victoria Humphreys, ’13, started her undergraduate education at Â鶹ӰԺ State, it was by no means her first experience on campus.
Blaine McCurdy joined Â鶹ӰԺ State’s Rising Scholars program in sixth grade after learning about the program and its opportunities for a college education in Columbiana County. Blaine, who is a first-generation college student, is studying psychology at Â鶹ӰԺ State Salem.
Emily Maslanka was among 34 Â鶹ӰԺ State students who traveled to Kansas City in April 2023 to work the NFL draft through a partnership arranged by Mark Lyberger, associate professor in Â鶹ӰԺ State’s Sports Administration program in the School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration in the College of Education, Health and Human Services.