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 Kent 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. 

Student speakers shared a common theme during Kent State University’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.

While a student at Pymatuning Valley High School in 2005, Brad Baranowski, Ph.D., J.D., enrolled in classes at Kent State Ashtabula through the College Credit Plus program starting an educational journey that has led him through law school and now to the highest court in the land as a Supreme Court Fellow.

The Andover native and 2022-2023 Supreme Court Fellow is the 2023 Roger T. Beitler Distinguished Former Student Award recipient. 

Former state legislature and retired classroom teacher John R. Patterson, Jr., Ph.D., is the 2023 Ashtabula Area College Committee, Inc. Community Service Award recipient honoring a career spanning over 40 years dedicated to improving education in local communities.

He was presented the award at a community reception event in the Blue & Gold Room prior to the May 11, 2023 commencement ceremony at Kent State University at Ashtabula.

Respiratory Therapy students Katlynn Brown and Maria Miller presented research and a poster last month at the Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors examining the perceived effectiveness of teaching, supervising and evaluating students in a clinical setting.

Second-year nursing students Katie Cumberledge, Taylor Lamb-Kutz and Melissa Williamson were recently inducted as the newest class to the Gamm Sigma chapter of the Alpha Delta Nu nursing honor society at Kent State Ashtabula.

More than 60%  of rural Americans live in areas the National Institute of Health deems to be underserved by mental health professionals and only about 20% of social workers nationwide are employed in rural areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These stats, coupled with the high demand for licensed social workers — especially in areas like those surrounding Kent State University’s Regional Campuses — produce significant disparities and gaps in care for people needing social services.

Filling in those gaps is the primary aim of program director Matt Butler and the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program through Kent State’s College of Applied and Technical Studies (CATS), which will have an emphasis on rural social work.