My name is Mackenzie Simmons, and I am one of the first Ed.D. students that graduated from Kent State University. I recently completed the Interprofessional Leadership program, where I was in the Athletic Training concentration.
Hello Kent State! Our names are Baylee DiCioccio and Addison Sharrow, and we are the Captains of the KSU cheerleading team. We are also both Health and Physical Education majors here at Kent.
When I first came to Kent State in 2019, I was determined to follow the path of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. My counselor at the Twinsburg branch campus explained to me how Human Development and Family Studies with a Family Life Education concentration would be the perfect fit for me. For the last 4 years, I was still set on that same end goal. Three years ago, I entered into the workforce with the older adult population.
When America was attacked by terrorists twenty years ago, and planes were flown into the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and into that Pennsylvania field, men and women from every corner of our great nation raised their hand to serve and fight in our United States military. Hi, my name is Mark Stillion, and I am one of those people.
As a Pittsburgh native, coming to Kent State University was a little challenging for me. Although I would only be traveling about two hours away from home, I was moving away from all the individuals I had ever known to start over in a new state. Because of this, I knew I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity offered to me. I wanted to find my place and my purpose here at Kent.
My name is Christopher Richardson and I am currently the Chief Operating Officer for CHC Addiction Services Inc., based in Akron, Ohio. I graduated from the Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling Program in 2003. My experience in the program was very fulfilling. Before I started on the path of researching which program I wanted to explore, I had a lifelong goal of enhancing my competencies in substance abuse and mental health.
I am Dr. Caroline Obiageli Emeka-Ogbonna, a Fulbright Visiting Scholar from Nigeria, currently hosted in the Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education. My study visit is to develop a program and curriculum of critical thinking courses for the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA), my country’s premier military university, as well as our wider educational system.
In these complex times when social justice, abolitionist teaching, critical race theory and the like are under attack, it is more important than ever for our community to take a stand for positive systemic change in our society and the ways we envision schooling.
While I am not a fan of The Grateful Dead, I believe a phrase from Jerry Garcia most accurately describes the pandemic as it relates to campus life and, more specifically, work within The Counseling Center the past year and a half: “What a long, strange trip it’s been!" Kent State, along with campuses across our nation, is moving back to some form of pre-pandemic functioning that includes a notable amount of in-person instruction and campus services.
