Success Stories

Scholar of the Month
Thomas Long
Assistant Professor
College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology
2014-present

The Kent Student Center, Center for Student Involvement and Intercollegiate Athletics cordially invite students, faculty and staff to enjoy a week of Kent State spirit to start the academic year.

The events are meant to be fun, interactive and casual. Each day will feature some free food and giveaways. In addition, our beloved mascot, Flash, and some players, coaches and cheerleaders will be there.     

Blue and Gold Pride Days are back at Kent State University! Kent State faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university are encouraged to promote university spirit and pride by wearing blue and gold colors.

Kent State introduced Blue and Gold Pride Days last fall as a way to unite members of the university community and promote Kent State pride. The tradition continues at Kent State this fall, beginning Friday, Sept. 4, which happens to be College Colors Day, and continues through the school year.

Kent State University students celebrated the start of a new school year at Blastoff on Sunday, Aug. 30, on the Student Green. Blastoff is the university’s annual back-to-school celebration that occurs the day before fall classes begin. It serves as the culminating event of Welcome Weekend, a four-day orientation program that helps new students transition into the university environment.

Before the fall semester begins on Aug. 31, new students are invited to participate in Welcome Weekend, a four-day orientation program that will last from Aug. 27-30 and acclimate students to the Kent State University community. The event is an opportunity for students to transition into the university environment and learn about existing academic and social opportunities at Kent State.

At the beginning of the school year each August, Kent State University faculty, staff and students volunteer with the university’s Movers and Groovers program to help incoming freshmen move into their new university housing.

Freshman move-in day took place Thursday, Aug. 27, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. A host of volunteers welcomed new students and parents, and assisted with heavy lifting. 

The pain of moving from one home to the next, time and time again, for four years straight is helping Keri Richmond speak out for other foster children without a voice.

Richmond, a Kent State University junior majoring in public relations in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, shared her story with members of Congress and child welfare advocates during a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill in late July.

Anything is possible.

Theresa Medrano, a Kent State University senior from Westlake, Ohio, is living proof of this.

At age 17, like most high school seniors, Medrano should have been thinking about senior prom and graduation. But she became a victim of domestic violence and was forced to withdraw from high school. 

Instead of planning the next chapter of her life, she suddenly found herself homeless. Still, she found the strength to remain hopeful, and today she’s a full-time student, on track to graduate.

Kent State University held its Summer 2015 Commencement ceremonies for the Kent Campus on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center). Kent State conferred 1,476 degrees, including 931 bachelor’s degrees, 453 master’s degrees, 76 doctoral degrees and 16 educational specialist degrees. 

Across the university’s eight-campus system, 1,651 students graduated from Kent State this summer, including those receiving associate degrees.