Avery Hall, '23, 2023 Golden Flash Award Recipient

“I’m proud to be a Kent State alumna, and I hope to serve this university well as I enter the next chapter of my life.”

A student in the Kent State Honors College, Avery Hall, ’23, maintained her place on the President's List throughout her four years as an undergraduate student while serving in a variety of positions across the university. She was a member of the Undergraduate Student Government programming board, the Relay for Life committee, a community partner advocate for Community Engaged Learning, a Democratic Fellow for the Campus Votes Project, an intern at the School of Communication Studies, the membership community chair for Kent Student Ambassadors, the Vice President of Lambda Pi Eta and chair of the May 4 Task Force. 

“She has managed to balance all of these positions with grace and always goes above and beyond,”  said Tyler Micco, ’23, who nominated her for this award. “She radiates love, kindness and respect. She is one of the greatest humans I have ever had the privilege of knowing.”

Her work has been highly regarded by faculty members within the communications department, and she has had the opportunity to showcase such work several times at Communication in Action, an academic showcase within the School of Communication Studies. 

She is also heavily involved with student advocacy at Kent State, using her voice to get involved and encourage other students to do the same. As chair of the May 4 Task Force, she was provided the opportunity to write and present a speech as the highlighted speaker of the 53rd May 4 Commemoration. Her powerful speech called upon students to make themselves heard, as they have far more power than they often believe.

“My proudest accomplishment from my time at Kent State is certainly serving as the chair of the May 4 Task Force,” said Avery. “I’m truly so grateful for the experience and insight this position gave me. It allowed me to use my voice to speak on a topic of great importance to students today, and through the presentation of my work, I was able to connect with survivors, faculty, new students and returning community members in an incredibly impactful way.”

Avery is also an avid volunteer for the Kent State Women's Center and Kent Social Services. It is for her community work and deep involvement on campus that she was nominated for the 2022 Homecoming Court, which she cherishes as one of her fondest college memories. 

“Alongside nine of my peers, many of whom are good friends of mine now, I had the opportunity to represent the university in a longstanding tradition,” said Avery. “It was a joy and an honor to have this experience on Homecoming Court and engage with the Kent State community.”

While she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies in May, Avery is not done with her higher education journey quite yet. She plans to attend law school next fall and has recently taken the LSAT. As she prepares her applications, she is working to save money for school and hopes to travel abroad before beginning her program in 2024. 

Avery is endlessly grateful for the experiences she had while at Kent State and is humbled to be receiving the Golden Flash Award, knowing she has been able to contribute to the Kent community in a meaningful way.

“I’m proud to be a Kent State alumna, and I hope to serve this university well as I enter the next chapter of my life,” said Avery.