Welcome to Flash Focus! In this series, we introduce you to fascinating student Flashes from all walks of life. Meet Lilly Kensicki, a Kent State University mechatronics engineering technology major from Parma, Ohio. Think of the phrase “well-rounded student,” and you should think of Kensicki.  Kensicki is in multiple organizations on campus with leadership positions such as the recruitment chair for Women in Engineering, the treasurer of Kent State Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (KSURGE), the social media chair for the American Institute in Aeronautics and Astronautics and...

Peter Bobkowski joined the Center for Scholastic Journalism as Knight Chair in summer 2023. A former high school journalism teacher and student publications adviser, he worked at the University of Kansas for 12 years prior to moving to Kent State.  While at Kansas, Peter published several studies about high school journalism. Collectively, this work informs our understanding of the school environments that support high school journalism, who high school journalists are, and how former high school journalists fare academically and civically in young adulthood.  In his role at Kent Sta...

Kent State University at Trumbull's Concert Series opens Wednesday, Sept. 18, with Harmonia, a multi-cultural group of master musicians, performing virtuosic and passionate traditional music of Eastern Europe.Harmonia's members, Walt Mahovlich (accordion), Alexander Fedoriouk (cimbalom), Steven Greenman (violin), Beata Begeniova (vocals) and Catalin Petrescu (bass), make the depth of fire and passion of Rusyn, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ukrainian, Croatian, and Gypsy music and culture come alive. They have performed throughout North America and were recognized and documented by the Library o...

Until their recent retirements, Candace Perkins Bowen and John Bowen, along with Mark Goodman, were the heart and soul of the Center for Scholastic Journalism. Combined, this trio has contributed more than 140 years of service to scholastic journalism. Each will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Journalism Education Association (JEA) at this fall’s National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia.The Bowens began their high school teaching careers in the early 1970s, Candace in St. Charles, Illinois and John in Lakewood, Ohio. John, a Kent State graduate, also taught at K...