Kent State University at Tuscarawas senior Alison Romeo is one of nine students throughout the Kent State eight-campus system to receive The Sage Project Award for 2019. She was recently honored at a luncheon and ceremony at Kent State.
The Sage Project recognizes women-identifying students who have overcome adversity to shape their life and Kent State experience. This initiative exists to highlight current students who have diverse experiences and backgrounds. Winners of the award share their stories and inspire a wide range of students, who will in turn see they can create their own amazing story.
A mother of 10 children, Romeo, of Bowerston, decided to return to college in her mid-forties following the tragic loss of her first-born son, a Kent State Tuscarawas student, in a traffic accident.
“I did it for my son, Maxwell, who should have been a junior Kent State,” said Romeo. “I did it for my other children to show them that they can set goals and be strong. And I did it for me, to prove to myself that I am a survivor.”
As a non-traditional student, Romeo worried about whether she could keep up with her younger counterparts. With a lot of hard work and the unwavering support of her family, she graduated from Stark State College with an Associate of Science in Technical Communication in 2017 before transferring to Kent State Tuscarawas.
Romeo is set to graduate this May from Kent State Tuscarawas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with a concentration in Applied Communication. She has been accepted into graduate school and will continue her studies in communication at Kent State this fall, where she was also awarded a teaching assistantship. Her career goal is to become a teacher in the field of communication at a smaller university or community college.
“I have seen firsthand in the classroom, the workplace and in the home how effective communication positively contributes to personal and business relationships,” she said.
Romeo is a trained Ambassador of Hope for Shared Hope International, a nationwide organization devoted to stop human trafficking and provide healing help for trafficking survivors. She also is certified by Green Dot in bystander training, a violence prevention program that teaches people how to be an active bystander and to safely take action when needed. Additionally, Romeo serves as the founding secretary of the Communication Club at Kent State Tuscarawas.
For more information on The Sage Project, visit www.kent.edu/SageProject.