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Between playing in two MAC Championships, being named to the 2023 MAC All-Tournament Team, and getting involved with student leadership programs on campus in the last few years, Kent State is where I've truly come into my own as a player and person.

There’s a Kent State alumna behind the card Jason and Kylie Kelce selected for their family’s 2023 holiday greeting: Megan Cash, ’13. She designed the festive plaid template “Madras” for design marketplace/online retailer Minted.

Mentoring has always been a valuable part of life for Christa Porter, Ph.D., associate dean for the Graduate College. The mentoring process never ends, according to Porter. She believes that mentees are meant to grow up and become mentors, passing on the mantle and creating a life cycle of mentorship.  

After decades as a pastor, David Zachrich had a sudden and dramatic reevaluation of his life. A life-threatening heart attack 15 years ago forced him to step back and reconsider his path. Zachrich’s cardiologist challenged him to find something to do that he enjoyed. Zachrich immediately thought of teaching, something he very much wanted to do as a second career, and now he's won an award for it.

Singing, dancing and yoga are not typical college classroom activities. At least not all in one class. But for Jenny Lampe, lecturer in �鶹��ý’s Early Childhood Education Program, it’s important for her students to experience the full preschool education with all of these activities, plus expected activities like reading children’s books.

Anthony Mirando, Ph.D., associate professor of construction management, is driven in the classroom because his teaching philosophy is based on respect. He stays on top of his industry, and his enthusiasm and support for students is noticed and appreciated. So much so, students nominated him for an award. 

Jazz singer-songwriter Ava Preston is making waves in the music scene. Recently, she performed at the prestigious 2023 Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and was recognized as a 2023 YoungArts Finalist and Silver Award Winner for Jazz-Voice. She's also a Golden Flash.

“You've got to have a dream,” said Daniel James, who set out on a bike ride through Central America after his 2022 graduation from Kent State. “If any of you are considering going on a road trip, or backpacking trip, or visiting that country you always wanted to go to, do it.

The two Golden Flashes turned friendship into a business partnership with the recent launch of their beverage brand, Jungle Juice.

LaKaleb Bowen, �鶹��ý senior criminology and justice studies major admits that he’s become a little addicted to Kent State’s education-abroad programs.