��M��

Meditative practices are bringing the ��M�� community together, even from the comfort of their own home. ��M�� of Wellness has moved its Meditation Across Campus sessions online, in an effort to continue the sessions despite the COVID-19 global pandemic.

David Hassler is the director of the Wick Poetry Center, where he oversees the local and national Wick projects, works with students and collaborates with other programs across campus. We asked him 10 questions about Kent, ��MŮ��, poetry and, of course, how he's keeping himself — and the ��MŮ�� Community — busy during the pandemic.

The words “biology” and “design” might not typically intertwine; however, ��MŮ��’s Biodesign Challenge course was created to challenge the idea that the two separate disciplines could not collaborate.

��M�� hosts STARTALK Foreign Language Academy, where 20 accepted high school students in Northeast Ohio are immersed into either Russian or Chinese language and culture. The Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies received federal funding for the 12th year to host this academy on campus.

Kindness means something different to everyone, but to Stephanie Sweany, ’05, it means making a stranger’s day a little better by simply smiling at them. Stephanie started the Canton Kindness Coalition to “make kindness contagious” in November 2018.

Claudia Kovach, ’03, M.A. ’09, has been part of her family business, City Machine Technologies, Inc since 2006. Her time and dedication to the company has proven successful, as Claudia was recently named the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Champion of Ohio.

The ��MŮ�� alumni family grew by nearly 3,000 new graduates as the university held its Fall Commencement ceremonies. For the Kent Campus, Commencement ceremonies took place Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation (MAC) Center.

Leslie Srodek-Johnson, ’01, a ��MŮ�� journalism graduate, mother of two and lead decorator and baker at Stan’s Northfield Bakery, received the call of a lifetime in December 2018. It was from the Food Network asking her to be a part of the “Christmas Cookie Challenge.”

A small class assignment in college led to an off-Broadway debut for ��MŮ�� musical theatre alumnus Scott Miesse, ’15, who will be premiering his self-written play titled “Abnormal” in January 2020.

As the champagne flowed Oct. 15 in the clubhouse of the National League Champion Washington Nationals, there was a ��MŮ�� connection in the middle of the frenzy that capped the team’s first trip to the World Series.