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Four new middle school teachers started the school year with high hopes and big dreams, ready to establish their classrooms, teach dynamically and build community with their young students through daily, face-to-face interaction. Instead, they have encountered empty classrooms and computer icons rather than students’ faces. Recent graduates from ��MŮ�� Geauga’s Middle Childhood Education (MCED) program share their stories of first-year teaching from the COVID classroom.

A new six-part short film docuseries is being released aimed at raising awareness of the Male Empowerment Network (MEN) at ��M��, along with commemorating 10 years. An initiative through the Student Multicultural Center, the Male Empowerment Network supports men of color on campus both academically and through personal development. Advisor of MEN and Director of the Student Multicultural Center Mike Daniels says this has led to some great things.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic and racial injustice, one student involved with the Women’s Center seized the opportunity to bring others together. The Sisters in Sisterhood initiative is a student-led group whose mission statement is to use their unique backgrounds to advocate and promote all women to reach their full potential.

��MŮ��’s LGBTQA Living-Learning Community (LLC) has gone virtual this semester. “The mission behind the virtual Living-Learning Communities is to try and keep these communities active and whole even though they are virtual,” said Ken Ditlevson, director of the LGBTQ+ Center. “We want to make sure that the students are connected as best as possible.”

Two seniors from the ��M�� School of Fashion were announced as Fashion Scholarship Fund 2021 scholarship recipients. Fashion design seniors Jordan Bigelow and Mattney Yates used their creativity and knowledge to develop case studies focused on current world issues.

Michael Daniels is the director of the Student Multicultural Center (SMC) where he has the opportunity to make a difference on campus and continue the legacy of those who came before him. Daniels was recently awarded the President’s Award of Distinction for his success with the programs and initiatives offered by the SMC during a global pandemic. Learn more about Daniels as he answers these 10 questions.

As part of the university’s strategy to stop the spread of COVID-19, the College of Public Health at ��MŮ�� partnered with the Kent City and Portage County Health Departments to conduct contact tracing for students and faculty on Kent Campus. Melissa Zullo, Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health, reached out to students within the college to ask for volunteers for the testing events. The health departments then ask the students to assist with contact tracing across the university.

A reunion between two friends at ��MŮ�� at Ashtabula resulted in a life-saving kidney transplant. A recent story by WEWS News 5 Cleveland recounted the story between two childhood acquaintances who met again by chance at ��MŮ�� in 2019. 

While the much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine is finally being administered around the world, folks in Columbiana County are also receiving their immunizations at the local level with the help of nursing students from the ��M�� East Liverpool and Salem campuses.

��MŮ�� is once again at the top tier when it comes to exhibiting leading practices and supporting post-military students, receiving the 2021-2022 Military Friendly® School designation for its Kent Campus. This is the 12th year in a row that the Kent Campus has received the Military Friendly School honor.