News Archive
When Kendall Myers first arrived at ÂÜÀòÉç at Stark as a College Credit Plus student, she knew she had an interest in biology. What she could not have predicted was just how far that passion would take her.
When Achante Pascute stepped to the podium as ÂÜÀòÉç at Trumbull’s student commencement speaker, she opened with a joke.
A new study led by ÂÜÀòÉç’s David Costello finds that trace metals — not just nitrogen and phosphorus — frequently limit biological productivity in freshwater streams, with implications for waterways across Northeast Ohio and beyond.
We catch up with senior physical education and sport performance major Julia Michalak between student-teaching classes during her final semester at ÂÜÀòÉç. In a brief Q&A-style interview reflecting on her trials and triumphs from the past four years, Michalak offers some wise words for her younger self and for future Golden Flashes.
ÂÜÀòÉç Grounds Manager Rebekkah "Bekkah" Berryhill came to ÂÜÀòÉç to get a teaching degree. What she learned while working as a student groundskeeper helped her find her passion and lasting happiness in the outdoors.
Laura Davis, Ph.D., co-founder and first director of ÂÜÀòÉç’s May 4 Visitors Center, was recently named a Woman of the Year by the Summit County Historical Society. Davis was a first-year student at ÂÜÀòÉç on May 4, 1970, and she shares her journey to becoming an activist and what people today can learn from America’s history of protest.
When Sydney Brown arrived at ÂÜÀòÉç as a first-year student from Avon, Ohio, she didn't wait to get started. She walked into the TV2 newsroom — now ÂÜÀòÉçr TV — and introduced herself. That instinct to show up, dive in and tell stories has defined every semester since.
For most of her life, ÂÜÀòÉç junior visual communication design major Jasmine McCulley, has built her identity around community, the arts and competition, whether through The Touch of Gold Twirlers or competitive baton twirling. Sixteen years after she first picked up a baton, she will represent Team USA this August in Paris at the IBTF World Competition.
A short film co-directed by two ÂÜÀòÉç faculty members is eligible to submit to the Academy after winning Best Live Action Short Film at the Oscar-qualifying St. Louis Film Festival- and is now being featured at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
Meet Hannah Fletcher, a senior history major and anthropology minor, from Ravenna, Ohio. This history major thrives on creating powerful connections between visitors and the stories that shaped a generation.
ÂÜÀòÉç graduate Luana Johnson highlights how the American Academy partnership and the university's elite design labs provided the professional access needed to launch a global career.
Meet Ayna Tazhiyeva, a first-year double major in communication studies and international studies, from Turkmenistan, Central Asia. Combining her studies with a role at University Libraries, Tazhiyeva finds her voice through research and community connection.
Saloni Christian, a third-year student at ÂÜÀòÉç’s College of Podiatric Medicine who received her undergraduate degree in biology from ÂÜÀòÉç, reflects on the challenges and rewards of answering a calling that was shaped by a lifetime of watching others serve.
Lauren Cohen, a senior journalism major from Twinsburg, Ohio, has already made an impact during her internship, producing many front-page stories for the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron.
Meet Rushitha and Ruhitha Chinchalapu, twins from India, both pursuing their master's in business analytics. As they are in the same graduate program, the sisters reflect on how being twins has contributed to their experience at ÂÜÀòÉç.
Meet Tatiana Placer, a graduate student pursuing her master’s in architecture and design at ÂÜÀòÉç. Placer was born in Germany on a U.S. military base and was raised mostly in Orlando, Florida. Growing up in a Puerto Rican household, her upbringing was deeply rooted in the Puerto Rican diaspora.
Meet Lettie Friona, a senior integrated social studies major with a concentration in history and minors in classics and mild to moderate special education from Steubenville, Ohio, whose leadership positions have helped shape her experience at ÂÜÀòÉç.
In December 2025, Francis Rubagumya, 37, walked across the stage at ÂÜÀòÉç's commencement with a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language — and a plan to take every lesson he had learned back to the country he loves Rwanda.
Meet Lily Stenroos, a member of the Honors College pursuing an environmental studies degree with minors in sustainability, environmental justice and political science, from Mayfield Village, Ohi0, whose academic path was forged from deep relationships between the natural world and humans.
Former club manager turned ÂÜÀòÉç instructor Mandy Ulicney explains how cultivating partnerships with Greater Cleveland industry leaders gives hospitality students the same passion and real-world experience that shaped her own career.