Today's Update: Friday, November 18, 2022
November 18, 2022
Dear Student Life team,
Happy High Five Friday!
High Fives to everyone who attended this week’s Scarlet and Great Gathering. If you missed it, the video of the morning session is online: https://livestream.com/wosu/studentlife/videos/233766127.
Today I had the great opportunity to join forces with Ohio State alum, Dr. Michelle Thomas, to lead a session about creating an Empowering Women program. It was a truly inspirational day, and special thanks to Stacy Smith, Chris Nesler, Lindsey Boyd, Natalie Hornback and the tremendous student events team for making it so special.
You may have seen in Slice this morning that Ohio State is one of a select number of schools earning the inaugural ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting recognition. High Fives to Anna Wagner, Madison Yee and OSU Votes for their work to make this happen.
High Five to Mercedes Wallace, who will become Director of the Buckeye Leadership Fellows program on December 5. Special thanks to all who participated in the interview process.
High Five to Troy Keller for organizing a fun and informative get-together for Student Life team members who served in the U.S. military, and High fives to those who attended including James Quinn, Paul Wojdacz, Allan Leary, Christopher Dutton, Kirk Winters, Randall Mulligan, Tom Christensen, Remington Robey, Michael Smith, Greg Fulton, Michael Loomis, Jay Lax, Michael Brecht, Robert Carr, Billy Lowe, Andrew Francis and Eric Faulk.
I would like to give a High Five Chad Welker and the Student Life Team at Ohio State Lima for helping develop and renovate the Veterans Lounge there.
Speaking of Lima, High Five to Amy Livchak for her work there in developing a phenomenally strong series of student engagement events this semester including the "Halfway There!" midterm celebration featuring John Rush “The Human Spotify,” The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Halloween Costume Contest and a series of other events that have drawn record attendance.
High Five to Tracy Stuck for leading Operation Warm, a program that saw 300 coats and 200 pairs of shoes distributed to local elementary school students. High Fives as well to everyone who helped out, including Daren Lehman, Steve Cihon, Drew Stark, John Cronin, Aubrie Smith, Jen Miller, Kim Monteaux De Freitas, Hunter Hartwig, Eddie Labid, Kailee Missler, Candyce Williams, Kellie Uhrig and Mercedes Wallace. I got the opportunity to attend, too, and it was a truly heartwarming experience.
High Five to Jordan Helcbergier, Zarek Bell, the Student Life Marketing staff and members of the Commission on Student Mental Health and Well-being for all of their work on the annual Wellness Assessment survey. We had more students take the survey this year than ever before due to the team’s hard work on promoting the survey, and the data is incredibly useful for the Student Wellness Center and Mental Health Commission’s efforts.
The Student Life Disability Services team gets a High Five for helping write and edit the department’s self-study for their upcoming program review.
High Five to the STEP team for holding the recent Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston STEP Expo in-person for the first time in three years. It was so exciting to see all of the students’ wonderful experiences highlighted in the Ohio Union. A special High Five to Chelsea Black for her huge contribution in planning and executing the Expo and High Fives to all of the Student Life team members who served as reviewers.
Human Resources’ Stephanie Franks gets a High Five for serving as a facilitator for the university’s new employee orientation.
Finally, High Five to the Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers (GLACUHO) for instituting the Willie J. Young, Sr. Commitment to Diversity Award, and producing this cool banner to promote it. High Fives to Dr. Moetiz Samad and J. Randall Hicks for helping them with the banner.
No High Fives next week because the university is closed on Thursday and Friday. In the meantime, have a Scarlet and Great weekend and a lovely Thanksgiving holiday to all who celebrate!
Melissa S. Shivers, PhD
Senior Vice President for Student Life
The Ohio State University