Today's Update: Friday, November 7, 2025

November 7, 2025

Dear Student Life team, 

Happy High Five Friday!  

I recently had the honor of spending time with Student Life’s Alumni Advisory Board for a day full of connection, strategy and planning for the future. A mega-sized High Five goes to Stacy Smith and Jen Vandemark for their hard work planning, coordinating and helping to host the entire day. Special thanks goes to Robin Bolterman who helped solve a tech issue and for going above and beyond in so many other ways. I also have to shout out our Student Life team members who shared presentations and led dialogue: Scott Brown, Erica Regan and Tori Rehr; along with Monica Moll from Public Safety. And last but certainly not least, I am grateful for the assistance of our extraordinary student employees who did such a fantastic job supporting the coordination of the event: Khushi Pabboju, Trinity Patterson and Matthew Swearingen; along with our amazing student panelists: Joshua Davis, Pranav Ingale, Serena-Jenna Rabi, Brinda Raghavan and Kendhyl Wilder.

Last week I gave High Fives to Tracy Stuck and the planning committee for organizing the Guinness World Record setting Brutus Buckeye birthday celebration. This afternoon I also want to thank all the people from across the university who helped with the event, including Isabel Biasella, Nate Bidwell, Michelle Blackstone, Josh Bodnar, Peyton Brock, Kristen Carpenter, Rachel Conners, Emily Samuels, Kayla Davis, Amanda deJonge, Isaac Dryer, Kyle Fowler, Elizabeth Howes, Frida Gillespie, Marco Gomez, Ruby McGrievy, Lori Green, Kali Gross, Kierra Hampton, Kassidie Harmon, Hunter Hartwig, Joe Hast, Ally Heiland, Thyrone Henderson, J Randall Hicks, Scott Holmes, Delanie Householder, Amy Hurley, Donta Ingram, Alex Jimenez, Deb Katz, Barb Kefalas, Collin Kriegbaum, Spencer Litzenberger, Julianna Logan, Ally Loomis, Ryan Lovell, Christian Manning, Jayden Messer, Jenn Miller, Faith Nelson, Akua Nelson, Jen Nelson,  Hana Nip, Katrina Norris, Gabi Nunez, Trinity Patterson, Khushi Pabboju, Tiffany Quattlebaum, Kristen Rupert Davis, Addison Kennedy, Lindsay Seminara, Ray Sharp, Kristin Smith, Stacy Smith, Zach Snyder, Drew Stark, Leanne Stearns, Matthew Swearingen, Zach Talstein, Kim Traverse, Jen Vandemark, Cristina Vega, Matthew Wallace, Hannah Warner, Dave Wiseley, Eric Wolford, Tyler Wynkoop and Becca Young. 

Anita McCoy of Student Life Strategic Communications gets a High Five. Her social media posts on our Student Life channels received 1.8 million views in the month of October. And specifically on Instagram, we had more than 2.5 million views in the past 90 days. That’s a Scarlet and Great way to tell the story of Student Life.  

A colleague suggests a High Five to Paul O’Leary in BuckID/Access Control, saying, “While he is always supremely helpful, he’s been bringing out his A game for some quirky issues and needs that have popped in areas that I help support!” 

I saw in Slice this morning that Ohio State placed 28th out of the top 50 on the Princeton Review’s list of top Green Universities, the best in the Big 10. High Five to Tom Reeves, program director of sustainability in the Student Wellness Center, for his leadership in this area.   

High Five to Paul Newell for passing the Certified Professional Resume Writer exam. This is a prestigious credential that signifies advanced skills and a standard of excellence in the art and science of career documentation. 

High Five to the Buckeye Careers team during this National Career Development month in celebration and recognition of everything they do to support students, helping them find internships and jobs, while also helping them discover purpose, build confidence and shape their academic, professional and life journeys.  

Ohio State's Facilities Operations and Development’s Landscaping team gets a High Five for all their work in front of the Ohio Union. They’ve been removing dead and broken bushes and planting new trees, grasses and flowering plants. Jeff Pelletier says his favorite new plant they’re putting in is the Liriope. I looked up Liriope, and it’s beautiful. Can’t wait until it blooms next year. 

Have a Scarlet and Great weekend and let your Go Bucks spirit shine!  

 

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD      
Senior Vice President for Student Life       
The Ohio State University