Today's Update: Friday, September 15, 2023
September 15, 2023
Dear Student Life team,
Happy High Five Friday.
High Fives to everyone who attended yesterday’s Scarlet and Great Gathering. We shared lots of important information, so if you missed it or want to go back to any part, you can watch a replay of the morning session online at https://livestream.com/wosu/studentlife091423
As I mentioned at the Gathering, I couldn’t go in-depth on many of the topics I covered, so I want to be sure you get additional information you might want. Based on interest, we will offer virtual break-out sessions, so fill out this online interest survey to let us know what you’d like to learn more about.
It’s also Scarlet and Gray Friday, so, as I said at the Gathering, be sure to send me pictures of you (and your team) wearing our colors at sl-vicepresident@osu.edu. I’ll put some of them in upcoming High Five Friday messages.
I promised prizes to a random selection of people who received High Five cards from their colleagues during the sessions and explained that I would reveal the winners in this message. I will. Just keep reading.
I stopped by the Buckeye Football Family Tailgate last weekend, and a father of a first-year student came up to me to say, “Ohio State knows how to do the big events really well. From orientation to Move-In to this event you all have it mastered!” Kind words, and High Fives to everyone involved in the Tailgate and the Roundtable kickoff brunch, led by Beth Ullum, Adam Specht and Noah Gilbert, and including Lori Green, Kathy Grant, Tori Rehr, Rachel DeMooy, Katie Flanagan and the event services team, Elizabeth McGreevy, Keith Harrington, Danny Glassmann and Matt Couch.
High Fives to Mary Beth Baker of Student Health Services and the staff development committee for answering the call for underwear donations to go to the unhoused in the University District. They had a goal of 100 but collected 250 in their drive.
One of our departments suggests a High Five for Ohio Union Events Operations Coordinator Colleen Lins and the team “for always being available to accommodate our requests and making sure our spaces are ready and welcoming for students.” High Five!
This High Five comes from outside Student Life, and I love it when people notice the hard work our team does. Bob Armstrong, the university’s Emergency Management & Fire Prevention Director, wrote a glowing report on the Ohio Union and said, “I usually send emails when I see things that concern me. I'm trying to get in the habit of sending them when I see good things. Thank you to each of you for helping to keep up on everything. I know it isn't easy. I sincerely appreciate the assist.”
Andrew Crow and his Operations team get High Fives for problem solving around the things that are identified as high importance, making it easier to prioritize and expedite requests for service.
High Five to the A Team, winners of the Step into the Semester YP4H Step Challenge with a total of 2,154,545 steps. The team was comprised of Melynda Jenkins, Kevin Fincher, Lakshmi Kamisetty, Silvia Kim and Miranda Jacot.
Kelly Kyser from CFAES Wooster gets a High Five for taking their traditional Welcome Day and growing it into an exciting Welcome Week full of fun and creative opportunities for our Wooster students to get the year off to an exciting start.
High Five to Ohio State Lima’s Chad Welker for his Wellness Fair. More than 100 students attended to learn about our Ten Dimensions of Wellness as well as connecting with various local/community wellness resources.
Speaking of Lima, Amy Livchak gets a High Five for the Involvement Fair which featured various student orgs as well as campus departments and resources to encourage students to connect with their peers and participate in campus happenings and organizations.
More Lima Love: High Fives to Justin F. Courtney and Bryan Albright for working with the United Way of Allen County to participate with various community volunteers in the 7th Annual Day of Caring. It made Lima TV news.
High Five to Tom Roush of Facilities Operations who didn’t miss a beat when he stepped up during his supervisor’s vacation. A colleague says, “Even with multiple critical issues to handle, Tom manages to always approach problems with a positive attitude and puts others at ease with his demeanor. He can always be counted on to handle the toughest facilities problems with a caring customer service approach because he gets the big picture, we are here for our students.”
If you saw the TBDBITL show at last Saturday’s football game, you know that it celebrated 50 years of women in the band. High Five to Rec Sports group fitness instructor Isabel Slaven for having the honor of dotting the “i.”
Finally, now that you’ve read to the end of our High Five Friday message – and it was a long one! - here are the team members who have won an Ohio State flag, randomly selected from all the appreciation notes submitted yesterday: Johna Walls, David Gray, Rena Bankston, Becca Hamilton, Aubrie Smith, Noah Gilbert, Jen Nelson, Joel Sedziol, E’nid Patterson, Brandon Horton, Mary Beth Baker, Rachel DeMooy, Ali Talcott, Sharon Yameogo, Taylor Koon, Susie Whittington, Victoria Weaver, Tara Nord, Colleen Lins, Tori Rehr, Nick Aichele, Cortney Brewer, Adam Specht, Madi Ching, Paula Young, Ashton Ansel, Marjorie Freggens, Helios Yu, Yvonne Dulaney, Alex Cates, Anna Wagner Julie Wagner, Dan McKay, Travis Barnhart, Said Mouloua, Abby Richard, Candice Williams, Lucy Hennon, Dora Cross and Shari Simpson. High Fives!
Have a Scarlet and Great weekend and GO BUCKS!
Melissa S. Shivers, PhD
Senior Vice President for Student Life
The Ohio State University