Today's Update: High Five Friday
August 14, 2026
Dear Student Life team,
Happy High Five Friday!
The next couple of weeks are going to be very busy, especially with Move-In starting Wednesday. High Fives to all who have signed up to take a shift rolling out the Scarlet Carpet for our students moving into our residence halls. There are still a few events that could use your help. I outlined them in a recent Today's Update message.
High Five to Disability Services Access Specialist Sarah Goebel for taking the lead on the complex task of coordinating daily student office assistant schedules this summer during an office manager vacancy. Her commitment to supporting our student staff and keeping operations running smoothly was invaluable and deeply appreciated.
Kelly Kyser, Andy Michel and Jon Witter of CFAES Wooster get High Fives for hosting several of our team members on their campus recently. So many exciting things are going on there!
High Fives to Brooke Olson and Jayden Messer for conducting outreach to 74 incoming first-year students who expressed interest in additional support and resources as they transition to campus. Way to go in welcoming our Buckeyes and making sure they are off to a great start! And High Five to Erica Regan for supporting Buckeye Commons in accessing the appropriate data to do this outreach.
Julie Schultz gets a High Five for serving as emcee for incoming students transferring from Columbus State Community College through the Buckeye Bridge program. Julie has been an important member of the Buckeye Bridge university workgroup over the last year to make the program happen – and did a wonderful job as emcee.
High Fives to the Student Life Events and Conferences summer cleaning team for their outstanding work. Redeployed from their academic-year assignments in Dining Services, these team members worked tirelessly throughout the summer conference season to clean and turn over rooms across campus. Many put in extended hours to ensure every space was ready on time. High Fives to Ali Daoud, Andrew Weida, Andrea Mitchell, Artem Yakubovskyi, Bailey Prather, Bret Hickman, Burnett Spurling, Cassie Keaton, Chenchenyi Zhu, Christina Davis, David Grigg, Dorothy James, Ericka Hall, Erin Scherer, Ferris Orcutt, Geoff Bennett, Glenn Hamblin, Jacobo Reyes Ricardez, Jayde Vestrais, Kadence Stachowiak, Kaleb Raphael, Kelsey Cartnal, Kelli Grice, Kisia Collins, Kris Loudon, Marquita Jones, Matt Crone, Maxwell Saniel-Banrey, MD Solaiman, Michael Steinhilber, Michael Whiteside, Michelle Espinal Wade, Mikah Payne, Mohammad Mannan, Najib Tabia, Noah De La Paz, Oscar Depablos, Raymond Dennison, Rebecca Kalel, Richard Sun, Riley Orr, Riley O'Rourke, Rosa Sandoval, Russell Chaney, Ryan Andrisko, Ryan Garcia, Sam Holder, Sandra Riley, Silvia Kim, Solys Ramirez Aldana, Syah Bin Hadrat Syah, Taegeun Joo, Ted Han, Thin Han, Todor Nikov, Tyler Freshcorn, Will Quattlebaum, Winston Boateng and Zachary Frager.
Additional High Fives go to Amber Morse, Chad Osborne, Abby Hertzfeld and Rahul Ponappa from Dining Services for their help directing additional labor towards room turns in the final stretch.
High Five to Tyree Watson from Facilities for his outstanding partnership in rallying team members to complete room turns. High Fives as well to Tafaru Garuba, Juana Vasquez, Marcela Dominguez, Buddhi Rai, Conny Bonilla, Matilda Obuobisa, Edwige Tchuenbou, Ashley Adkins, Paul Yankey, Mary Diaz and Fathiya Samatar from Facilities who worked over the weekend to ensure rooms were cleaned after our summer guests were on campus.
Events and Conferences' Jordan Rutherford is nominated for a High Five by the Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement team, saying, "She has been so helpful as we navigate some last-minute event changes. Her problem solving, creative thinking and overall assistance have been much appreciated."
High Five to Zach Redecker for always being willing to lend a hand to the BuckID operations team, even when it means needing to drive up to the Marion Campus to bring some additional parts and pull wire through the ceiling.
It seems odd to High Five a building, but it's fitting we recognize Jones Tower for 57 years of service to Ohio State students. It will be taken down early next year but not before the very first Hall Director, Bill Hunter, got to tour the building with the last Jones Hall Director, Shana Parker. Good memories.
Have a Scarlet and Great weekend and be ready for a much busier campus next week. Go Bucks!
Melissa S. Shivers, PhD
Senior Vice President for Student Life
The Ohio State University