Today's Update: High Five Friday
May 29, 2026
Dear Student Life team,
Happy High Five Friday!
The Center for the Study of Student Life recently did an assessment on how Buckeye Commons impacted students this past year. High Five to Senior Career Advisor Paul Newell for being specifically mentioned by several students. “(He) has been beyond helpful and truly the best career advisor. He is always accessible, responds quickly to emails with questions, and has made a huge difference in my Ohio State experience.” Said another, “Paul...made me feel comfortable and confident in the academic decision I am making and will do going forward.” And a third said, “Paul Newell helped me build a strong resume that I can use for job applications. He really did a great job in explaining the content step by step which is super helpful.”
The Monda Student Resource Center now has a garden behind the Hall Complex to grow produce to be distributed in the Student Food Pantry. It’s planted with cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, green onions, basil and tomatoes. High Fives to everyone who made it possible, including Morgan Vibbert, Jordyn Sikula, Madi Barnes, Re’Nesha Weston, Tom Reeves, Kathy Krajnak, Jennifer Schoolcraft, Ryan Lovell, the student staff of the Green Buckeyes Program, volunteers from the Stadium Scholarship Program and the Alumnae Scholarship Houses and our friends at FOD.
We’ve had a very busy season of events in our Student Life spaces this spring. I want to give High Fives to Events and Conferences, Ohio Union AV and Operations, Rec Sports and University Catering for their outstanding work. We’ve had some large scale and complex events, including several that were graduation related, a very large wedding in the Ohio Union and now Special Olympics kicking off today. High Fives as well to those supporting all of this, including Risk and Emergency Management, Bob Armstrong in Emergency Management and Fire Prevention, Facilities, Planning, Projects and Space Management, Dining Services and Housing and Residence Education for coming together to make this season a success.
Another Student Life team member is the USAC Staff in the Spotlight Winner. It’s Bill Sapp, Student Life Facilities, Lead Tech - Maintenance. His nominator says, “Bill’s impact is felt daily through the trust and professionalism he brings to the residential environment. By being consistently reliable and approachable, Bill helps to lessen the stress of his colleagues and ensures that the Gateway community is a place where students and staff alike feel valued.” You can read Bill’s Spotlight online.
Housing and Residence Education wants to make sure the Facilities team (maintenance, paint and cleaning) that prepared Torres House to be used for Orientation housing this summer gets a High Five. The building looks AMAZING as we welcome our future Buckeyes who stay overnight on campus for their two-day orientation.
The Ohio Union Student Activities team wants a High Five to go to Kathie Serif and her team for an informative tour of the Culinary Production Kitchen. They also loved the cookies!
Have a Scarlet and Great weekend. Go Bucks!
Melissa S. Shivers, PhD
Senior Vice President for Student Life
The Ohio State University