Acacia Rhodes is an incoming Autumn 2024 Regional Campus Transitioner from Columbus. Rhodes spent two years studying at the Newark campus as a LeFevre Fellow, where she served as a student representative for the Newark Board, participated in the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project (OPEEP), and studied abroad in Greece, Panama, and Australia.
Rhodes also founded Newark campus’s first environmental student organization, Help Our Planet Earth (HOPE) Club, which received the 2024 Outstanding Student Organization award from the Office of Student Life. The organization allowed Rhodes to embrace her love of nature, a passion that also led her to attend the School of Environment and Natural Resources.
“I grew up in Montana. It’s very scenic, very beautiful. It has mountains, dry woodland forests, and a lot of trees and wildlife,” Rhodes said. “I was always going outside and doing things—skiing, kayaking, hiking. Nature has always been that third place for me that helps with my stress and mental health overall.”
As a forestry, fisheries, and wildlife major, Rhodes is transferring to the Columbus campus to complete her degree. She is grateful for the Regional Campus Transitioners Program (RCT) for smoothing the transition.
“Coming from a regional campus, I know it’s going to be harder for me than for most people that are already there in their third year,” Rhodes explained. “I hope RCT will help me get acclimated to the campus better and help me meet students who are in the same position as me.”