Tagged: ODI Alumni

ODI family and friends from far and wide returned to campus over the weekend to enjoy ODI’s Homecoming Open House and Celebration, greeting old friends and making new ones during the festivities in Hale Hall.

“Home is meant to be a space that’s filled with warmth, loved ones, community, and belonging,” remarked Dr. Andreá Williams, Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, in her brief remarks capping Saturday’s brunch. “That’s what we’re building here in Hale Hall. In fact, that’s what has stood for fifty years.”

Ernest Moore III sits upright at his desk, white coat on. Now in his first year of medical school at The Ohio State University, Moore is calm and composed—but he wasn’t always so confident.

The path to graduation is riddled with roadblocks for every Buckeye. For parenting students, however, attending college brings even more challenges and requires even more sacrifices—making graduation even more special.

ODI’s ACCESS Collaborative Program honored this important occasion for the class of 2024 with its Scholar Honors Reception in late April. The event recognized parenting students on the cusp of graduation and their children’s academic achievements, in spirit with the program’s two-generation educational approach.

Global citizenship: It’s a concept that continues to grow in importance as the world becomes increasingly interconnected—and few embody it better than Arón Olegnowicz-Cruz.

A high-achieving Mexico City native who grew up in suburban Cincinnati, Olegnowicz-Cruz knew from a young age that he wanted to improve educational equity, especially for folks from diverse backgrounds.

The enduring power of love and the importance of advocating for social change were on the minds of student speakers as about 150 scholars took part in ODI's Graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 2nd at the Ohio Union.

"We don't shy away from tough conversations, we welcome them," said Alex Abreo, a Morrill Scholar graduating with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. "Our own university arrests students for exercising their First Amendment rights. Students--more than ever--we need to stand up and be a voice of the voiceless."

If you had asked 17-year-old Regina Loayza where she envisioned herself in four years, her answer would have been instantaneous: anywhere but The Ohio State University.

Yet when the COVID-19 pandemic hit during the Columbus native’s senior year of high school, Loayza landed at Ohio State. Now on the brink of graduation, the fourth-year Latine Student Success Scholar believes that twist of fate was instrumental to her journey.

As an aspiring counselor, Aalissia Thomas plans to spend the rest of her life helping others navigate challenges—a dream she will be one step closer to achieving when she accepts her diploma this May. However, Thomas says she never would have accomplished this milestone if the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) had not supported her through difficulties of her own.

The first-generation experience of students persevering toward graduation often includes obsticles. Young Scholar Brian Finley, Aalissia Thomas, Sarah Al-Hashemi, and Say Yes Scholar Navi Draper share their experiences and left words of wisdom for future graduates in this Lantern article.

Read the full first-gen article.

Old friendships were rekindled and new connections forged as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) held Homecoming celebrations for alumni and supporters focused on the 35th Anniversary of the Young Scholars Program (YSP).

A priceless collection of Black art collected over the past 40 years and displayed within the Frank W. Hale Black Cultural Center will forever be known as the Lawrence K. Williamson Jr. Black Fine Art Collection.