The holidays are a special time for everyone, but some ODI students will receive an extra special gift this December: their diploma from The Ohio State University. Read on to learn more about our outstanding ODI graduates.
Tagged: Young Scholars Program
Young Scholar Alum Serves Her Country While Constructing a Career
Every day for two years, Young Scholar Khadazia Conner walked past the carved inscription on the iconic 75-foot clock tower as she made her way from her north campus residence hall to class. The words, made famous by President John F. Kennedy during his 1961 inauguration speech, read: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Federal Reserve Board member leads conversation on future of AI
The "highly uncertain" future of the workplace dominated by the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools was the focus of a wide-ranging discussion led by Federal Reserve System Board member Lisa D. Cook, PhD, Thursday night.
Bobby McAlpine and Justin Robinson: Leaders of the Undergraduate Student Government's 57th General Assembly
ODI Scholars Bobby McAlpine (MSP) and Justin Robinson (YSP) are part of the 57th Assembly of The Ohio State University's Undergraduate Student Government (USG). Bobby McAlpine serves as the USG incumbent President while Justin Robinson is the newly-elected Vice President.
Young Scholars Program recognized for improving college access for Ohioans
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion's Young Scholars Program (YSP) recently received statewide recognition for its impactful work in improving college access for first-generation college students in Ohio.
YSP grad ends one Buckeye journey and begins another
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: graduating students reflect on their college experience
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.
YSP graduate looks to engineer a brighter future
Hamidou Sy always knew he wanted to be a civil engineer, even before he understood what engineering was. As a child growing up in Mauritania in West Africa, Sy saw the impact of a lack of engineering firsthand.
“Whenever we would travel from province to province, state to state, we would see terrible accidents on the roadway. We would see bad infrastructure, inadequate water resources,” Sy recalled. “That was a call to action for me.”
New YSP graduate overcomes diagnosis to bring his art to the world
When Luis Mercado walks across the Schottenstein Center stage to get his diploma this December, it will be the final steps in a journey he worried he might never finish.
Mercado came to The Ohio State University as a first-year student in 2018, drawn by the support and opportunities provided by the Young Scholars Program (YSP), which he joined as a sixth grader growing up in South Lorain. That support took on a whole new meaning three years later, however, when Mercado received life-changing news: cancer.
Lena Dwidari: At the intersection of art, STEM, and Smuckers
Unexpected paths can sometimes be the most beautiful ones - at least, Lena Dwidari thinks so. When the Human Development and Family Sciences major first came to The Ohio State University, art wasn't on her radar. She never would have guessed that as a fifth-year Young Scholar, she'd be commissioned to create glass art for a Fortune 500 business like the J.M. Smucker Company.
A Columbus native, Dwidari first got into 3D art in 2021, when she took a ceramics class to fulfill a core requirement. She enjoyed the course and decided to try her hand at glass blowing.