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.
Tagged: Young Scholars Program
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.
ODI Homecoming honors longstanding first-gen program
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).
New YSP graduate hopes to tackle sports world as an agent
As an aspiring sports agent, Daechanea Williams has dreams of someday supporting athletes as they compete on the world's biggest stages. Thanks to the Young Scholars Program (YSP), however, Williams now has the opportunity to walk across another big stage: the Schottenstein Center's graduation stage as part of the Autumn 2023 commencement ceremony this December.
Young Scholar’s global education experience nets her Peace Corps teaching job in Africa
An global education experience in Rwanda and a hunger for public service have landed Young Scholar Alanna Strickland a position as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Togo after graduation this spring.
Art show partnership features students’ work highlighting Black History Month
Student-created art designed to spark conversation and highlight the lived experiences of those marginalized by society was the focus of a well-attended art show hosted February 10 at Curl Viewpoint. The artwork was created by ODI Scholars and various students of color on campus.