Student Success Stories

Building Bridges

Celebrating their first-place finish at the regional Steel Bridge Competition are YSU team members, from left, Leah McConnell, Julian Rosales, Kenny Anderson, Nico Pagley, David Mendenhall, Tommy Carnes, Jake Millerleile, Greg Lipp, Spencer DeSalvo, Montana Gessler, Karen Schilling and Miranda DeFuria. The 12-member team, an American Society of Civil Engineers YSU Student Chapter, went on to compete in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition at Oregon State University. Anwarul Islam, professor and chair of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, is the team’s faculty adviser.

Study Abroad: Budapest

YSU senior Elizabeth Urig of Canfield, Ohio, was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi to study abroad in Budapest, Hungary. She is spending the Fall 2017 semester in Budapest, studying advanced mathematics.

A Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering major, Urig is one of only 50 students nationwide to receive the award. Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

Scholarships Awarded

Kevin D. Talley Jr. , left, and Sarah L. Ludwick, YSU students taking part in Sister Jerome’s Mission College, a program of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, have been awarded scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Talley of Hermitage, Pa., a senior Social Work major, received the Bruce A. Roberts Memorial Scholarship and a scholarship honoring local businessman Clarence R. Smith Jr. and his wife, Rose Marie. A graduate of Farrell High School in Farrell, Pa., Talley also served two years in the U.S. Navy.

Ludwick, a junior Social Work major living in Austintown, received the Karen R. Murphy Beatitude House Scholarship. She is a graduate of Beatitude House, a program of the Ursuline Sisters that serves homeless women and children, and Hubbard High School.

Equestrian Excellence

YSU’s Equestrian Team finished its 2016-17 season as Reserve Champion – second in its region – and team member Sarah Newman was ranked among the top 12 collegiate equestrians nationwide. Newman, a Nursing major from Sacramento, Calif., competed in the National Inter-collegiate Horse Show Association show in Lexington, Ky., one of only 12 college equestrians around the country to qualify.

Now in its fourth season, the YSU Equestrian Team was organized in 2014 as a club sport at the university. The team is student-run under the leadership of coach Amy Watkins, an American Quarter Horse Association judge and owner of Watkins Quarter Horses in Canfield.

Beeghly Fellows

Four students in YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration chosen as John D. Beeghly Fellows for the 2017 Fall Semester are, from left: Mariah Carna of New Wilmington, Pa., senior International Business major; Alexis Madeline of Boardman, senior Information and Supply Chain Management major; Julian Testa of Canfield, senior Information and Supply Chain Management major; and Lexi Kulisz of Canfield, senior Accounting major. The program, funded by an endowment established by John D. Beeghly’s wife and family, provides students with paid fellowships working with the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU.

Math Achievers

YSU’s Association for Women in Mathematics Student Chapter won national recognition for its work mentoring students and promoting math on campus. Ami Radunskaya, far left, National AWM president, stands with students representing YSU at the national AWM MathFest in Chicago, from left: back row, Monica Busser, Jacquelyn Chapman, Sarah Elizabeth Odidika, Julie Phillips, Natalie Halivik, Mirella Boulus and Lexi Rager; front row, Alanis Chew, Hannah Haynie (holding award), Ashley Amendol, Sarah O'Kane and Christine Langer.

"When I came to YSU five years ago, just four or five female students were active in department events and research,” said club co-adviser Alicia Prieto Langarica, associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics. "This year, YSU took 17 students to Math Fest – and 14 were female.”

Jambar Wins Kudos

The Jambar, YSU’s student newspaper, placed first in General News Reporting and was a finalist in two other categories in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards. The award-winning staffers are, from left: front row, Lanie Ngo, Amanda Lehnerd and Jordan Unger; second row, Sam Welch, Elizabeth Lehman, Laura McDonough and Justin Wier; third row, Amber Palmer, Gabrielle Fellows and Samantha Phillips; back row, Patricia Sharp and Billy Ludt. Not pictured: Liam Bouquet.

Art Mural

Student artists that were commissioned to design and paint a mural for the Southwoods Medical Building in Boardman, Ohio, and their faculty adviser are, from left: Heather Anderson; Jessica Hollabaugh; Amanda Spinosa; Dragana Crnjak, associate professor of Art; and Arielle Pilolli. The team developed a preliminary design that included Youngstown history and architecture, medical elements, community elements and the Southwoods logo. The students spent nine days on site completing their 26-foot x 40-foot creation.