Profiles

Flash Focus: Christopher Shaffer
Meet Christopher Shaffer, a senior aerospace engineering major with a minor in physics, from New Bern, North Carolina, whose curiosity in sciences paved the way for his academic career.

Brewing Success: The Sweet Journey of Creating ‘Zonuts’
Every weekend, Kent State University junior marketing major Zoe Noel travels throughout northeast Ohio, filling the streets with the aroma of coffee and freshly made donuts.

Flash Focus: Reagan Pruente
Meet Reagan Pruente, a junior human development and family science major from Brook Park, Ohio, who discovered that her true passion lay in helping children in nontraditional ways.

Classroom to Catwalk: Sophomore Fashion Student Takes Chance, Thrives in New York
The School of Fashion is globally recognized for its exceptional programming. It provides students with opportunities to apply their skills in real-world settings, but it takes awareness and nerve for students to recognize a golden opportunity to showcase those skills. Jesus Baldrich, a sophomore fashion merchandising major, saw one such chance and took it.

Student Makes History Leading Parkinson's Speech Therapy
Grace Puin excels at getting Parkinsons patients to speak and swallow with intent. She’s so good in fact that Parkinson Voice Project, a nonprofit organization that helps people with Parkinson’s all over the world, invited her to host one of its online SPEAK OUT! Home Practice Sessions.

Looking Forward to his Junior Year – and Robot Combat!
Kent State Today continues to follow mechatronics engineering technology student Jude Carver as part of ongoing “Year with a Flash” series. Carver is beginning his first semester as a junior in Spring Semester 2025.

Flash Focus: Renee Ellis
Meet Renee Ellis, a second-year double major in fashion design and fashion merchandising and member of the Honors College from Chicago, Illinois, who said her family influence has inspired her to look at fashion through a deeper lens.

‘Learning They Won’t Forget’
For Kelsen LaBerge, Ph.D., teaching at Kent State is about more than equations. Since joining in 2018, she has dedicated herself to preparing future engineers with not only technical skills but also the resilience to face real-world challenges. The accomplishments and commitment of LaBerge, professor of engineering, have earned her the Outstanding Teaching Award.

Flash Focus: Maura Dougherty
Meet Maura Dougherty, a senior theatre studies major with a focus on performance from Pittsburgh. From acting in elementary and high school productions to working at a theatre for young audiences for five years, Dougherty has consistently pursued her passion for the performing arts.

Kent State University Museum to Feature Exhibition of World-Renowned Alumna Artist
The work of a well-known Cleveland textile artist who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kent State University will be on display at the Kent State University Museum beginning Jan. 24.