Flashes of Success text over the top of a picture of Kent State's campus.

Welcome to the home of University College’s Flashes of Success. Below, you will find demonstrations of how we are successfully supporting Kent State students. 

We'd love to talk about how we can help you or your students - send us a message and we'll get started!

CommUNITY Lab has been nationally recognized as the recipient of two 2026 NASPA Excellence Awards.

An image with two icons celebrating COMMUnity Lab's Gold Award and Grand Gold Award.

CommUNITY Lab has been nationally recognized as the recipient of two 2026 NASPA Excellence Awards including the Gold Award Winner for the Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice category. Additionally, all Gold Award Winners were reviewed a second time to select the Grand Winners, and CommUNITY Lab was selected as the Grand Gold across all categories.

Summer Advantage Program receives national recognition as the recipient of two 2026 NASPA Excellence Awards.

An image with two icons celebrating Summer Advantage Program's Gold Award and Grand Silver Award.

Summer Advantage Program has received national recognition as the recipient of two 2026 NASPA Excellence Awards, including the Gold Award in the Enrollment Management, Financial Aid, First-Year, Other-Year, and Orientation category. As noted in Amanda’s announcement, the program was reviewed for a second time alongside other Gold Award recipients and was selected as a Grand Winner, ultimately earning Grand Silver across all categories.

Summer Advantage Receives NASPA’s 2025 Collaboration Award

 

A banner image that says Summer Advantage.

NASPA’s 2025 Collaboration Award, a prestigious honor recognizing exemplary cross-functional and external partnerships. This award highlights the program’s ability to address institutional challenges, increase efficiencies, inspire innovation, and provide meaningful support for orientation, transition, and retention efforts. Over the past nine years, Summer Advantage has supported more than 1,500 students, helping reduce time to degree completion and cost of attendance while strengthening students’ academic preparedness and sense of belonging.

I AM FIRST Committee Awarded First-Generation College Celebration Grant

I AM FIRST logo

The I AM FIRST Committee has received a $2500.00 First-Generation College Celebration Grant from FirstGen Forward and the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). Kent State has participated in the First-Generation College Celebration since 2018, and efforts have grown to include this week-long celebration of events that occurs across the university’s 8-campus system throughout Northeast Ohio.

Kent State University Recognized as National Leader in Advancing First-Generation Student Success

Logo of First Gen Forward

FirstGen Forward, formerly the Center for First-generation Student Success, recently announced Kent State University as one of only eighteen (18) institutions of higher education selected to its newest class of FirstGen Forward Network Champions. Network Champion institutions are an exclusive group serving as national leaders in advancing first-generation efforts and contributing to an important knowledge base of evidence-based practices, leadership engagement, and scaling student supports.

Community Impact - Flashes of Success

Craig Berger, Associate Director in Community Engaged Learning, will serve on the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition 2025 National Advisory Board to develop and support programs, resources, and research that increase college students' participation in the voting process.

National Leader - Flashes of Success

Craig Berger, Associate Director in CEL co-presented a session at the Reimagining the Academy Conference at Miami University (OH) on September 21st, 2024. Craig co-presented a discussion titled “Co-Optation or Understanding? Exploring Power in Calls for Dialogue,” which examined how calls for “dialogue” can be strategically leveraged by powerful actors to maintain the status quo and/or to avoid structural change and identified the potential and pitfalls of dialogue--and, more broadly, our educational spaces. 

 

Melanie Jones and Morgan Robinson presented at the Reimagining the Academy Conference on September 21st, 2024, at Miami University (OH). Their session, "A System Approach to Reimagining Belonging for First-Year Students, " focused on the critical elements of the Flashes 101 redesign, its purpose, rationale, and critical partnerships for implementation.

 

Craig Berger, Associate Director Community Engaged Learning, received the Defender of Democracy Award from the League of Women Voters of Kent. Craig was recognized for his commitment to encouraging students to exercise their voting rights through his role as co-lead for Kent State Votes. Craig has been instrumental in developing a comprehensive civic engagement strategy for KSU. 

Student Event - Flashes of Success

Ellen Kratky, Julie Paskiet, and Justin Edwards presented at the Northeast Ohio Consortium for Career Advancement’s 2025 Summer Conference. The conference was held at Oberlin College. 

Funding - Flashes of Success

University College's CommUNITY Lab program has received the Racial and Social Justice grant in the amount of $75,000 from the PNC Foundation. The funds have provided opportunities for CLab students to learn financial literacy, receive mental health support, increase belonging, and given much needed emergency financial assistance to cover educational and basic needs expenses.

 

CEL selected for College Service Grant by The Allstate Foundation

Community Engaged Learning has received a $10,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation in collaboration with the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO). This funding will be used to further youth-led, youth-driven service and is a part of The Allstate Foundation’s national strategy to transform how we engage, equip, and prepare young people to participate in community service. The Allstate Foundation has granted over $1 million toward this program to date.

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