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����ֱ�� State hosts STARTALK Foreign Language Academy, where 20 accepted high school students in Northeast Ohio are immersed into either Russian or Chinese language and culture. The Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies received federal funding for the 12th year to host this academy on campus.

Kindness means something different to everyone, but to Stephanie Sweany, ’05, it means making a stranger’s day a little better by simply smiling at them. Stephanie started the Canton Kindness Coalition to “make kindness contagious” in November 2018.

Claudia Kovach, ’03, M.A. ’09, has been part of her family business, City Machine Technologies, Inc since 2006. Her time and dedication to the company has proven successful, as Claudia was recently named the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Champion of Ohio.

The ����ֱ�� State University alumni family grew by nearly 3,000 new graduates as the university held its Fall Commencement ceremonies. For the ����ֱ�� Campus, Commencement ceremonies took place Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation (MAC) Center.

Leslie Srodek-Johnson, ’01, a ����ֱ�� State University journalism graduate, mother of two and lead decorator and baker at Stan’s Northfield Bakery, received the call of a lifetime in December 2018. It was from the Food Network asking her to be a part of the “Christmas Cookie Challenge.”

A small class assignment in college led to an off-Broadway debut for ����ֱ�� State University musical theatre alumnus Scott Miesse, ’15, who will be premiering his self-written play titled “Abnormal” in January 2020.

As the champagne flowed Oct. 15 in the clubhouse of the National League Champion Washington Nationals, there was a ����ֱ�� State University connection in the middle of the frenzy that capped the team’s first trip to the World Series.

����ֱ�� State University has made impressive moves in the rankings in the newly released 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list. ����ֱ�� State has climbed three spots, a 3% increase, on the Top Public Schools list. ����ֱ�� State is the only Northeast Ohio institution on the Top Public Schools list. 

Last year, ����ֱ�� State University celebrated 100 years of Homecoming. This year, the university starts the next century of ����ֱ�� State Homecoming celebrations with a new president leading the institution.

A three-day trip is underway for ����ֱ�� State University students to work with community leaders on finding new and creative ways to connect neighborhoods throughout Erie to its Bayfront, according to YourErie.com