ÂÌñÉçWorks - Our Economic Impact
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When Becky Lehman walked into her first class at ÂÌñÉç, she was in her 30s, raising kids and working at an embroidery shop in nearby Mogadore, Ohio. Today, she is the health commissioner for the Portage County Health District – a career milestone she credits directly to the degrees she earned close to home at Kent State.
When Cameren Hicks graduated from ÂÌñÉç in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and a minor in finance, he knew he wanted to build a career rooted in numbers, problem-solving and analysis. Today, Hicks is a fraud modeling and analytics lead associate at KeyBank, where he helps protect customers and the company against fraudulent credit and debit card activity.
ÂÌñÉç graduate Emma Sherrie, '09, always had a feeling she would study anthropology, but still she took the time to check out all the other options available before finally settling on her original plan. Kent State’s Exploratory Program, which helps undecided students sample different disciplines before committing to a major, was a key part of Sherrie’s experience, and the main reason she chose ÂÌñÉçin the first place.
Solon High School art educator Jennifer Thompson, MA ’03, BA ’95, credits ÂÌñÉçwith teaching her that art education isn't just about creating — it's about building critical thinking, empathy and self-expression skills that students carry into every career.
As demand for behavioral health professionals continues to rise across Ohio and the nation, ÂÌñÉç is preparing graduates to not just enter the field right away, but to advance, lead and make a lasting impact in their communities. For three ÂÌñÉçalumni — Cassandra Galloway, Victoria Giegerich and Jason Joyce — their paths may differ slightly, but their stories illustrate how ÂÌñÉçconnects education to real-world outcomes.