Kennesaw State University

A dual major in biochemistry and psychology, Emily Clarke has taken the road less traveled at Kennesaw State. The rising junior is working toward a career in cognitive neuroscience and engaging in interdisciplinary research, with one hand in the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the other in the College of Science and Mathematics.

DarVarous Jones and Charlotte McClung became the latest Kennesaw State students to earn their degrees as beneficiaries of the Paul Radow Scholars Program. The program was established in 2014 by longtime KSU benefactor Norman Radow in honor of his late father, Paul, an accomplished NASA engineer.

KSU sophomore Valeria Ruiz won the Perfect Pitch Competition at the 2025 American Marketing Association (AMA) International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans. Tasked with telling a panel of judges in 90 seconds what makes them the ideal candidate for a job, Ruiz bested nearly 600 students from around the U.S. and the world for first place.

While enrolled in the educational leadership doctoral program at Kennesaw State University, full-time assistant principal and mother of two Jennifer Wilson had classes to take and research papers and discussion posts to write. Graduating this May, Wilson will be the first in her family to have earned a doctorate.

Anh Duong, a senior majoring in computer science, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the President's Award of Distinction. The award has been established to celebrate the accomplishments of one exceptional graduating student each semester "who serves as an inspiration to their peers, their community, and the entirety of Owl Nation."

Students at Kennesaw State University are often led to research through personal connections, demonstrating how passion can spark action. Student researchers presented their findings at the Spring Symposium of Student Scholars, a three-day event hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research that allows students to explain their work in a public forum.

Growing up, Luke Gamage was often captivated by video games and found himself pondering his own future as a game designer. Now a student in Kennesaw State University's College of Computing and Software Engineering, he has turned a class project into a design studio with its first game set to launch on Steam.

Four Kennesaw State University students are participating in the Georgia Legislative Internship Program (GLIP) during the current General Assembly session. The GLIP students work with legislators, their committees, and their staff during the annual 40-day legislative session while receiving course credit.

Ella Goode and Allisa George received the Siegel Outstanding Student Leader Scholarship, celebrating students who reflect the true spirit of servant leadership and a commitment to helping others rise alongside them. The Tumlin Rising Leader Scholarship, which honors a student who embodies living a leadership lifestyle, was awarded to Aliyah Johnson.

Kennesaw State University has named more than 6,400 students to the President's List in recognition of their academic excellence for the Fall 2024 semester. To achieve this honor, each undergraduate student must have completed at least nine credit hours with a term grade point average of 4.0.

Kennesaw State University congratulates the more than 9,000 students named to the Dean's List in recognition of their academic achievement during the Fall 2024 semester. Undergraduate students enrolled in at least nine credit hours and with a term grade point average of at least 3.5 were named to the list.

The Kennesaw State University Office of Undergraduate Research hosted the Fall Symposium of Student Scholars on the Marietta campus, featuring 235 projects. Anh Duong and John Oakley were awarded the top undergraduate presentation, and El Arbi Belfarsi received the top presentation in the graduate division.

One thing always guides Tracey Graves' endeavors: service. Graves has volunteered to help underprivileged children in Los Angeles while working as an actor, traveled to Zambia with the Peace Corps, and now sits on a nonprofit board there helping to pay girls' way through school. She and her sister recently formed a nonprofit organization in memory of their grandmother.

Kennesaw State University student Emma Hunt has qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics scheduled for Paris. Hunt, an exercise science major, earned her spot in the Olympics by winning a silver medal in the speed climbing world championship in Bern, Switzerland.

Throughout his journey at Kennesaw State University, Dalton Shaver found a unique passion that combines his interest in international affairs with his skills in math modeling. From an internship with the Air Force to undergraduate research on Operation Enduring Freedom, Shaver readied himself for a career in the defense industry.

Kennesaw State students Gabrielle Jones and Summer Williams just made history at the University, but it wasn't easy. They became the first to complete Scrappy's Bucket List, a challenge designed to boost student engagement.

Kennesaw State University's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosted a networking panel for students at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Georgia annual conference. The session hosted by KSU guided public relations students in creating a personal introduction that makes a strong impression in networking situations and job interviews.

Students at Kennesaw State University used their computing skills to help match young adults without families to volunteers who want to mentor them. The effort was part of the 2022 Hackathon for Social Good.

The first semester of college is a time of transition and growth as students spread their wings and begin to navigate their academic careers, discover new interests and make lasting memories. Cassidy Martin, an Honors student from Acworth who plans to pursue a degree in international business, shares what made her first semester as an Owl meaningful.

Kennesaw State University graduate student Gabrielle Pajak has been awarded a Boren Fellowship to study in Jordan, providing another step toward a career she plans related to human rights issues. Pajak, who is pursuing a Master of Science in International Policy Management (MSIPM) from Kennesaw State, will learn Arabic at a language institute during 11 months in Jordan, starting in January 2022. Boren Awards focus on geographic areas, languages and fields of study that are critical to United States interests and underrepresented in study abroad, and Pajak chose to conduct hers in Jordan because of her interest in the country's high number of refugees who have fled from Syria's ongoing civil war.

Two Master of Arts in Professional Writing students at Kennesaw State University have won national honors for their creative writing and composition and rhetoric. Tyra Douyon won the Tin House Young Adult Workshop award, and Haley Hamilton had a proposal accepted for the Conference on College Composition and Communication.