Kennesaw State University

An undercurrent of restlessness and curiosity fuels Jess Maillet. The nontraditional, first-generation Kennesaw State University student has embraced change at every turn, from leaving her longtime restaurant job to enroll in college, to juggling several research projects across multiple disciplines as a mother of four.

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.

Kennesaw State construction management student Aria Lavender was recently honored with the Outstanding Student Award at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. Presented by the National Association of Home Builders, the award recognizes student members for their leadership, academic achievement, and dedication to the construction industry.

Kennesaw State University Honors student Allisa George isn't just studying science. She's using it to change lives. Inspired by her family's battle with Alzheimer's and her passion for health policy, George seeks a career as a physician and researcher at the intersection of neurology and public health.

A double major in media and entertainment studies and graphic communications and a minor in Asian Studies, Lena Song serves as the vice president of a registered student organization, is actively involved with the Korean program, and recently completed the inaugural Metro Atlanta Changemakers Fellowship.

First-year architecture student Tuere Thomas is reimagining the way students consume design education through the use of artificial intelligence. Her research at Kennesaw State focuses on how AI tools can spark creativity and help beginners visualize architectural concepts in innovative ways.

For the past year, a group of Kennesaw State University students have been synthesizing information from a multi-year study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female academics who also are mothers. The students presented their findings at the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education Conference.

Mechatronics engineering student Andrea Martinez Angulo is well on her way to breaking new ground in robotics. Martinez Angulo is an active member of the Synergy Robotics Lab, where she has been working on a cutting-edge project involving robot dogs designed to reimagine agricultural practices.

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.

Just a sophomore at Kennesaw State University, Aliyah Johnson holds numerous student leadership roles while balancing the rigorous courseload in the Wellstar-Tom and Betty Phillips Elite Honors Nursing Scholars program. Johnson is involved in various registered student organizations and she has landed five competitive scholarships.

Kennesaw State sophomore Shifa Jiwani is on a path toward becoming a neurologist, an interdisciplinary field that combines two of her interests - biology and psychology. She developed a passion for health care after witnessing the lack of access to proper medical care in rural communities in India, her native country.

Marissa Alban came to Kennesaw State University to study nursing, a field driven by the passion of its practitioners. Unable to shake her love and talent for singing, however, she channeled her passion into a music major with a focus on vocal performance, where she remains on a path toward a career as a professional singer.

It didn't take long for Kennesaw State University student Lilianna Kocai to discover a passion for research. All it took was a little nudge from assistant professor Carl Saint-Louis. As a freshman, Kocai took a course called Culture of Science and Mathematics, designed by Saint-Louis to open young eyes to research at an early stage in their college careers.

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.

Fifth-year architecture student Mary Beth Caldwell earned first place and the People's Choice Award in the annual Cooper Carry Three-Minute Thesis competition for her reimagining of the traditional office environment. The competition challenges students to present their research or thesis in just three minutes.

As different as they may seem, there are a lot of parallels between lacrosse and the field of computer science. Kennesaw State University student Kendal Elison said both require persistence and flexible decision-making. "On the lacrosse field, I stay calm under pressure and make quick decisions. It's the same with coding," Elison said.

Naima Fouad-Gilliam, a master's student in Kennesaw State's School of Data Science and Analytics, is exploring hidden stressors harming honeybee colonies. At the heart of her research is principal component analysis, a statistical tool that simplifies complex data by uncovering patterns and relationships.

From the moment she arrived at Kennesaw State University, Jazmin Dozier knew she wanted a science-based career. Now, she's an aspiring researcher on the rise. Dozier learned about careers in science while conducting research in epigenetics, resulting in conference presentations and publications in scientific journals.

From U.S. Army combat medic to student researcher, Vanessa Young's journey at Kennesaw State University has set her on the path to reshape healthcare technology through human-centered designs. Graduating with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Young has achieved significant success since arriving at Kennesaw State's Marietta Campus.

Micah Holston is pursuing bachelor's degrees in physics and political science. He is a substitute teacher in Cherokee County schools and conducts research part time for the Air Force Research Laboratory. He also is the vice president of the Kennesaw Nuclear Society and the KSU chapter of the North American Young Generation for Nuclear.

When Colin Jacobs chose to study hospitality management at Kennesaw State University, he mostly associated the major with hotels and restaurants. However, the Fall 2024 graduate's involvement on and off campus, as well as the industry connections he made, opened his eyes to the vast opportunities in the hospitality industry.

Iwalani Reiser has always thrived amid chaos, starting as a teenager on a voluntary ambulance crew in Bangkok and continuing as a paramedic in Atlanta. From the fast pace of nearly two decades in emergency medicine, she slowed down just enough to earn her Master of Science in Nursing degree, with a focus on becoming a family nurse practitioner.

Diya Patel knows she has a long road ahead to achieve her dream of becoming a physician, so she decided to sprint through the work needed to earn her undergraduate degree at Kennesaw State. At 19, she is graduating with honors with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Patel also made time to be a very involved member of the KSU community.

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.

With a strong interest in nature and science, Olivia Walker was accepted into the First-Year Scholars Program to study longleaf pine forest ecosystems. Walker also has developed some expertise in another endangered tree, the eastern hemlock, which she studied in the prestigious Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology.

In his pursuits to learn as much about his world as possible, Siam Sarower has been named to the President's List, earned a Coca-Cola First-Generation Scholarship, and joined the KSU Journey Honors College. He credits his parents and older brother, now a civil engineer, for supporting his journey as one of the first in his family to seek a degree.

An animal lover from a young age, Kerrigan Larkin found her calling long before enrolling at Kennesaw State. During walks with her grandmother, Larkin learned about the plants and animals she saw. She applied that knowledge first as an Honors biology major at KSU, and now as a second-year student in the Master of Science in Integrative Biology program.

Kennesaw State's National Organization of Minority Architecture Students team earned second place in the Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition, besting institutions such as Cornell University, UCLA and Clemson University. The competition challenged student teams to reimagine a four-block site in West Baltimore, historically known as the "Highway to Nowhere."

Claudia Garavis Montagut has completed an undergraduate research fellowship, gained field research experience, served as Model U.N. president, and enrolled in the KSU Journey Honors College. She also has been named a President's Parliament Scholar Ambassador and is a Double Owl pursuing both bachelor's and master's degrees simultaneously.