Kennesaw State University

Taking advantage of dual enrollment, Amari Cody was a college junior when she came to Kennesaw State to pursue a bachelor's degree. Only 16 months later, the KSU Journey Honors College student graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and looks forward to working on a Master of Social Work at Kennesaw State in Fall 2024.

In just three semesters at Kennesaw State, sophomore Ra'Nya Malone has made an impact. She joined a chemistry professor's laboratory, co-authored a published paper in a prestigious journal, spent a summer in a National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates, and presented her research at KSU's Symposium of Student Scholars.

Maria Gonzalez said her parents are proud she is the first one in her extended family to graduate from college. Plus, they are in awe of her journey from a 9-year-old little girl in a new country, to the woman she is today earning a civil engineering degree with honors from Kennesaw State.

Competing with a prosthetic leg, Mary Tankersley has placed in the top 5 of multiple national and international competitions in sport climbing. Tankersley, whose right leg was amputated after a bone cancer diagnosis, developed a passion for sport climbing two years ago and quickly elevated to one of the world's best.

Kennesaw State was the first university Temi Aladegbemi visited for a tour, and from the moment she arrived on the Marietta Campus, she knew her place was in the College of Architecture and Construction Management. A first-generation college graduate, Aladegbemi sought out new experiences and encourages others to do the same.

As a teenager, Issa Solis found a community in the world of theater. At Kennesaw State University, she connected with the concept of immersive storytelling, telling her own story and helping others tell theirs. Solis is graduating with a bachelor's in theatre and performance studies, as well as a slew of experiences in building community through theater.

The mood was festive, with music pumping, a palpable competitive energy in the air and 10-pound pumpkins flying down the field. Kennesaw State's 13th annual Pumpkin Launch was a huge success by all measures as engineering students launched pumpkins from hand-built trebuchets.

Kennesaw State University student Edwin Trejo-Rivera said that having opportunities to conduct research is an experience he never expected to have at an undergraduate level. The junior psychology major not only had that opportunity but also presented his research on a global scale at the Interamerican Congress of Psychology in Paraguay.

KSU student Jordan St. Louis is using high-tech imaging technology to improve the safety of law enforcement officers and the community. His company, Generalized Robotics, founded during his freshman year, has created a 360-degree police camera called Patrol Buddy Go and has found its first client.

Kennesaw State congratulates the 982 Owls named to the University's Dean's List, which recognizes students for their academic achievement during the Summer 2023 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.

Kennesaw State University has named 971 students to the President's List in recognition of their academic excellence for the Summer 2023 semester. To achieve this honor, each undergraduate student must have completed at least nine semester hours with a term grade point average of 4.0.

The Birla Carbon Scholars Symposium marks the completion of an intensive summer research program that allows students to apply their studies toward sponsored projects under the guidance of Kennesaw State faculty mentors. The Birla Carbon scholars are chosen based on the recommendations of faculty members, submission of an undergraduate research project abstract, and a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

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.

Baseball brought Kennesaw State student Yemi Agesin face-to-face with the leader of one of the world's leading technology companies, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. The senior computer science major created a baseball game app that was selected as one of the top entries in Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference Swift Student Challenge.

To satisfy an elective course requirement for the KSU Journey Honors College, nursing major Trinity Johnson stumbled upon a class in data science. During that course, Johnson uncovered a raw talent for analytics and wound up being the youngest student to place in Kennesaw State's Analytics Day data science competition.

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.

In combining her love of the environment and her love for chemistry, KSU senior Ariane Charland-Martin helps create conjugated polymers from which organic electronics can be made and that can be degraded when their usefulness has passed. That excites Charland-Martin, who feels she is doing something to reduce pollution and help the environment.

Kennesaw State University has named nearly 5,400 students to the President's List in recognition of their academic excellence for the Spring 2023 semester. To achieve this honor, each undergraduate student must have completed at least nine semester hours with a term grade point average of 4.0.

Aspiring doctors Emily and Calvin Ghasemi are receiving on-the-job training of a sort. Along with excelling in their classes, presenting research projects and participating in student groups while carrying full course loads at KSU, the siblings care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis.

In one moment, Heru Crooks' life trajectory changed when he was paralyzed in a car crash in 2016. Crooks, now a Kennesaw State sophomore, says that unfortunate turn of events actually gave him the clarity to see his future as a scientist studying stem cell treatments - the same treatments that helped him recover sooner than his doctors expected after the accident.

Kennesaw State University congratulates the more than 7,100 Owls named to the University's Dean's List, which recognizes students for their academic achievement during the Spring 2023 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.

Rachel Kaplan's career journey started in the great indoors, and now you'll find her studying songbirds in the great outdoors. Kaplan changed career trajectories to follow a burgeoning interest in wildlife science and earned a Master of Science in Integrative Biology degree from Kennesaw State.

Savannah Tuschl's childhood curiosity about other cultures never slowed down. Tuschl, a KSU summa cum laude graduate and the Department of World Languages and Cultures' 2022-23 Outstanding Student, will work in Ecuador for 27 months with the Peace Corps in the area of youth and family development.

Avani Shah's competitive streak paid off as she entered college and got to work challenging herself. Shah helped launch the Honors Advisory Leadership Council, where she later served as president; interned at Fortune 500 companies; and participated in peer mentoring and various student organizations.

Spellbound by the prostheses in science fiction movies like "The Terminator" and "I, Robot," Adesua Ojeifoh brought that passion to Kennesaw State's Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics program. She is graduating with a master's degree - and a mission.

The Office of Undergraduate Research hosted the Spring 2023 Symposium of Student Scholars, featuring 658 students, 375 research projects, and 199 mentors. The event is held twice each year to give undergraduate and graduate researchers across all disciplines an opportunity to present their work to a broader audience.

Kennesaw State University's Wellstar College of Health and Human Services hosted its annual Research and Engagement Day, highlighting the college's research, scholarship and community impact. "For me, RED is a day of celebration," said Mark Geil, associate dean of research and operation of Wellstar College.

Kennesaw State junior Gabriel James strives to leave things better than she found them and positively impact people and the world. While double majoring in environmental science and theatre and performance studies, James is a senator for sustainability in the Student Government Association and president of the EcoOwls student organization.

The KSU Graduate College hosted its 3-Minute Thesis, challenging master's and doctoral students to condense their research into a three-minute oral presentation. "The 3MT competition provides a wonderful opportunity for students to build confidence in presenting their research in straightforward and engaging ways," said Dean Juliet Langman.

Kennesaw State University junior Derek Price II has received a Barry M. Goldwater scholarship, awarded each year to the nation's top undergraduate scholars in the sciences, mathematics and engineering. A meeting with fellow engineering students as a freshman set Price on his path toward research, which he pursued through KSU's First-Year Scholars program.