Kent State Magazine editor Jan Senn surprises Bryant Rogers, BA ’13, at the Flash Technology Center in the Kent State University Bookstore (photo courtesy of Claudia Dixon).
Bryant Rogers poses with his prizes at home.
And the winner is...
Congratulations to Bryant Rogers, BA ’13, Kent, OH, the winner of the random-generated drawing from correct submissions to the magazine’s Squirrel Search contest. When we found out that he is the Flash technology manager at the Kent State University Bookstore on the Kent Campus, we decided to surprise him by delivering the box of squirrely gifts in person. Later, he sent us a photo taken at home as he posed with his prizes from McKay Bricker Framing & Black Squirrel Gifts in downtown Kent.
It was a delight to meet this multitalented writer, musician and artist, who said he didn’t know about the contest until he came across one of the hidden squirrels while reading the fall/winter 2021-22 issue—which, he noted in his submission, was an “outstanding issue, a lot of great reads and awesome design work!” Well, thank you, Bryant. So, we also gave him one of the few remaining copies from the small print run we were able to do with help from the Division of Philanthrophy and Alumni Engagement. (We wish we could have printed and mailed the issue to everyone.)
Anyway, if you missed them, the three black squirrels can be found on page 16 on the illustration at the bottom left corner, on page 35 on the lower left side of the photo of the “K” formation and on page 62 on the grass in the photo of our much-missed Nick Moore.
For your chance to win some squirrely stuff, check out the PDF of the print layout, which is available for download on the digital edition. Happy squirrel searching!
Growing Up
I met my former husband, Fredrick “Rick” Wilson, BA ’64, MA ’70, when I was a freshman in 1962. I worked and went to classes part time, as I supported him through graduate school. During our years on campus, I had several jobs, which included working as a secretary for Dr. Linnea Henderson, the College of Arts & Sciences and the Kent State University Press. I considered the campus our home, and our life continued there through my husband’s graduate studies and until my graduation in 1970.
The fateful day of the May 4 massacre, I was in Spanish class when we heard the shots ring out. We laughed, assuming it was a car backfire. After class, I walked toward the Commons, planning to join the demonstration, when I was stopped by an officer who said the area was shut off. As I walked back from campus, listening to the radio, my heart stopped. For the first time in my life, the news was real and personal. And I grew up that day.
At the time, I was working as a secretary for the Kent State University Press. After the massacre, the campus was shut down, but I was able to continue working because the Press was off campus. My best friend, Jo Zupan, was editor and, among other opportunities, she invited me to index one of the publications.
After graduation, my husband and I moved to Virginia for his first job after he earned a master’s degree in history. He got an offer to teach in a community college in Chester, Virginia, because he had been at Kent State and was, therefore, an expert on the Vietnam War and related events and politics. [Fredrick Wilson died on September 28, 2012.]
I earned a master’s degree in social work from Norfolk State University in 1980, and a Master of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School in 1993. I was ordained a minister in First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Norfolk in 1996, and I am now an assistant minister at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Auburn, New York.
All in all, I am grateful for my education and my years at Kent State University.
Joyce Trickett, BA ’70
Auburn, NY
Life Impact
I matriculated at Kent State in 1973 and majored in psychology. (Truth be told, I needed prompting at the onset of my junior year to declare a major as graduation was fast approaching. I deduced from courses I’d already taken that I “must be” a psych major. Life makes decisions for you sometimes.)
In my volunteer role as a counselor at the Townhall II Crisis Center in Kent, I witnessed the full palette of emotions still reverberating in people’s lives three years after the May 4 shootings. And I came to appreciate the depth and complexity of the impact that the tragedy had on so many lives and the multiple supports needed for those still reeling from it.
Now, in my 60s and a retired mental health professional, that appreciation has only deepened as I reflect on the profound shaping that historical events have upon one’s life.
Michael Schoenberg, BA ’77
East Longmeadow, MA
Golden Dream Team
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 2001-2002 Kent State men’s basketball team’s great run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, which put Kent State on the college basketball map!
I have written a book about that run, The Golden Dream: The Story of the 2001-2002 Kent State Men’s Basketball Elite Eight Season (available on Amazon). It captures that magical season, 20 years later, by going behind the scenes to show how this team was built, how it rallied after a bumpy start to the season, how it came together for one of the greatest runs in college basketball history, and how it brought the entire community together.
I am a former marketing director and play-by-play announcer for Kent State’s men’s basketball and football from the mid 1990s to early 2000s. In my career, I broadcast well over 1,000 basketball and football games, including the 2001-2002 men’s basketball “golden dream” season. A native of Northeast Ohio and an avid sports fan, I am on the board of directors for my local chamber of commerce.
Steve Sefner
Columbus, OH
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