Students in the School of Media and Journalism recently participated in a virtual reality training session that focused on safety tactics to use when reporting on potentially dangerous news events. Through a research grant provided by the College of Communication and Information, the United Kingdom-based company Headset was invited to complete this training on March 13, 2022, at Kent State. Headset uses virtual reality to train professional journalists for situations they may be placed in — particularly situations that may trigger traumatic reactions or may be a threat to their safety. A...

Esports has transformed online gaming into a spectator sport — and a 2021 report projects the industry will be worth $3.5 billion by 2025. As the industry rapidly grows, so too, are job opportunities. From marketing and promotion, to streaming and tournament administration, to game design and graphic arts, to writing and content creation, job opportunities in Esports grew 5 percent from 2020-21. At Kent State University, where collegiate Esports were established in 2018, the program is closely connected with the College of Communication and Information whose majors — including Eme...

Kent State University graduating senior Jameson Payne says his mom Bethany Payne loves to tell the story about how he could recite the periodic table of elements in chemistry when he was in the second grade.  Now his mom can tell people the story about how Payne and his best friend Benjamin Wales-McGrath are graduating from Kent State at the age of 18. During Kent State’s spring 2022 commencement on May 14, Payne will earn his bachelor’s degree in integrative studies with concentrations in physics and political science. Wales-McGrath will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in ce...

Hayley Shasteen (she/her) is a Kent State University alumna who graduated with a degree in Psychology in 2021. She currently works as a science writer for BioSpace and has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in the Biobehavioral Health Department at The Pennsylvania State University. Her primary research focus is on helping patients with systemic lupus erythematosus by defining the brain fog caused by this condition. Cognition in lupus patients fluctuates over time due to variables such as the weather, sunlight, stress, diet. Brain fog, while not unique to lupus patients, impacts the every...

Taylor Miller (she/her), undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences, is supervised by Associate Professor Christopher Was, Ph.D. (he/him), associate professor in the department of psychological sciences, to complete her honors thesis. Together, they explore the relationship between mind-wandering and multitasking during synchronous learning sessions at home among college students. The research they are conducting now is a continuation of the pilot study they performed in 2020 and 2021 on information retention differences when various simulated chat messaging is accompanying the lectu...

Beginning in an individual’s educational career, math anxiety is likely to follow someone through into adulthood. Current research is being done on the impacts of intersectional identities, such as race and gender, on math cognition and math anxiety. This is exactly what associate professor Clarissa A. Thompson, Ph.D. (she/her), graduate student Charlie Fitzsimmons (he/him), and senior psychology student Tisha Owusua (she/her) have set out to investigate. Their research looks at how someone being a racial minority within a community and/or being gender diverse impacts math performance and m...

Annika Dudik, a third year Honors College student from Geneva, Ohio, continues to excel and grow throughout her time and experiences at Kent State. And if it were not for the May 4 Scholarship Award she received as an incoming freshman in the Honors College, her story may have turned out quite differently. As the case is with many college students, Annika's decision of attending college was based on her family's financial assistance, which was already stretched supporting Annika's older sibling, who was already attending college. Annika says that as a high school senior deciding on college,...

Romy Anderson, senior studio art major, was recently announced as one of the American Tapestry Alliance’s (ATA) Emerge Award recipients for 2022. This award is a membership award program that recognizes university students who have an interest in tapestry. University textile programs are asked to select one student who has shown potential in using tapestry techniques in their projects for the award. Students receive a one-year membership in ATA, which includes the online journal, “Tapestry Topics.”  Each student will also be recognized in the journal and an image of one of their tapestrie...

Kent State University at East Liverpool held a pinning ceremony for the students who met the requirements for the associate of applied science degree in physical therapist assistant technology for 2022. The students were recognized for their dedication and determination as they worked to earn their degrees through the difficult days of the COVID pandemic. Kameron DuPonty was recognized with the PTA academic achievement award. Cutline A: The 2022 PTA Class from Kent State East Liverpool gathered on the last day of classes on the steps of the Carnegie Library. They include: (from left) Matt...