Welcome to Flash Friday! In this series, we introduce you to fascinating student Flashes from all walks of life.
This Flash Friday we want to introduce you to Eduardo Miranda Strobel, an international student from Curitiba, Brazil. Strobel is currently pursuing a master's from the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University.
Strobel’s journey to Kent State started in 2019 with The American Academy program. The program is a partnership between Kent State and The Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), a major university in Brazil.
“After the two-year program, I could continue my education at PUCPR or Kent State,” Strobel said. “It was an easy decision because I wanted to study in the U.S.”
In 2023, Strobel graduated from Kent State with his bachelor’s in digital media production with a minor in creative writing. During this time, he was also participating in the combined bachelor’s/master's degree program.
“Initially, I joined the program to get a sense of the life of a graduate student,” Strobel said. “Once I got to take classes that helped me improve my storytelling skills in various types of new media and my technical skills with them, I knew my time here was not over yet.”
As Strobel continued his career at Kent State, he met some incredible people along the way.
“One person who stands out is Nathalia Teixeira, a colleague who became a neighbor, a friend, and then family,” Strobel said. “We met in the American Academy program but got closer while in Kent. Being an international student is hard, but it was good to have someone to share the moments of struggle and excitement.”
Strobel shared that he and Taixeira often dream and talk about different projects they want to work on, hoping they will take place in different corners of the world.
Strobel has also managed to meet many people through his job as a graduate assistant for the Division of Student Life’s Marketing and Communications Office.
“Working with the Division of Student Life has allowed me to interview incredible people I don’t think I would have met otherwise,” Strobel said.
Along with his job, Strobel also holds multiple positions on campus like the graduate student representative for the Student Media Board, a student brand consultant for the Division of Enrollment Management and the Division of University Communications and Marketing. Strobel was also the former director of revenue for the Flash Film Commission in the 2022-2023 school year.
As director of revenue, Strobel helped organize the 2023 Flash Film Festival at the Kent Stage. This festival showcased and awarded student films.
“Seeing people receive awards for their creativity and dedication to their films was beautiful,” Strobel said. “But what will stay with me from that night is the feeling of the end of a chapter as some of the board members and I graduated with our bachelor’s a few days later. It felt like the perfect goodbye.”
Are you a student interested in being featured in Flash Friday, or know a student who would make a great candidate? Send suggestions with name and contact information to kentstatetoday@kent.edu.