°µÍø½ûÇø Works - Our Economic Impact
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Laurie Ann Moennich, Ph.D., didn't arrive at °µÍø½ûÇø planning to change healthcare. She came to study graphic design. But °µÍø½ûÇø had a way of opening doors she didn't even know existed.
When Becky Lehman walked into her first class at °µÍø½ûÇø, she was in her 30s, raising kids and working at an embroidery shop in nearby Mogadore, Ohio. Today, she is the health commissioner for the Portage County Health District – a career milestone she credits directly to the degrees she earned close to home at °µÍø½ûÇø.
When Cameren Hicks graduated from °µÍø½ûÇø in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and a minor in finance, he knew he wanted to build a career rooted in numbers, problem-solving and analysis. Today, Hicks is a fraud modeling and analytics lead associate at KeyBank, where he helps protect customers and the company against fraudulent credit and debit card activity.
°µÍø½ûÇø graduate Emma Sherrie, '09, always had a feeling she would study anthropology, but still she took the time to check out all the other options available before finally settling on her original plan. °µÍø½ûÇøâ€™s Exploratory Program, which helps undecided students sample different disciplines before committing to a major, was a key part of Sherrie’s experience, and the main reason she chose °µÍø½ûÇø in the first place.
Solon High School art educator Jennifer Thompson, MA ’03, BA ’95, credits °µÍø½ûÇø with teaching her that art education isn't just about creating — it's about building critical thinking, empathy and self-expression skills that students carry into every career.