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The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced the presentation of the Cartwright Award to �������� for its program excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship during the 2015-16 school year. It is the program’s third Cartwright Award honor in the last seven years, the most of any program in the MAC.

Saying goodbye was more difficult than Riley Jernejcic could have ever imagined. Crouched down on the cobblestone street with her arms stretched out from one end to the other, Jernejcic cried out, “Adios. Abrazo,” which means goodbye and hug in Spanish. �������� 50 feet away, a little boy, known as Wilder, came running up the hill.

“He jumped into my arms, and we both started to cry,” Jernejcic said. “I’ll never forget him. He made such an impact on my life.”

�������� President Beverly Warren recently presented 14 Kent State faculty members with the President’s Faculty Excellence Award, which recognizes exceptional performance that leads to the achievement of national or international recognition.

This year, each recipient receives a special salary adjustment of $10,000.

The Center for Student Involvement and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are welcoming back the �������� community in a big way. To kick off the academic year, students, faculty and staff are invited to enjoy a week packed full of food, giveaways and some Kent State pride!

From Aug. 29 through Sept. 2, Kent State students are encouraged to stop by Risman Plaza between classes to meet new people and to take part in the excitement of the first week of classes.

�������� students will celebrate the start of a new school year at the university’s annual back-to-school celebration that occurs the day before fall classes begin. Blastoff will take place on Sunday, Aug. 28, from 6-9:30 p.m. on the Student Green and Manchester Field on the Kent Campus.

Blastoff serves as the culminating event of Welcome Weekend, a four-day orientation program that helps new students transition into the university environment.

Welcome Weekend, ��������’s four-day new student orientation, took place on Aug. 25-28. Students were able to select from approximately 50 different events held from Thursday to Sunday. The weekend event helped students transition into the university community and learn about academic and social opportunities at Kent State.

�������� faculty, staff and students volunteered to help incoming freshmen move into the university’s residence halls at the beginning of each school year.

This year, freshman move-in day was Thursday, Aug. 25, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Last year, the Movers and Groovers program garnered 921 volunteers. Jill Church, director of Residence Services at Kent State, anticipated more than 900 volunteers again this year.

�������� held its Summer 2016 Commencement ceremony for the Kent Campus on Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center). Kent State conferred 1,455 degrees, including 917 bachelor’s degrees, 440 master’s degrees, 75 doctoral degrees and 23 educational specialist degrees.

Across the university’s eight-campus system, 1,610 students graduated from Kent State this summer, including those receiving associate degrees.

�������� global communication studies graduate student Daniel Socha’s research on a non-profit organization’s efforts to support youth education in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently caught the attention of National Public Radio (NPR). In May, Socha traveled to the DRC to study and report on Project Kirotshe, a non-profit that provides funding for youth in the village of Kirotshe and surrounding areas to attend school.

�������� track and field’s William Barnes and Danniel Thomas are going for the gold in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Barnes will represent Puerto Rico in the men’s 110m hurdles, while Thomas will represent Jamaica in the shot put.