Physics Major Recognized at Women of Achievement Awards

Kaylee Yuhas ’16, an impressive BW physics scholar is the winner of the Dr. Jennie S. Hwang Award presented at the YWCA Cleveland’s prestigious Annual Women of Achievement awards luncheon and conference. Yuhas, who carries a perfect 4.0 GPA within her major (and 3.964 overall), is the third BW STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) major in row from BW to win the award.

At BW, Yuhas has been recognized as “Outstanding Physics Student of the Year,” is a member of the mathematics honor society, Kappa Mu Epsilon, and presented her original scholarly work on starspots at the American Astronomical Society’s 225th Annual Meeting. While adding a math minor to her academic rigor, Yuhas also serves as President of the Baldwin Wallace Problem Solving Club, and volunteers with the Richfield Kiwanis Club.

Outside the classroom, Yuhas, who aspires to earn a Ph.D in astrophysics or software engineering, has developed rich YouTube content to share complex scientific concepts in an accessible and entertaining way. She hosts instructional videos on her own channel, Explorium, and now serves as head writer at Life Noggin, an animated educational YouTube channel for people who are “positively obsessed with learning new things.” Life Noggin has more than 50,000 subscribers.

"As a physics major, I understand the beauty and importance of math and science, and was inspired to share that knowledge with others," Yuhas says of her video outreach. "My goal is to make the STEM field more approachable to both scientists and non-scientists alike, and pique my viewers' curiosities."

Icing on the cake? The Brecksville native authored two books while still in high school. Oh, and she's juggled 5 part time jobs to help pay for her education.

The $1,500 Dr. Jennie S. Hwang Award scholarship was created through the generosity of Dr. Hwang, a scientist, engineer, corporate executive, international businesswoman, worldwide speaker, prolific author, corporate director, university trustee and community leader.

Dr. Jim McCargar, associate dean of BW's School of Mathematics, NaturalSciences & Computing
celebrates Kaylee's scholarship award at the AprilYWCA Women of Achievement luncheon.
Astronomy professor Dr. Gary Kader also attended.

BW Alum Leads Esperanza to Success

The incredible success of a nonprofit effort to increase low Hispanic graduation rates in Cleveland has put BW alumnus Victor Ruiz '99, executive director of Esperanza,  in the media spotlight. As explained in Crain's Cleveland Business, and La Prensa, Esperanza is a nonprofit organization that focuses primarily on guiding Hispanic students toward graduation. Ruiz has played a key role in the program's success in addressing what the Cleveland Metropolitan School District declared "a crisis" in 2011. In just two years of ambitious programming, the Hispanic graduation rates in Cleveland doubled.

Esperanza provides test prep, one-on-one mentoring, tutoring and student scholarships to Hispanic high school students. Over the past six years, Esperanza's budget has greatly expanded and by next year, it is expected to reach $2 million. Down the road, Ruiz hopes that the program will expand and begin to work in elementary and middle schools in addition to high schools.

In an earlier interview with Crain's, Ruiz discussed how as a young Hispanic child in Cleveland, he was helped by nonprofit and public social service organizations. This made attending college at BW a possibility for Ruiz, who was awarded BW's Alumni Merit Award in 2014. Ruiz says it's his duty to give back to his community.

College Now Mentors Foster Success at BW

One of BW's College Now mentor/mentee pairs, Donna Gutschmidt ’02 and Amira Nasrallah '17

Some 15 Baldwin Wallace students are getting support and guidance from some of Cleveland's own professionals, including BW alumni, through College Now Greater Cleveland.

College Now, formerly Cleveland Scholarship Programs, has provided funding for many BW students over the years. In 2012, BW began a deeper partnership with College Now to help recruit alumni, faculty, and staff mentors for students receiving College Now scholarship. Students receiving the funds are given a mentor from the Cleveland community to help guide them through their college careers and boost their chances of success.

Mentors work with students to advise, encourage, and provide knowledge from their own experience as students to help them make the most out of their time at BW. Students and mentors communicate online and have opportunities to meet in person throughout the year, and they are encouraged to stay connected throughout the students' whole BW career.

One BW's most successful mentor mentee pairs is Donna Gutschmidt ’02, currently a technical writer for BW's IT department, and Amira Nasrallah '17. Amira, the sophomore class president, and Donna have formed a bond that Donna calls herself "lucky" to have.

"We both believe in taking advantage of every opportunity, savoring every moment and loving the people around us," Amira says of her mentor.

Interested in becoming a College Now mentor for a BW student? Register to attend the information session November 17 at 5:30 located in the Center for Innovation and Growth on campus. Email bwalumni@bw.edu for more information.

BW Students Win "Bad Girl Ventures" Fellowships

Entrepreneurial-minded BW students and alumni have won fellowships to fund their participation in a series of courses presented by Bad Girl Ventures (BGV), a premier resource for women entrepreneurs in Ohio. This fall, Bad Girl Ventures has teamed up with BW's Center for Innovation & Growth and Blackstone LaunchPad to offer its distinctive training program at BW's Berea campus on Wednesday evenings, and to award fellowships for the first time.

Two student fellowship winners – Casey  Elmore, an MBA in entrepreneurship major (nominated by Mike Nock, BW’s Blackstone LaunchPad director) and Allison Longwell '18, a freshman psychology major (nominated by Dr. Ven Ochaya professor in BW’s School of Business) – attend each weekly class at no charge. Two additional fellowships are shared by BW students, alumni, faculty and staff who rotate in and out of the 10-week program attending such sessions as “Understanding Your Market,” “Pricing Your Product or Service,” and “Legal Structuring.” 

Bad Girl Ventures courses are open to the general public – women and men – at $35/class or $250 for a full pass. It's not too late to register online at their website. BGV is a non-profit educational and micro-finance organization offering education, access to capital and mentorship opportunities to enable women to build and sustain well-managed, profitable businesses.

BW student entrepreneurs meet with Bad Girl Ventures Cleveland selection committee members at BW’s Center for Innovation & Growth. - photo by Brittney Callahan '15

BW Senior Wins Stilwell Scholarship

BW senior Criminal Justice major Luke Berry '14, is the second of two BW students to win a 2014  Charles Stilwell Scholarship. The Akron native was chosen to receive the competitive $4,000 award based on his outstanding performance in a prestigious 2013 internship with the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).

The 2010 Revere High School graduate says he heard about the internship through criminal justice professor Dr. San Marco, and counts the experience as priceless.

"The analysts at HIDTA put a lot of time and effort in providing the valuable training I received in my time as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst," said Berry who took part in numerous criminal investigations and enjoyed the camaraderie of the HIDTA team. "Everyone who works there is a part of a tight-knit community and they couple a great sense of humor with a strong work ethic."

Berry's own work ethic has kept him active on the BW campus, as well. He is president of BW's Intercollegiate Sporting Association (ISA), co-founder, manager, and player on the BW Men's Rugby Club, and serves as Vice President of the Archery Club and College Republicans.

BW Junior Wins Stilwell Scholarship

 

Amanda Feairheller '15 is one of two BW students awarded The Charles J. Stilwell Scholarship for her "outstanding performance in an internship."

Feairheller interned at The Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland last fall as part of her participation in BW's Urban Semester Program. She served as an HIV testing counselor for The Free Clinic's walk-in HIV testing program. She also worked with the Clinic's Syringe Exchange Program, one of only two in Ohio, as well as Project DAWN, which stands for Deaths Avoided With Naloxone.

"It was an honor to work with The Free Clinic and work on an issue that has devastated our community," said Feairheller. "It reminds me why I chose Public Health."

In addition to her Public Health major, with a minor in Chemistry and is a member of BW's public health club, Veritas. Last year, Feairheller was in the news for making a coast-to-coast bike ride for AIDS awareness.

BW Student Wins Scholarship Pageant

BW Music Theatre major Hannah-Jo Weisberg '15 put her considerable talents to work pursuing scholarship rewards in the Miss Vacationland Scholarship Program over the weekend, and walked away with the title. Weisberg not only won the crown, but claimed the top spot in the talent and interview portions, as well. She earned more than $2,400 in scholarship money.

She will be competing for the title of Miss Ohio in June, which sends its winner onto the Miss America competition. Good luck, Hannah-Jo!

Weisberg is on a roll. She also just wrapped up a star turn as the title character in BW's production of EURYDICE.