Standing at the courtroom door in Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals building in downtown Youngstown are, from left, Appellate Judges Mary DeGenaro, Cheryl Waite and Carol Ann Robb.

When Judge Cheryl Waite started out as a young lawyer in the mid-1980s, female attorneys were accustomed to being called “honey” and “dear” in the courtroom. Women in law school weren’t really expected to finish.

“We were still unusual,” she recalled. “In court, people assumed I was a secretary, or someone’s wife. There were very few women practicing law at the time in Youngstown.”

Three decades later, so much has changed. Now Waite sits on Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals bench, one of three women on the four-judge panel – and all four are proud alumni of Youngstown State University.

Waite made history as the first woman and the youngest to take the bench in 1996, Judge Mary DeGenaro joined her there in 2001, and Judge Carol Ann Robb made history again this year when she took office in February. Judge Gene Donofrio, on the bench since 1993, serves as presiding judge.

“What’s remarkable is that, in 2015, it’s still remarkable to have three women on the bench, but it is worth celebrating because it shows how far we’ve come,” Waite said. “Maybe now we can say, we’re all just people. We’re all just professionals. We’re putting ourselves out there, not to say, ‘I’m the best woman for the job,’ but that I’m the best person for the job.”

Judges on Ohio’s Court of Appeals, just one step away from the Ohio Supreme Court, consider legal appeals from the common pleas courts, municipal courts, county courts and others. They are elected to six-year terms, and the Seventh District judges serve eight counties: Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson, Carroll, Belmont, Harrison, Monroe and Noble.

Landing a Dream Job

 For Judge Waite, the path to law school started in 1982 with YSU degree in English literature. “So many of the English Department faculty mentored and encouraged me,” she said. “I’m especially grateful to Dr. Barbara Brothers. She’s the one who made me wake up and ask myself: ‘What do I want to do when I grow up?’”

Waite earned her law degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, and then worked for 13 years as an assistant law director for the City of Youngstown. There, she met and married her husband, Ed Romero, also an attorney and an assistant law director at the time, and gained extensive experience in civil law and appellate court work.

Waite was living in Boardman, a young mother with a 4-year-old and an infant, when the Ohio legislature added a fourth judge seat to the Seventh District Court of Appeals in 1995. “My husband told me it was my dream job and I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try,” she said.

She spent the next year campaigning hard, attending corn roasts and tractor pulls, fairs and festivals, often with her children in tow. Waite won her first election – a tough contest against a well-established local judge – and was unopposed in three subsequent elections

But the Appeals Court in Ohio was a man’s world at first – at the time there were only six women on appeals court benches statewide. “I was one woman in a sea of men, and it was tough sledding, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “A lot of the judges were not willing to accept a relatively young woman, but from the beginning there were always some mentors who treated me with a great deal of respect.”

In just a few years, by 2000, women began making inroads, winning more judgeships, and the numbers had begun to shift. “Now, occasionally, we do have a line at the ladies room,” she quipped.

Though she hasn’t had to campaign as vigorously in her recent, unopposed races, Waite enjoys speaking and educating the public about the work the courts do. “I like to tout the court of appeals, and the trial courts too, “ she said. “In the appeals court , we get to be Monday morning quarterbacks. We have the luxury of time, to research and go through the transcripts, and I’m constantly amazed at how often the trial courts get things right.”

New Goal: Ohio’s Supreme Court

For Judge Mary DeGenaro, unseating an incumbent three-term Democratic judge seemed to be more noteworthy than becoming the second woman on the bench when she first won election to the Appeals Court in 2000. “I was the first lawyer to unseat an elected incumbent judge since 1959 and the first Republican to serve on this court since 1974,” she said. “Quite frankly, my coming on the court was more of a big deal because of my party affiliation than my gender.”

A Cuyahoga County native whose family moved to Canfield when she was in high school, DeGenaro said she initially majored in accounting when she enrolled at YSU. She graduated in 1983 with a double major in economics and combined business, and credits a YSU business law course for rekindling her interest in law school.

She completed her law degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and married her husband, Stephen A. DeGenaro, a home healthcare consultant and also a YSU alumnus. They eventually settled in Poland and her next 14 years working in a private law practice included handling the appellate practice for her firm – valuable experience for her future on the Appeals Court – and rare opportunities for a private practitioner to brief two cases before the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing one.

Reelected to her third, six-year term on the Appellate bench in 2012, DeGenaro has decided to pursue nomination to Ohio’s Supreme Court in 2016. “I’m in my 15^th year as an appellate judge, my reasoning and writing has matured to the point that I feel I am ready to serve on Ohio’s highest court,” she said.

She’s begun a statewide campaign for one of two Supreme Court open seats that will be vacant by 2017 and plans to visit every one of Ohio’s 88 counties. “I’ve run in eight counties in three contested elections. What’s 80 more?,” she joked. “Because of my judicial campaign experience, I’m ready for the challenge.”

It helps that DeGenaro enjoys campaigning. “I love driving around the state, meeting people. I think there’s an opportunity to educate the public on what we do, and it’s a way to be accountable to the public that elects us.”

Columbiana County Proud

Judge Carol Ann Robb’s arrival on the Appeals Court bench earlier this year was celebrated by local news media as history making, but she was more proud of what it meant to her home county. “I’m very proud of being a woman who’s serving in this capacity,” she said, “but it’s even more meaningful to me that I’m the first Columbiana County judge to serve this court since 1917.”

A lifelong resident of New Waterford, Robb worked full-time while pursuing a business degree at YSU and graduated in 1977, the first in her family to complete college. She landed a job as an office manager for a construction company and began working on an MBA at the University of Akron, but a friend persuaded her go to law school instead.

Robb switched to the UA School of Law, carpooled to evening classes with other Youngstown-area law students, completed her law degree and went to work with a private law firm in Youngstown. There, she practiced law for five years before starting her own private law practice in Columbiana County and partnered with her husband Ken, also a YSU alum, to start a multi-faceted family business, C&K Petroleum.

In 2001 she accepted a position as magistrate for the Common Pleas Court in Columbiana County, was appointed to an unexpired term as County Municipal Court Judge four years later, and then ran two successful re-election campaigns. “I’ve run both ways, opposed and unopposed,” she said, laughing. “I like unopposed better.”

As municipal court judge, one of Robb’s proudest achievements was creating a mental health court program designed to reduce recidivism that became the first program of its kind certified by the Ohio Supreme Court. She has served on an advisory committee and a Specialty Docket Commission for the high court that established standards for mental health courts statewide, and the program she founded is now being used as a model for other courts across Ohio.

When a longtime Seventh District appellate judge announced plans to retire in 2013, Robb decided to run for the position – she was unopposed as a Republican in the primary, but defeated her Democratic opponent in November. She took office in February. “I’m thrilled to serve with the other judges. They’ve all been extremely gracious,” she said. “I think we all aspire to the same thing. We just want to be recognized as individuals. I want people to say, there is an excellent attorney, an excellent judge, who just happens to be a woman.”

Proud YSU alumnae Judge Mary Seminara Schostok, left, presiding judge of the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois, and Judge Laura Liu, of the First District Appellate Court of Illinois, the first Chinese-American in the state to serve on the appellate court.

Judges Mary Seminara Schostok and Laura Liu had been friends and colleagues for years, and they knew they had a lot in common. They’re both attorneys, live in the Chicago area and have risen to heights in the legal profession as District Appellate Court Judges in Illinois.

What they didn’t know until recently? They’re both Penguins.

“I was attending Judge Liu’s swearing-in ceremony, read her bio and realized the amazing coincidence – that we’re both YSU graduates,” Seminara Schostok said. “YSU certainly deserves some bragging rights, having two alumni appellate judges here in Chicagoland.”

Both women grew up in the Mahoning-Shenango Valley area and have maintained strong connections to their ethnic roots.

Liu, the daughter of retired YSU statistics and economics professor Yih-Wu Liu, was the only Chinese American in her 1984 graduating class at Fitch High School in Austintown, a Youngstown suburb. Now, as the first Chinese American to serve as a District Appellate Court Judge in the state of Illinois, she serves all of Cook County, including the state’s most populous city, Chicago.

Seminara Schostok, who grew up in the close-knit Italian family in New Castle, Pa., that founded the popular Pizza Joe’s restaurant chain, was the first in her family to go to college. As Presiding Judge of the Second District Appellate Court, she hears appeals from the northernmost 13 counties in Illinois.

“We do very similar work, we often have lunch or breakfast together,” said Schostok, describing the alumni colleagues’ relationship. “Being judges is like a fraternity. We’re a unique faction of the legal profession, and we tend to bond.”

 A Fateful Courtroom Tour

Judge Liu was born in the U.S., but her parents were recent immigrants – her mother from Vietnam, her father from China. Both college-educated, they had high academic standards for their daughter, standards that she now finds herself setting for her own school-aged daughter. “Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor, just like every Asian American student in the 1970s,” she joked, and so she enrolled in YSU’s six-year BS-MD program.

In 1987, after completing a BS in combined sciences in just three years, Liu went to Ohio State University to take some graduate classes and met friends in Columbus who worked in the legal field. “I toured a courtroom, and I was hooked,” she recalls. Soon after, she was admitted to the University of Cincinnati College of Law on a scholarshipand gained experience through summer clerkships in Cincinnati and Chicago. The latter was life changing. “I fell instantly in love with Chicago. I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

Liu spent the first 19 years of her career as a trial attorney, often defending healthcare providers in medical malpractice cases and representing clients in other healthcare transactions and litigation. She’s especially proud of a case she defended with her attorney husband, her fiancé at the time, who served lead counsel. Some of her most memorable and challenging cases were pro bono, for people who couldn’t afford a lawyer. “I think pro bono work should be mandatory for attorneys to retain licensure,” she said. “It’s a vital part of what it means to provide legal services.”

In 2010, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Liu to fill a Circuit Court vacancy, making her the first Chinese American female judge in Illinois. The following year she decided to seek reelection, but her first political campaign came at a time of personal crisis – she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “It was a punishing schedule. I had 11 fundraisers scheduled, five in that month alone, and I needed to start treatment,” she said. “Luckily and fortunately, I have an incredibly supportive and thoughtful husband, I had an amazing campaign team and colleagues that helped me.”

Liu won a six-year term and continued on the Circuit Court bench until 2014 when the state’s high court appointed her again, this time to a vacancy on the First District Appellate Court. “This is a dream job,” she said. “It’s so satisfying because everyday I have new legal questions to research. In many ways, it inspires the same intellectual curiosity as when I was a law student.”

Now, as a cancer survivor, Liu has been active since 2012 with the Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation, a leading breast cancer research and education charity.

As a Chinese American, she’s involved in several Asian-American legal organizations and is working toward better language access, making the court system and court buildings more user friendly for people for whom English is not a first language. “I view being the ‘first’ Chinese-American in my position as both an honor and a responsibility,” she said. “It invites scrutiny. It requires me to focus on doing a good job.”

‘100 Percent Calabrese’

Judge Seminara Schostok grew up with many of the same old-country house rules as her colleague. One of six children, her father came to Youngstown at 16 to work in the steel mills; her mother, also Italian, was born in Hillsville, Pa. “We were 100 percent Calabrese,” she said, laughing. “My father never conformed to the American ways. We were not allowed to leave home until we got married. Dad would only permit me to go to YSU because it was within driving distance.”

She majored in business at first, then education, earning an AAB in 1979 and a BSEd in 1982. “YSU made it easy to be a commuter, “ she said. “I had a lot of friends, I had a sense of college, even though I was coming back and forth.” But working part-time at a law office revived her interest in studying law, and she moved to Columbus to attend Capital University Law School.

Seminara Schostok met her husband, Michael, in law school. He had grown up in the Chicago area and wanted to return, so they settled there after graduation and took jobs as Lake County prosecutors about an hour outside of Chicago. The husband and wife team worked together at first, then he left for private practice while she continued for a decade, successfully trying murder, rape, arson, child abuse and white collar crime cases and advancing to the position of Chief of Special Investigations.

“Trial work is the most exciting work a lawyer can do. You get a rush,” she said describing her specialties as a prosecutor of child abuse/assault and arson cases. “In those types of cases, especially, you feel like you’re doing God’s work. You’re wearing the white hat.”

In 1998, Seminara Schostok took her first seat on the bench when she was appointed a Lake County Associate Judge. Two years later the Illinois Supreme Court named her a Circuit Court Judge, she won an election to retain the position and served on the trial court bench until 2008. That year, the high court elevated her to the Appellate Court, and she ran a successful 13-county campaign to retain her seat two years later.

Seminara Schostok calls the appellate judge seat “a lonely job” because it requires many hours of study, reading court records and reviewing the law. The judges are always busy, but they hear oral arguments only a couple times a month. “It’s very academic, but after all these years I could never go back,” she said. “I truly love what I do.”

In 2011, Seminara Schostok, her husband and their three adult children received devastating news – he was diagnosed with a deadly glioblastoma brain tumor. He survived for 15 months. “Michael was one of the best trial attorneys in the state of Illinois, yet very humble and a very compassionate man,” she recalled. “Hospital visits during his illness often upset him. He would comment, ‘The poor people have it worse than me, Mary,’ because he realized that some were coping with financial hardships, in addition to their medical struggles.” Finances were not a struggle for the Schostoks.

In his memory, she created the Michael Matters Foundation to help with the financial hardships that families of brain tumor victims face. The foundation awards grants to help with incidental expenses, such as day care and parking, wheel chair ramps and bus fare. Support for the foundation has grown “exponentially,” she said. “It’s a little something that can help them worry a little less and concentrate more on getting better. I know that’s he would want us to do.”

Seminara Schostok has also found ways to reconnect to her Italian heritage in Chicagoland. “It was so hard to leave my big Italian family, so I sought out Italians,” she said. She’s the founder and first president of the Justinian Society of Lake County, a bar association for Italian attorneys.

(Originally published in YSU Magazine, Spring 2015.)

Todd Rossi

Todd Rossi of Petersburg, Ohio, a junior Education major at Youngstown State University, has written a scholarly article that has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of the Humanities.

The article, titled “An Analysis of the Evolution of the American City and Orchestral Music Due to Technology,” was developed as part of his class on the History of American Cities taught by Fred Viehe, professor of History.

Rossi made a presentation of the paper at the 2015 Phi Theta Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference earlier this spring. He also presented the paper at YSU Quest in April. In addition, he plans to present the paper at the International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in June.

Once he graduates from YSU, Todd Rossi wants to go on to graduate school, where he hopes to focus his studies on the subculture of the American nerd. Why, you ask? Well, you see, Rossi’s a self-professed nerd himself. “They’re my people,” he jokes.

Cameron Dinopoulos

When Cameron Dinopoulos enrolled as a student at Youngstown State University in Fall 2013, he was already in a hurry to finish – but his plan worked even better than he expected.

Just 19 years old, Dinopoulos will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at YSU’s spring commencement on Saturday, May 16. He completed his undergraduate degree in less than two years.

“I don’t want anybody to think that I’m some amazing prodigy,” he said. “I had to work quite hard to graduate early, and I think just about anybody could do it. If you take the right amount of courses and load up on classes, it’s easy.”

Dinopoulos started by taking college classes in his junior and senior years at Poland Seminary High School under a plan, established by Ohio Senate Bill 140, that allows qualified high school students to take college-level courses, tuition free. When he started as a YSU freshman he already had more than 30 credit hours, enough to qualify as a sophomore, including classes in chemistry, physics, calculus and computer science.

He discussed his plan with his YSU advisor, Robert Kramer, associate professor, Computer Science and Information Systems. “I told him I wanted to get through in two years,” Dinopoulos explained. “I just wanted to be successful, and I thought the faster I get out of college with a great education, the faster I could get into a job.”

Kramer worked with Dinopoulos to ensure that all his course requirements were met, and he recommended the Poland student when Tom Reardon, a retired teacher who works in product development with Texas Instruments, came seeking a student to work on a development project for the company. That endorsement provided Dinopoulos with a one-year internship with Texas Instruments that has evolved into an independent contract with the global company.

After graduation, Dinopoulos will relocate to the Pittsburgh area, where he starts work June 1 as a software developer for Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. in Monroeville, Pa., a division of Bechtel Inc., the largest construction and engineering company in the United States. Bechtel recruited him after he interviewed with its representatives at a YSU Career Fair last spring.

He plans eventually to pursue a master’s or doctorate degree, but first Dinopoulos wants to start his career in computer software development. “I definitely feel ready,” he said. “I’m excited about getting to work.”

Melanie Shipman

Melanie Shipman, a graduate student in the Beeghly College of Education, and Kayleigh Perline, a double major in Psychology and Interpersonal/Organizational Communications, are the student speakers at Youngstown State University’s Spring Commencements Saturday, May 16, in Beeghly Center on the YSU campus.

Commencement ceremonies for undergraduate and graduate students in the Beeghly College of Education, Williamson College of Business Administration and the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will be at 10 a.m.

Commencement ceremonies for undergraduate and graduate students in the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and the College of Creative Arts and Communication will be at 2:30 p.m.

Shipman, a member of the first cohort of the School Psychology program at YSU, will speak at the morning ceremony. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Middle Childhood Education with a concentration in Math and Social Studies from the University of Toledo and worked 10 years as a seventh-grade math teacher at Grand Valley Middle School in Orwell, Ohio, where she served on the Math Curriculum and Building Leadership teams. She earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2007 from Liberty University and then decided to go back to school to become a school psychologist, enrolling in the new School Psychology program. She has worked as a graduate assistant with Mary Lou DiPillo, associate dean in the Beeghly College of Education. During her two-year assistantship, she helped organize a reading conference attended by 300 local teachers and university students and helped with the BCOE change from NCATE to CAEP accreditation standards. While a full-time graduate student and graduate assistant, she managed an active home life as a wife and mother of three children and maintained a perfect grade point average. She currently is an intern working for the Trumbull County Educational Service Center.

Kayleigh Perline

Perline, who has made the Dean’s List every semester at YSU, will speak at the afternoon ceremony. Perline is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the Karl W. Dykema Scholarship, the James P. LaLumia Memorial Scholarship, the William H. Farnell Scholarship, the Dr. Kathleen Kougl Scholarship in Communication, the Allen Jones Scholarship in Psychology, and the Albert & Adele Krotzer Scholarship. Perline is involved with Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, Psi Chi, Lambda Pi Eta, Room of Requirement and Phi Kappa Phi. She held leadership positions in Alpha Xi Delta, Psi Chi and Lambda Pi Eta. She studied at the University of Winchester in England during the fall 2013 semester. Perline has volunteered at the Rich Center for Autism, Animal Charity Humane Society, Walk Now for Autism Speaks in Youngstown and in Canton, and Angels for Animals. After graduation, Perline plans to attend Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, to obtain a master’s and EdS in School Psychology. After that, her goal is to work in a school system as the school psychologist.

Jake Kucek with the first place award.

Three students in Youngstown State University’s master’s program in Interdisciplinary Communication took home first place honors at the Eastern Communication Association Convention in Philadelphia.

Students Jake Kucek, Patrick Bascom and Donald D’Alessio created a research poster titled “Rescue Mission Audit.” It placed first out of 22 posters presented at the conference. Posters were judged on application of theory, scope of research and contribution to the field of communication. Kucek presented the poster at the convention.

The poster, a project derived from a graduate course entitled Organizational Communication Research, was a communication audit of the Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission that included a mixed methods research approach to analyze the communication flow of the Rescue Mission.

Meagan Healy 

Meagan Healy, a biology major at Youngstown State University with a chemistry minor, is this year’s recipient of the Academic YSU-OEA Union Heritage Scholarship award.

Healy, of LaGrange, Ohio, is employed on campus as a resident assistant at Lyden House. She is president of the YSU Biology Club, secretary of the Residence Hall Association and a member of the Student Conduct Board.

An avid horsewoman, Healy has been showing horses since she was very young, and she hopes to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, specializing in equine sports medicine. She is serving an internship as a veterinary assistant at Cleveland Equine Clinic in Ravenna and expects to graduate in spring 2016.

YSU-OEA is the university’s chapter of the Ohio Education Association and represents YSU faculty. Its $1,000 Heritage Scholarship is awarded to a student who has a personal or family connection to the labor movement and is pursuing educational goals at YSU.

To apply for the scholarship, visit the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships page at the YSU website, www.ysu.edu, or contact the YSU-OEA office at 330-747-1756 for more information.

Carmen Moradian

Ashley Orr

Youngstown State University students Carmen Moradian of Boardman and Ashley Orr of Columbiana have been selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad this summer.

Moradian, a senior at YSU studying biology pre-med, will study at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. Orr, a senior mathematics major, will study at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom.

They are among more than a thousand undergraduate students from 332 colleges and universities across the United States selected to receive the scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs. The program aims to diversify the students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go.

The scholarship program is administered by the Institute of International Education. The full list of students who have been selected to receive Gilman Scholarships, including students’ home state, university and host country, is available at www.iie.org/gilman.

Kristi Yazvac

Kristi Cosette Yazvac of Boardman, Ohio, has been awarded the prestigious $5,000 Walter and Adelheid Hohenstein Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in Economics at Youngstown State University.

Yazvac, who earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from YSU in May, was awarded the fellowship as the top candidate from the 10-state North Central Region.

A Leslie H. Cochran University Scholar at YSU, Yazvac served as president of the Ballroom Dance Club at YSU, a member of the Dana Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, a tutor for Chemistry, Mathematics, Piano, Music Literature and Economics classes, a student administrative assistant for the YSU Center for Student Progress, a member of the Scholar Advisory Board and the College in High School Advisory Board and a STEM Student Government representative. She earned induction into several national honorary societies and volunteered as a musician for a number of local groups.

This summer, Yazvac is participating in the Forum-Nexus Program, which involves extensive travel in Europe. She also was selected for a prestigious Department of Homeland Security Summer Internship. She is a 2011 graduate of Boardman High School.

Yazvac, who is Student Vice President for Chapter 143 of Phi Kappa Phi at YSU, is the 11th Chapter 143 Phi Kappa Phi fellowship awardee, but the first to receive a named fellowship.

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.

W. Jeffrey Hurst, ’75 MS

Jeffrey Hurst has spent the last 39 years of his life working for The Hershey Company and analyzing the science and history of everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure – chocolate.

“I’m the chocolate geek,” he says of the title he holds proudly as principal scientist at Hershey.

Hurst started his career at the cocoa kingpin after graduating from YSU with a master’s in chemistry in 1975. Ten years later, while working on his PhD and employed as an analytical chemist at Hershey, he got the assignment that would shape his research for the next three decades.

“We got a phone call from the University of Texas,” Hurst recalls. “A team of anthropologists there had opened a tomb in northeastern Guatemala and found vessels bearing the hieroglyph for the Mayan word kakawa and containing residue of what they thought could be cacao, the main ingredient found in chocolate.”

Known for his problem-solving skills, Hurst was assigned to determine whether the ancient residue could be some form of ancient chocolate. Using high-performance liquid chromatography – a chemical analysis technique that separates, identifies and quantifies each element in a mixture – Hurst found that the vessel residue was indeed a signature of cacao. His team would be the first to prove that ‘chocoholics’ might have existed as far back as 600 B.C.

“This was liquid chocolate used only by the elite,” Hurst explained. Cacao beans were also used as currency, he said, and later to create “the first energy bar,” a substance resembling a hockey puck that Mayan warriors took with them when exploring new territory.

Hurst would work with the University of Texas again years later to find evidence of Mesoamericans drinking a form of liquid chocolate – a discovery that received as much press and interest as his first find.

Hurst’s studies on the ancient treat led him to co-author a book, Chocolate as Medicine: A Quest over the Centuries, published in 2012. Its focus reveals applications of chocolate as medicine by Mesoamericans for alleviating fatigue, treating snakebites and even preventing heart ailments.

Hurst’s latest book, Chocolate as Health: Chemistry, Nutrition and Therapy, is a follow up to the historical account and looks at various aspects of the nutritional value of cacao. It’s his eighth book, in addition to several hundred other publications and presentations he’s made on his favorite sweet topic.

But Hurst says that all of his research on ancient chocolate is actually a sideline for him. On a day-to-day basis, as principal scientist for Hershey, he is primarily responsible for providing technical assistance to the company’s regulatory affairs group and monitoring developments in new analytical technologies used, for example, in determining food allergens – a subject that he focused on in his master’s degree studies at YSU.

In addition, Hurst is active in teaching and serves as treasurer for the International Society of Chocolate and Cocoa in Medicine. In his spare time he volunteers for two taste panels, including one for chocolate liquor that involved three years of training. He lives in Mount Gretna, Pa., with his wife Deborah. They have two daughters and a grandson.

He continues to see more opportunities ahead, but the real question is – how much of a sweet tooth does Hurst himself have for the substance that has accounted for a career of nearly 40 years?

“I enjoy chocolate,” he says, smiling, “but everything in moderation.”

Profile by Andrea Tharp 

(Originally published in YSU Magazine, Fall 2015.)

Chris Geidner, ’01 BA

Call it the “tweet” heard ‘round the world. At 10:01 a.m. on June 26, Chris Geidner believes he was the first journalist to tweet news of the Supreme Court ruling declaring same-sex marriage a constitutional right.

One minute later, the first story on the ruling was posted online by BuzzFeed, the fast-growing Internet news outlet where he is employed as legal editor in Washington D.C.

“I was sitting in the Supreme Court press office the morning the marriage equality decision was announced,” said Geidner, a YSU alum recognized as BuzzFeed’s bona fide expert on LGBT issues. “It was an amazing privilege to be there at that moment.” Others appreciated that he was there, as well – his tweet was re-tweeted 3,000 times, and more than a half-million people read the story.

Reporting on the high court’s groundbreaking decision culminated years of covering LGBT news for Geidner, who was named Journalist of the Year in 2014 by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. Starting out as an independent blogger, he advanced to freelance writer, to reporter and editor for Metro Weekly, Washington D.C.’s leading magazine for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, and finally, to BuzzFeed.

Geidner grew up in Austintown and was planning to go to law school when, after some time at American University in D.C., he started at YSU as a Political Science major. He remembers the mentoring he received from Poli Sci professors Paul Sracic and Bill Binning and journalism professor Dale Harrison. After completing his baccalaureate in 2001, he earned a law degree at Ohio State University, where he was editor of the OSU Law Journal, then went to work for a Columbus law firm.

At the firm, Geidner gained experience with complex constitutional litigation, so he was well prepared when he began working with Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann in 2006, and later, with acting AG Nancy Rogers.

As a law student, he started a blog called Law Dork where he often reported and editorialized on LGBT issues. He took a hiatus from blogging while working at the AG’s office but started writing again when he left public employment and made plans to move to Washington D.C. The timing was right for a young attorney/writer, well versed in the history of LGBT news, he said, and he quickly established himself as a “go-to” person on those issues.

New to D.C., Geidner was asked to freelance for Metro Weekly and was soon working full time as a political writer and editor, reporting on national issues. “The hate crimes law passed, I covered the end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ It was a great opportunity to dig in as a new journalist.”

Two years later, in 2012, BuzzFeed opened a D.C. bureau and offered Geidner a position as LGBT reporter. “Not many mainstream media publications had a person dedicated to LGBT coverage,” he said. “We were ahead of the curve.”

Since then, Geidner has crisscrossed the country for BuzzFeed, following major court cases and human-interest stories. He remembers sitting at a Panera Bread restaurant in his Ohio hometown on Christmas Eve, 2012, writing about the seven states likely to see marriage equality the following year. “Voters in three states had approved marriage equality that November, and I covered the next 41 for BuzzFeed,” he said.

He’s especially proud of an in-depth profile he did on Jim Obergefell of Cincinnati, the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality case. Geidner spent a full day with Obergefell and his attorney, and his article attracted 175,000 views.

But why work for BuzzFeed instead of a more traditional news outlet? “Because I think we do it better,” Geidner said, citing the staff’s comfort with technology and change, and its expanding coverage of news worldwide. “I also like our intentional commitment to diversity, making it a core mission. It’s the moral and right thing to do,” he said. “It also allows us to generate better stories, stories that aren’t told in other newsrooms.”

Profile by Cynthia Vinarsky

(Previously published in YSU Magazine, Fall 2015.)

Robert Clark, ’93 BS, ’01 MS

Six thousand, seven hundred.

It’s a number that Robert Clark takes very seriously.

Clark, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice from YSU, estimates that the crime-fighting programs he helped initiate since joining the FBI in Los Angeles eight years ago have resulted in more than 6,700 arrests.

That’s a lot. But, for Clark, it’s only a number.

“I could sit behind my desk, just based on that number alone, and people would say, ‘Robert – career well done,’” he says. “But, I don’t care about that. I care about returning health, healing and reclamation to these communities.

“When we have returned playgrounds to kids, made bus stops safe, neighborhoods safe so kids can actually play outside in their yards and families can walk to church and walk to work – those are some of the marks of success in my career.”

And that’s exactly what Clark has done since moving to Los Angeles in 2007.

For those efforts, the Los Angeles Police Department this year awarded Clark its inaugural Southwest Broome Award, presented to individuals who have provided substantial contributions to the development of the young men and women of SW Los Angeles.

As FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office, Clark and his staff of 350 agents and others oversee gangs, violent crime, organized crime, crimes against children and drug cartel activity in a sprawling 900-square-mile stretch of southern California.

But it was on the streets of Youngstown’s South Side that Clark cut his teeth. He spent much of his youth – from age 4 to 12 – in foster care. In 1980, Clark’s father, who operated the mob-owned Casablanca Nightclub, was murdered. “A drug disagreement, and he lost,” Clark says. His mother, whose family Clark says also had some connections to organized crime, worked as a dancer, leaving young Clark at home many days and nights to take care of his younger sister.

“I was in and out of trouble, a lot,” recalls Clark, an outside linebacker at Cardinal Mooney High School who went on to YSU to play for the Penguins as a walk on.

A year later, he left school for the Ohio Police Academy, graduated, worked as a reserve for the Austintown police and then, in 1989, joined the Youngstown Police Department, where he initially worked cocaine undercover operation. “I loved it,” he remembers. He worked six years in the YPD’s Special Investigations Unit, building a reputation as a budding expert on the burgeoning gang problems facing the city.

That’s when he attended an FBI recruiting event on the YSU campus. “I walked up to this agent and he handed me his business card,” Clark said. “It had an embossed FBI seal on it. I rubbed my thumb over that seal and thought, ‘Man, one day, my name is going to be on that card.’”

By 1995, he was a special agent, first in Chicago, then on protection detail for the attorney general in Washington D.C. – his second day on the job was Sept. 11, 2001. In 2004, he was promoted to FBI headquarters and the MS-13 National Gang Task Force. Three years later, he was assigned to Los Angeles to help fight the infamous MS-13 gang. In the ensuing eight years, Clark has overseen eight major initiatives, from developing a trans-national anti-gang unit in Central America to a program in which police and agents return to neighborhoods after gang busts to clean alleyways of trash and graffiti and offer mentoring programs for at-risk youth.

Through it all, Clark has learned one thing: it’s all about relationships.

“I know what it’s like to be that kid whose parents are absent or not involved, who can’t go outside and play because it’s too violent, can’t go to the playground because there are too many gangs or violent influences, or can’t walk down the street to their community center or city pool or school because you have to walk through three different gang neighborhoods and get challenged and probably assaulted. I’ve lived it and know how fear can control your education, development and abilities to dream.

“So, when I talk to kids, I always tell kids that hurt people – hurt people. But that hurt people hurt themselves the most. I also share with them that healed people have a responsibility to heal people. I have chosen to use my pain and my hurt as motivation to make a difference in the lives of others, not to impress them about what ‘I’ve done,’ but inspire them to dream about what they can accomplish.”

Profile by Ron Cole

(Previously published in YSU Magazine, Fall 2015.)

Jennifer Roller, ’91 BA, ‘93 MA 

Jennifer Roller can pinpoint moments that have served as guideposts in her professional life. And they all involve people.From a YSU professor who invited her to sit on a national conference panel to the former supervisor who encouraged her to reframe her work strengths, Roller remembers people who have flipped a switch to help her advance her career.

“Even with this position,” said Roller, president of The Raymond John Wean Foundation in Warren, Ohio, “it wasn’t something I planned to pursue.” It took others in the organization who recognized Roller’s potential before she did.

“Having someone open you up to an opportunity like that – it’s the kind of force I try so hard to be for others now.”

Roller’s commitment has been the driving force behind her success in many previous positions, but especially in the last year and a half as the leader of a $70 million foundation.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s in Education, both from YSU, Roller started her career as a case manager in Youngstown. The first role she felt at home with, however, was back at the university for 10 years as director of the Upward Bound and SCOPE college prep programs.

“I loved working at YSU because it was such a good fit for me,” said Roller. “I realize now that my personal purpose has always been to serve as a resource to others, so it was very much aligned with Upward Bound’s mission to open the door to higher education for high school students.”

Finding an authentic fit with an organization has always been central for Roller, and her next career stop was no exception. In 2007 she became program officer at the Wean Foundation, moving up to vice president in 2013 and president a year later. She is now charged with upholding the Foundation’s vision of empowered residents creating a healthy, vibrant, equitable and economically stable Mahoning Valley.

A staple to the Warren and Youngstown communities for nearly 70 years, the Wean Foundation maintains a strong focus on community revitalization and economic and educational opportunity in the Valley. With a total of $2.2 million in grants distributed each year to local organizations, Roller says the goal is to not only fund projects but to also be a resource to communities as they build their infrastructure and leadership capacities.

“The Wean Foundation shows up in the Valley in an impactful way,” she said. “We are very deliberate and intentional about the work we do.”

One initiative that’s been Roller’s baby since 2008 is the Neighborhood SUCCESS and Leadership program. The effort trains resident leaders from Warren and Youngstown in aspects of community building with the goal of getting them more involved in local decision-making processes. With more than $1 million put on the ground in seven short years for projects like block watch clean ups, after school programs and enrichment activities, Roller says residents now have the opportunity to contribute more directly to their communities and play at the same table with local leadership.

Along with strengthening strategic partnerships with Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Roller has made sure the Foundation remains rooted to its mission.

“I want to stay thoughtful about where I am in the present,” she said. “I’m part of a truly amazing team and try to be the best resource I can be for people. I’m energized by that type of work here.”

Roller lives in Liberty Township with her husband, Jason, and their son, Trey, who starts his first year at Thiel College this fall.

Profile by Andrea Tharp

(Previously published in YSU Magazine, Fall 2015.)

Olivia Millsop, left, with her internship mentor Dr. Elena Rossi, a Youngstown pediatrician.

Olivia Millsop, a junior nursing major at YSU, was one of 12 university students selected to serve the prestigious Akron Children’s Summer Pediatric Research Scholars internship program. One of 146 applicants, she was the only nursing student selected – the others are all majoring in medical fields.

Millsop said she was unsure whether to accept the position at first but decided to take the chance. “I think you have to take any opportunity you have.”

Throughout the 10-week internship she was encouraged to job-shadow professionals working in various specialties, such as trauma services, pediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care. She also worked with a mentor on a research project, the results of which will be submitted to a national pediatric conference later this year.

Millsop, a Medina native, is in her fourth year at YSU and her junior year in the YSU nursing program. She works two jobs in addition to attending classes at YSU, but she doesn’t make her busy lifestyle an excuse to relax in the classroom. “Nursing to me is an important profession,” she said. “You have a patient’s life in your hands, and slacking off in class, will hurt not only yourself but also the patient.”

After graduation, Millsop’s goal is to pursue a master’s degree and become a pediatric nurse practitioner. “Children have always had a special place in my heart,” she says. “They do not get a voice that adults have. I want to be that nurse that advocates for her patients.”

Profile by Nicolette Pizzuto

Research by three students in YSU’s doctorate of Physical Therapy program has been accepted for presentation at a prestigious national conference in physical therapy. The students are, from the left, Drew D. Snyder, Jeremy C. Oller and Teale K. Bennett.

Research by three students in Youngstown State University’s doctorate of Physical Therapy program has been accepted for presentation at a prestigious national conference in physical therapy.

Drew D. Snyder of Macedonia, Ohio, Teale K. Bennett of Aurora, Ohio, and Jeremy C. Oller of Creston, Ohio, will present “Attitudes Towards Controversial Issues in Healthcare Policies in Doctor of Physical Therapy Students” at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting. The meeting will be Feb. 17 to 20, 2016 in Anaheim, Cal.

It is the first time that YSU DPT students have presented at the conference.

In addition, the research has been accepted for presentation at the Ohio Physical Therapy Association’s Fall Scientific Symposium 2015 on Oct. 9 in Columbus.

The purpose of the research was to determine the attitudes of physical therapy students toward some of the significant and controversial changes in healthcare legislation at the federal and state levels. The data can inform strategies to design advocacy activities and assess the physical therapy curriculum in the content area of professionalism.

Snyder, Bennett and Oller are in their second years in the DPT program. The three started the research as a class project in the Language, Culture and Health class taught by Weiqing Ge, associate professor of Physical Therapy.

For more information, visit the YSU DPT program.

Nathan Unger’s brand identity for a fictional company called ChowDown, an all-natural dog food and treat company. And below, his infographic that could be used to help raise awareness for any social cause.

Nathan Unger of Struthers, Ohio, and Carson Fryman of East Liverpool, Ohio, students of Youngstown State University’s Graphic + Interactive Design program, were semi-finalists in this year’s Adobe Design Achievement Awards Contest.

“This exhibition and competition features student entries from across the globe,” said Rich Helfrich, YSU assistant professor, Graphic + Interactive Design. “Having work selected is a true indicator of the quality of our students.”

Unger of Struthers is a senior at YSU studying Graphic + Interactive Design. His project included developing a brand identity for a fictional company called ChowDown, an all-natural dog food and treat company. He also created an infographic that could be used to help raise awareness for any social cause.

Carson Fryman’s persuasive, fictitious advertisement campaign consisting of a magazine ad, bus shelter and billboard.

Fryman graduated this past summer from YSU and is working as a creative content specialist for Via680 at the Youngstown Business Incubator. Her project was a persuasive, fictitious advertisement campaign consisting of a magazine ad, bus shelter and billboard. Fryman said the project was inspired by her cousin, Hailee, who has Downs Syndrome. “I wanted to display that having a disability is not a negative thing – I wanted to bring out the positive side of it,” she said.

The Adobe Design Achievement Awards celebrate student achievement reflecting the convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software and honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, game developers and computer artists from the world’s top institutions of higher education.

Karissa Kuneli

Karissa Kuneli, a Respiratory Care major at Youngstown State University, was recently awarded two highly selective state and national scholarships. The scholarships were awarded by the Ohio Society for Respiratory Care, the American Respiratory Care Foundation and the National Board for Respirat
ory Care.

The OSRC scholarship is a statewide award given annually to up to three students enrolled in accredited respiratory care programs in the Ohio. Kuneli received the highest monetary award in 2015.

Kuneli was the sole recipient of the national award and will receive a scholarship, a certificate of recognition and a paid trip to Tampa, Florida, where she will be honored at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress awards ceremony.

Both scholarships are considered prestigious recognition, available only to Respiratory Care upperclassmen. Kuneli is a senior,
pursuing Registered Respiratory Therapist and Polysomnography credentials.

In addition to her academic work, Kuneli attends clinical rotations three days a week at a local hospital and one day a week at a sleep clinic to train in polysomnography.

Kuneli is the president of the Student Organization for Respiratory Care, a member of YSU’s Academic Senate and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. She also tutors underclassmen in the respiratory care program and has logged 130 hours of volunteer service.

The key to her success, she says, is a color-coded agenda that tracks her schedule in full detail. “Find what makes you passionate about your field and use that to motivate you when you just want to give up,” she says. “Do not get overwhelmed with everything you have to do, just focus on the task at hand and work from there.”

Kuneli plans to graduate in May of 2016.

YSU student Lauren Minenok on the jumbo scoreboard in left field at PNC Park.

Lauren Minenok of New Castle, Pa., a senior Telecommunications major at Youngstown State University, wanted a public relations internship working for the Pittsburgh Pirates – but the staff there had a different idea.

Minenok instead spent this past summer as one of the Pirates’ on-screen entertainers at PNC Park – her performances broadcast live on the jumbo left field scoreboard during pregame and between innings.

“My favorite part was the Pierogi Race,” Minenok said about the PNC Park tradition where six contestants dressed in pierogi costumes race around the field after the fifth inning. “Everyone is so excited for it and it’s such a big event.”

Minenok, who this semester is completing an internship in the YSU Athletics department, said she believes she was chosen for the position at PNC Park because the Pirates staff remembered her from when she sang the national anthem at the ballpark when she was six years old.

As on-screen entertainer, Minenok learned scripts, then visited with the audience to get people in a good mood to be filmed for video segments. She also had the audience participate in various games, interviews and other activities. Minenok said she didn’t have set hours, but on game days she was emailed the script and rehearsed at home, drove to the stadium and prepared before pregame. The producer was on the field with her as she read through dozens of scripted segments.

Meanwhile, Minenok said she has a recording contract with a company in Pittsburgh and is recording her own music. She is planning a broadcasting career as a sports or entertainment reporter.

From the left, Beeghly Fellows Jessica Marando, Corey Patrick, Jerry Dugan, Fadi El Chammas and Alex McFarland.

Fadi El Chammas, Jerry Dugan, Jessica Marando, Alex McFarland and Corey Patrick, business students in the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University, have been selected as John D. Beeghly Fellows for the 2015 Fall Semester.

The John D. Beeghly Fellows program provides students with a paid fellowship working with the Ohio Small Business Development Center and the International Trade Assistance Center at YSU. Projects include marketing research, preparation of financial statements, export readiness studies, country research, business plan development, cash flow analysis, and sales forecast. Students gain valuable career-related work experience and are able to position themselves to be competitive in the job market upon graduation.

The program is made possible by an endowment established at the YSU Foundation by Beeghly’s wife and children. Beeghly was a lifelong resident and businessman in Youngstown and the son of area industrialist and philanthropist, Leon A. Beeghly. From 1967 until his death, Beeghly served as vice president and director of Standard Slag Co. and Stancorp, Inc., a holding company for industrial businesses.

“We are extremely grateful to the John D. Beeghly Family for making this generous investment in our business students,” said Betty Jo Licata, WCBA dean. “Providing our students with career-related experience contributes to the success of our regional businesses and the professional preparation of our students,”

This semester’s Fellows:

Fadi El Chammas of Poland is a senior international business management student with a marketing minor planning to graduate in Fall 2016. He has worked in the food industry for more than five years, providing customer service and gaining professional selling experience. Currently he is an intern at the Ohio Small Business Development Center and the International Trade Assistance Center where he is gaining experience in exporting.

Jerry Dugan of McDonald is a senior accounting major who recently completed a tax/audit internship with Novogradac and Company in Dover, Ohio. He is an active member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, where he helps mentor freshmen business majors and assists faculty members in planning events. He also volunteers with Junior Achievement to teach at local elementary schools about economics.

Jessica Marando of Hubbard is a senior marketing management major and accounting minor. She completed a marketing internship for Vapor Stockroom where she focused on social media and brand development. During her time with Vapor Stockroom she launched and promoted three new product lines as well as multiple house specific products. She is a member of Enactus, an entrepreneurial organization on campus, where she has served as public relations chair for the past two years.

Alex McFarland of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a senior business economics major. She recently completed a payroll associate internship at Future Systems Inc. McFarland is involved in the Economics Club and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She is completing her second semester as a Peer Tutor in Economics in the Center of Student Progress. She plans to attend graduate school at YSU for a master’s in Financial Economics and continue on as an Economic Development Advisor for the Peace Corp. in the Burkina Faso region.

Corey Patrick of Struthers is a senior finance and marketing double major, entrepreneurship minor. Corey recently completed a Financial Advisor Internship with Edward Jones Investments. He serves as the president of YSU Enactus, a student entrepreneurial organization on campus, WCBA Representative on the Student Government Association, WCBA Student Leadership Council, as well as head chair of Social Media and of Fundraising in Sigma Tau Gamma.

YSU only fourth public university in Ohio to receive the award

Ashley Orr

Ashley E. Orr of Columbiana, Ohio, a senior at Youngstown State University, has been named a Rhodes Scholar, the first YSU student to receive the prestigious international scholarship.

YSU is only the fourth public university in Ohio to have a student win the award in the Rhodes’ 112-year history, joining Ohio State University, Miami University and the University of Cincinnati.

“Ashley Orr’s commitment to excellence in the classroom and service to YSU and the Youngstown community propelled her to the top of a highly competitive group of applicants,” said Amy Cossentino, director of the YSU Honors College. “The receipt of this highest award is a testament to the premiere education available to students at Youngstown State University.”

Orr, a Mathematics and Economics double major at YSU, said she is honored to represent YSU and the Youngstown area as a Rhodes Scholar.

“As a first generation college student, I am so appreciative of the support I have received at YSU, specifically within the Honors and Scholars programs,” said Orr. “I am a direct product of my peers, mentors, and friends and family; so thank you.”

She added:  “I hope my peers across YSU’s campus take advantage of the amazing opportunities that YSU offers all of us, and further, that they believe, as I do, that YSU students can and are changing the world for the better. I am confident that there will be more YSU Rhodes Scholars.”

The Rhodes Scholarship is “the oldest and best known award for international study, and arguably the most famous academic award available to American college graduates,” said Elliot F. Gerson, American secretary of the Rhodes Trust.

The scholarships provide all expenses to study at the University of Oxford in England and are valued at about $50,000 a year. The first class of American Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904; the new class will enter Oxford in October 2016.

Orr graduated in 2012 from Columbiana High School in Columbiana, Ohio. She is in the University Scholars Program in the YSU Honors College and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in May 2016.

She is president of the YSU Student Government Association, co-founder of a poverty awareness program in the city of Youngstown, and is active in a wide range of volunteer service in the community. She has studied at the London School of Economics, has worked at the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland, and done research projects focused on public housing, crime and on poverty.