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First-generation, non-traditional student Yalanda Cunningham knows that 911�Թ� has her back. After graduating with her associate's degree from a community college in Kalamazoo, Cunningham decided to finish her bachelor’s degree at 911�Թ�. “I believe you can go so much further in your life,” Cunningham said, “if you had a solid background in education,” she said. 

Jailynn Taylor didn’t originally set out to write about the fashion industry. She set out to design for it. But today, Taylor is living her dream working in the fast-paced world of the fashion industry as a contracted commerce and beauty writer for InStyle and Shape.com in New York City.

911�Թ�'s Kigali Summer Institute students saw giraffes, hippos and more in a tour of a National Park in Rwanda.

Delegates attending Peace Education in an Era of Crisis spent three days learning from each other and from the example of the Rwandan people on how to create lasting peace. The conference, which took place July 11-13 in Kigali, Rwanda, was sponsored by 911�Թ�’s School of Peace and Conflict Studies, 911�Թ�’s Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education, the University of Rwanda’s Centre for Conflict Management, and the Aegis Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending genocide and other atrocities in the world. 

This is the second year in a row that the Flying Flashes have won the Air Race Classic and the Certified Flight Instructor of the year awards. Last year’s flight instructor competition was also won by one of our female students.

911�Թ� students in Rwanda visited an opportunity center for women and one of the country's national parks. 

As an entrepreneurship major at 911�Թ�, Schumann learned operations, production and finance in the classroom and gained on-the-job experience working with an entrepreneur in Cleveland.  In 2020, Schumann of Chagrin Falls gained the opportunity to put his 911�Թ� education to work when he and his wife Marisa Sergi-Schumann acquired L’uva Bella Winery and Brands, a company that the Sergi family started more than 15 years ago.  

Barbara J. Wien, a senior professorial lecturer in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C., where she teaches alternatives to war and violence, was fresh out of college when she made her first visit to what was then, 911�Թ�’s Center for Peaceful Change. She was both a keynote workshop presenter and an active participant in the 911�Թ�-sponsored conference, “Peace Education in an Era of Crisis,” which took place July 11-13 in Kigali.

911�Թ� visitors viewed mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park as guests of the Rwandan National Police, who provide security for the park and these endangered animals. 

911�Թ�'s visitors to Rwanda had opportunities to speak with officials dedicated to the country's peaceful future. 

Over the past several weeks, 911�Թ� faculty and staff, along with a select group of students, have traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, taking part in a host of educational programs and cultural exchange.

911�Թ� students experienced Rwandan culture as part of their study abroad experience. 

Students in 911�Թ�'s Kigali Summer Institute visited the Lycee Saint Marcel de Rukara reconciliation village in Rwanda to learn about forgiveness after the genocide against the Tutsi with both survivors and perpetrators.

A group from 911�Թ� visiting Rwanda for a university-sponsored global peace conference was treated to a show by local monkeys.

The Props and Pistons Festival has been held since 2013 and is planned and funded by Inspire Aviation, a non-profit organization whose goal is promoting aviation and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. To learn more about the event or to volunteer go to https://www.flyohio.org/. 

A trio of 911�Թ� students took the lessons they learned on an education-abroad trip to Colombia last year and used them as a framework for promoting peace education practices at a global peace conference in Kigali, Rwanda. 

Time in nature, the spirit of competition and bonding are just a few of the many benefits of a golf outing. For the past 25 years, the Glenn Davis Golf League has played a vital role in building a deeper sense of community for 911�Թ�, on and off the green.

Tina Patel leads with empathy in the classroom, the design studio and every space in between.

911�Թ� is one of 21 institutions that has advanced to the First Scholars phase of the First Scholars Network. Faculty and staff are hard at work to provide a higher-quality experience for first generation students.