MILESTONES

MILESTONES

doctorate

Dr. Ernest Burt III, a Youngstown native, earned his doctor of philosophy in educational leadership from Keiser University in Florida. His dissertation focused on motivation of crisis-response team members.

Burt earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University. He is a 1993 graduate of Chaney High School.

He is dean of academic affairs at Everglades University in Boca Raton, Fla.

He is the son of DaVetta and Alonzo Paul, Ernest Burt Jr. and the grandson of Joyce Paul. He is the father of three children, Zoe, Braden and Donte, and lives in Cooper City, Fla., with his wife, Dr. Saunja Terrell Burt, and family.

STATE PATROL

Trooper Steven Tucci has been selected for the 2014 Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper of the year at the Lisbon Highway Patrol Post.

Tucci joined the patrol in 2011. He was assigned to the Lisbon Patrol Post in 2012.

He originally is from Lowellville and is a graduate of Lowellville High School.

Before joining the highway patrol, Tucci served in the Marine Corps and earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Youngstown State University.

He lives in Poland with his wife, Tiffani.

OSHP dispatcher Tammy S. Renfro has been selected for the 2014 Ohio State Highway Patrol Telecommunications Award at the Dispatch Center. She was chosen in recognition of outstanding service during 2014 at the Lisbon Post.

Renfro joined the patrol in 2000 as a dispatcher assigned to the Lisbon Post. Throughout her career, she also has served at the Canfield Dispatch Center.

Renfro earned an associate degree in criminal justice in 1982 from Jefferson Technical College.

Before joining the patrol, Renfro dispatched for the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office and Salem Police Department. She lives in Salem.

HONORS

Lydia Esparra of the WOIO Channel 19 Action News team has been named the 2014 Ohio Television News Anchor of the Year by the La Voz Media Alliance.

Esparra, a Youngstown native of Puerto Rican descent, was included in consideration for the award with news anchors from television stations in Cleveland, Youngstown, Toledo, Lima, Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Mansfield, Zanesville and Steubenville.

Esparra is currently the only Latina news anchor at an Ohio television station. She joined CBS affiliate Channel 19 in September 2010 and anchors the station’s newscast at the station. In 2008, Esparra was awarded an Emmy for excellence in her newscasts while employed at WKYC Channel 3 in Cleveland.

Esparra also is the author of an inspirational book, “Heaven is All Around You,” which has received international acclaim. She is a graduate of Ursuline High School in Youngstown and Ohio State University. One of 10 children, she is the daughter of Porfirio and Eufemia Esparra of Youngstown.

LAWYERS

Emily Bush, daughter of Douglas and Barbara Bush of Boardman, has passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam. Atty. Bush recently was admitted as a member of the Massachusetts Bar at a swearing-in ceremony Nov. 19 in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall.

Bush graduated with honors from Boardman High School in 2007. She graduated from Penn State University in 2010, majoring in media studies and with a minor in sociology. She moved to Massachusetts in August 2011 to begin law school at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

During her time at Suffolk, she had various internships, including positions at each of the district attorneys’ offices in Worchester, Middlesex and Norfolk counties.

During her third year at law school, she participated in the Battered Women’s Advocacy Program, one of the oldest domestic-violence law school clinical programs in the country. She was also involved in the school’s Child and Family Law Student Association, serving as the group’s president her second year.

At her commencement ceremony, she was recognized for completing more than 80 hours of volunteer legal work during her time as a student.

Since graduation, Bush has been employed at the law office of Daniel J. Moynihan, a general litigation firm in Stoneham, Mass.

Milestones is a regular Sunday feature in The Vindicator. Articles must be submitted within 30 days of the Milestone event. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you want a picture returned. Pictures also may be picked up at the paper’s Front Street facility at the security guard station. Send items to: Milestones, c/o The Vindicator, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501.