Time has come for YSU grads

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The popular 1989 Cher hit “If I Could Turn Back Time” served as inspiration for part of a saying on Billy Blaze’s cap, but it also came with a major caveat: He has no desire to wallow in the past.

“I’ve been given an opportunity to develop a skill set to move on with the next chapter of my life,” said Blaze, whose black cap read in full, “If I could turn [the clock] back, I wouldn’t.”

He doesn’t need to, because time can’t change the fact that he was among the hundreds of students who received degrees during the first of two Youngstown State University spring commencements Saturday in Beeghly Center.

Because of the high number of graduates, the tradition was divided into morning and afternoon ceremonies.

Those who took home associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees after the earlier ceremony were from the Williamson College of Business Administration, the Beeghly College of Education and the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The afternoon graduates were in the Cliffe College of Creative Arts and Communications, the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Blaze, of Hermitage, Pa., is majoring in advertising and public relations. He proudly recalled having spent three years doing largely marketing, graphic and social media work as a member of Penguin Productions, an organization of students and advisers dedicated to creating, promoting, organizing and producing musical events on campus.

After graduating, Blaze plans to continue in that realm by working for Forty Two Event Production, a Boardman-based event-production company that works with clients in areas that include video production, audio, staging and lighting.

“I’m ready with the skills I’ve learned from YSU … to pursue a full-time career and go to the next chapter of my life,” said Blaze, whose cap also was inscribed with a clock that read 9:30, the start time of the morning commencement.

“I thought that would be a cool touch,” he said about the clock.

PROUD ACCOUNTING GRAD

Amy Jackson may or may not know the way to San Jose, as the famous 1968 Dionne Warwick song goes, but she is “on my way to a CPA,” according to what was printed atop her cap.

“It was amazing,” the Campbell woman and accounting major said about her four years at YSU. “I wouldn’t have chosen another college to go to.”

Jackson said she also is looking forward to a full-time job as a certified public accountant beginning this fall with Packer Thomas, a Canfield-based accounting firm. Jackson certainly won’t have to deal with the usual initial awkwardness of meeting and establishing relationships with co-workers, because she’s already spent about 18 months there as an intern, she said with pride.

The Williamson College of Business Administration provided the groundwork for her to learn marketable skills and make connections. That also was a crowning achievement of her college career, said Jackson, whose parents, grandparents, boyfriend, brother and other family members watched her receive her degree.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

The morning commencement’s keynote speaker was Donald Lewis, president of Essity’s Professional Hygiene, a leading global hygiene and health business based in Sweden.

Lewis, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from YSU, recalled having gone through difficult times about 30 years ago. Nevertheless, living on his own, working hard and being part of on-campus organizations helped him develop his character, he told the grads.

Lewis advised the students to consider how they wish to be perceived, as well as to maintain a balance between working hard and “smart” and setting aside time for themselves. They also shouldn’t allow a lack of immediate success to deter them from engaging in hard work, he explained.

“Don’t allow yourself to ever feel constrained,” Lewis continued. “Not everyone who works hard succeeds, but everyone who succeeds works hard.”

Lewis also stressed what he sees as the importance of building face-to-face relationships – especially in this day and age of ubiquitous technology, which has a way of magnifying the smallest of mistakes and choices one makes.

“Think about your reputation; your reputation follows you if it’s a good one or a bad one,” he cautioned.

TRESSEL’S REMARKS

“Give back, make a difference and strive for excellence,” said YSU President Jim Tressel. “Set your goals high and increase your excellence in everything you do.”

During his presentation, Tressel asked the graduates who serve in the military, along with those in the audience who are veterans or still serving, to stand and be recognized.

He also conferred honorary Doctor of Business Administration degrees upon Lewis and Sam Grooms, chief executive officer of

Hy-Tek Material Handling Inc. of Columbus, who was the afternoon commencement’s main speaker.

Additional remarks came from Kyla N. Williams of Cincinnati, an accounting major who, despite having faced major hardships, maintained a 3.77 grade-point average, and Dr. Joseph L. Mosca, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.