°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ

University College

Kellie Miley standing among greenery and plants

Kellie Miley is the first to admit, when she graduated from Rootstown High School in 2008, she was not ready for college. In high school, she barely cracked a book yet managed a 3.2 grade point average (GPA).

Getting by with little effort changed when she started as a freshman at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ. By the end of the year, Ms. Miley found herself academically dismissed for poor grades.

Celeste Dawson credits °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ’s EXCEL program for making the Kent Campus feel like a second home.

Celeste Dawson had made up her mind. She was not going to attend college and that was her final decision. 

Her story could have ended there, but the support of her parents and a program at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ opened up a new chapter in her life – one filled with opportunities she never imagined.

Jordan Wilkens stands in front of a background image of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ's Kent Campus Esplanade

When Jordan Wilkins was a senior in high school, he thought he knew what he wanted after graduation – a career in the United States Air Force. However, his principal envisioned a different path, one where he would soar sky-high, not in a plane but at a four-year university.

Pictured (left to right) are Barb Smith of KeyBank; Margot Copeland of KeyBank Foundation and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees; °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ student Jordan Wilkins; °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ President Beverly Warren; and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ Foundation Board Chair Gary Brahler.

KeyBank Foundation has granted $1 million to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ to support programs to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students.

Pictured (left to right) are Barb Smith of KeyBank; Margot Copeland of KeyBank Foundation and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ Board of Trustees; °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ student Jordan Wilkins; °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ President Beverly Warren; and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ Foundation Board Chair Gary Brahler.

KeyBank Foundation has granted $1 million to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏ to support programs to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students.