Ampersand Special Connections

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SPRING 2012

Ampersand

family

marriage

friends

Like Mother, Like SonThe Breakfast ClubThe Science of Sisterhood

A Match Made in Hoover

Back to the Bricks

From Halls to Homes, HTCers Live Together

Sisterly Support

Swinging into Love

New Traditions, Old Friends

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INSIDETHIS ISSUE

SPRING 2012

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Dear Readers,HTC is a home base for all of us.

Whether you are still here experiencing the College or you left the Athens bricks long ago, HTC unites us. It’s a transformative place, and the Special Connections Issue—the first of its kind—shares our stories; the stories of how the college has impacted all aspects of our lives.

Whether it is the place that you found your true love (page 8 and 10), the place where you created a new holiday (page 22), or the place where you found mentors who came to your rescue (page 14), HTC has influenced the people that we have become. It’s a place that pushes us to find our passions.

I would like to extend a hearty thanks to all of those who shared their stories with us about the time they spent here (and the embarassing pictures they sent with them). And I would like to thank the new Communications Manager, Cary Frith, a 1992 HTC Journalism graduate, for the time she spent conceptualizng this with us. And, of course, a shout out to the two lovely ladies who wrote all of the content with me.

We were consistantly suprised at how many of the stories related to our lives. Former Dean Cohn (page 16) told us that the students of HTC always called her Ma Cohn, which made us laugh because we call Assistant Dean Jan Hodson, Mama Jan. When it comes to HTC, the fundamentals stay the same. So read these stories and remember your days at OU or find inspiration for the next few years you have to spend on campus.

Jessie Cadle, Journalism ’13Editor in Chief

FROM THE EDITOR

HTC Times Three

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Dean Cohn: Mother & Mentor

Mathematics is major for mom, dad and daughter.

Dean Cohn’s mark on the college is undeniable.16

14

11

Editor in ChiefJessie CadleCreative DirectorBridget Mallon

Editor at LargeGina EdwardsPhotographer & IllustratorPaula Welling

Communications Manager & ONCA AdvisorCary Frith

Meet the Staff

features

11

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Ashley Senary thanks mentors with meal.

Backdrop’s BackstoryYears after its creation by two HTCers, a student culture magazine still thrives.

18

Story by Gina EdwardsPhotos provided

ABOVE: Esther Wangler and her son, Steven Van Dyne, at his high school graduation in 2011.

family

Like Mother, Like Son

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Legacies head to HTC

Gail (Zalimeni) Brooks and Esther (Erkman) Wangler share an added bond with their respective sons, Preston Brooks and Steven Van Dyne. They all chose HTC for their undergraduate education.

For the moms, their HTC experience began more than thirty years ago, when the College was still in its infancy.

Esther earned her degree in Psychology in 1980, while Gail pur-sued a Business degree, which she completed in 1984. Both women look back on their time at HTC and remember a very small, tight-knit community, forged by the common living space in Hoover House, the fondly remembered residence hall that used to sport far fewer amenities but more HTC students. “Back then Hoover was the only dorm that HTC students lived in,” Gail said. “We didn’t have computers and air conditioning, but it was more of a family type of atmosphere. You also had a lot of juniors and seniors living in the dorms. We had a lot of good times.”

Yet, some aspects of the College remained constant, such as HTC’s unique academic opportunities. “It was nice because you could specialize. It was really fun to take anthropology, humanities, to kind of supplement what we were doing,” Esther said.

More than three decades after their time on campus, the women now experience HTC through their sons who are HTC freshmen.

Preston got interested in HTC because of the Engineering Phys-ics program and decided to apply before he knew that his mom had also gone there. “I asked her why she had never mentioned HTC to me before when we were discussing about colleges, and she told me that she didn’t want to influence my decision at all,” Preston said. “She wanted me to find a college that I wanted to go to for myself.”

The audio production track within Media Arts & Studies drew in Steven, who liked HTC’s individuality—a deviation from other programs he had looked into that seemed to “churn” out students. Conversations with his mom helped him prepare for HTC and OU in general. “My heart was in Athens before I even got here, so it just felt natural,” he said.

When the mothers attended Interview Day, Precollege and move-in weekend, they felt nostalgic about their own time here. “When we went on the residence hall tour … they took us to Hoover House, where I was. The room that they showed us was my old room, 318,” Esther said, laughing. In August, she moved Steven into Hoover House, the third floor: the same side she had lived on for two years. “It was quite an experience,” she said. Preston and Steven live across the hall from one another.

Esther took comfort in having experienced the college world her son would now enter. “It’s very comforting and reassuring to drop your child off somewhere you’re familiar with. You know the expe-rience,” she said.

Since the two sons have started their respective programs, their mothers have identified more closely with their struggles. “When Preston explains what he’s going through, I think I can relate to it better. I could give him a heads up on things I knew would happen that don’t when you’re going into classes with 20, 30, 400 kids,” Gail said. Esther keeps up with her son’s posts on Facebook, often revel-ing in all of the similar experiences they have had from eating in

the same dining hall to climbing the same hills in the winter. The moms enjoy chatting with their sons about their experi-

ences, but they both confess that their kids don’t call or visit very often. Esther expected this; when she dropped Steven off at Hoover, she “looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘You’re going to love it here.’”

It appears that, as most kids hate to admit, Mom was right.

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ABOVE: Gail Brooks and her son, Preston, showing their OU pride.

Story by Bridget MallonPhotos provided

The Breakfast Club

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family

Cothrel siblings brunch weekly with mom

Growing up in the small town of Baltimore, Ohio, Max and Helen Cothrel pursued many of the same interests. They played

soccer, participated in the band and worked in student government. At Ohio University, their interests have diverged, yet one similarity remains — they are both students in the Honors Tutorial College.

Max, a junior, studies Journalism and creative writing, while Helen, a freshman, studies Astrophysics. Although Max came to OU first, his younger sister followed close behind.

“I knew about HTC because Max was in it,” Helen said. “There was an allure to being on the same campus as my sibling and being in a close knit community with him — it made coming to college less intimidating.”

Helen said that one of the biggest benefits of having Max already on campus, and especially in HTC, was being able to introduce herself as his sister.

“Unlike most freshmen, I came to campus with a memorable identity: Max’s sister. It’s something I used to resent, but now I embrace it,” Helen said. “When I tell someone I’m Max’s sister, and they know Max as the brilliant, funny guy that he is, that makes me more memorable.”

Helen has created her own identity at OU but said that being Max’s sister helped her forge some new friendships faster than those who enter college totally unknown. “They might think, ‘Max is awesome, so I bet she’s pretty cool, too,’” she said.

Max was also there for Helen before she started at OU, doing his brotherly duty by giving her freshman year survival tips. “He told me ‘don’t wear your lanyard around your neck’ and he showed me where O’Betty’s is,” Helen said. “He gave me those little extra bits of knowledge you wouldn’t know without having a sibling here.”

Both Max and Helen were attracted to OU because their mom, Dr. Michele Morrone,

works at the university as the director of the Voinovich School’s Environmental Science program and an associate professor of Environmental Health Science. “There are certain benefits to going to school at a place where she is three to four times a week,” Max said. Max, Helen and their mom met at Casa every Wednesday during fall quarter for breakfast. Their mom was on sabbatical in Canada during winter quarter, and the two kids got together every Sunday to Skype her.

After spending so much of their lives doing the same activities, college has afforded the Cothrels time to pursue their individual interests. Max performs stand up comedy with the Blue Pencil Comedy group, and Helen is the president of a physics society.

“We’ve been able to take our own paths after getting here,” Max said. “After very similar childhoods we came out as two unique people who get along really well.”

ABOVE:Max and Helen

Cothrel on the day of Helen’s high school graduation in June,

2011.

The Breakfast Club

Story by Bridget MallonPhoto provided

The Science of Sisterhood

After being officially inducted into the Honors Tutorial College this September, most freshmen looked into the pews and saw

a collection of unknown upperclassman —juniors and seniors were in attendance at the induction ceremony in Galbreath Chapel. For Samantha Thrush, a familiar face was waiting to welcome her into the College, her older sister Mariah.

“I was so happy to see her in the pews as I was given my Commonplace book and formally inducted into the College,” Samantha said. “I loved that she was there to support me and give me an awesome hug afterwards.”

Mariah, an Environmental and Plant Biology major, entered HTC two years before her younger sister, an Astrophysics major. Mariah not only offered support to

Samantha during the induction, but also introduced her to the tutorial system and the unique culture of Athens.

“She came down to visit me when I was a freshman, and she became enamored with the concept of a tutorial program, not to mention the fact that they also had an Astrophysics program,” Mariah said. “The added plus was the general vibe of Athens. We like to eat at ethnic and eclectic restaurants, and Athens has plenty to offer.”

Even though Samantha actively looked at other schools during her junior year of high school, she couldn’t deny the appeal of HTC and now treasures the time she gets to spend with her sister.

“I really like that I have a built-in support system for when my weeks are really hectic,” she said. “And it was really nice knowing that there was already someone I knew and

got along with even before the first week of college.”

After being away from each other for two years when Mariah first went to school, Mariah said they have enjoyed catching up, spending time together and becoming even closer than before.

Living just a few streets away from each other has opened up the chance for the Thrush sisters’ bond to grow, even during unexpected times, like finals week.

“My favorite memory so far has to be during fall quarter finals week,” Mariah said. “Sam needed a quieter place than her room in Johnson Hall, but less crowded than the library. She came over to my house, we ordered Avalanche pizza, and alternated between chatting and studying. It was one of the most enjoyable finals weeks I’ve had so far.”

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ABOVE: Samantha and Mariah Thrush, 2012.

Thrush sisters share time and devotion to science

HTC

Transferring into the Honors Tutorial College as a Theater major halfway through her freshman year, Corinne Zachry

was unable to experience Precollege with her HTC class. But she didn’t enter the college without any connections — her older sister Caitlyn was a junior in HTC Journalism at the time.

“Caitlyn knowing upperclassmen in Theater definitely helped me transition,” Corinne said. “It was nice to have Caitlyn because I didn’t have Precollege with HTC … but she was able to say ‘This is Kathy (White). This is who you talk to.’”

Already having two years in HTC under her belt, Caitlyn was excited to share the experience of being in the College with her younger sister.

“I was sold on HTC from the day I heard about it, and the College was extremely important to me throughout my time at Ohio University,” she said. “It was great to be able to share that experience with Corinne, through big events like the All-College Supper and Interview Days, or just spending time in the Common Room.”

Although Caitlyn graduated in 2011, she and Corinne were together on campus for two years. During that time, the sisters

made sure to see each other two or three times a week. While Corinne was living in the dorms, she would head over to Caitlyn’s house on Mill St. to study or use the kitchen.

Although Corinne said she and Caitlyn approach their relationship in different ways, those differences help keep the sisters in check.

“I’m one of the only people in her life who will give her an honest opinion and tell her what she doesn’t want to hear,” Corinne said. “Caitlyn teaches me to be responsible and make better choices … I think we’re a very good balance for one another.”

HTC’s small community effectively creates a family-like atmosphere for its students. This close-knit feel appeals to siblings wishing to tackle a tutorial education together.

“HTC is a College that is easy to fall in love with — it’s a unique program, which is multidisciplinary and easily tailored to a wide range of interests,” Caitlyn explained. “Siblings, even if they have different personalities, have grown up in similar conditions and often develop similar taste, ranging from food to worldview. When you consider it that way, it’s no surprise that siblings tend to find value in HTC.”

Sisterly SupportThe Zachry sisters’ bond balances the two

Story by Bridget MallonPhoto provided

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family

ABOVE: Caitlyn and Corinne Zachry, 2011.

HTC

Park PlacePartnerships

Illustration by Paula Welling

Brittany & JustinStory by Gina EdwardsPhotos by Tom Wagener

marriages

ABOVE: Brittany and Justin on their wedding day.

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A Match Made in Hoover:

They started out like many college couples. Brittany Hughes and Justin Lucas met during their first week-end on campus as freshmen in their residence hall, Hoover House. Everyone in the mod had convened to

debate current issues and voice their opinions on politics. Justin spoke up while Brittany stayed quiet.

Despite their differences in vocality that night, they spent time talking one on one and became friends. “Actually she was dating someone else when I met her,” Justin laughed. After freshman year, the two became a couple.

A close friend of theirs, Tom Wagener, ’09 Telecommunica-tions, remembered the beginnings of Brittany and Justin’s rela-tionship. An extended power outage on campus in fall 2006 had many students huddling together in the dark dorm hallways. Upon seeing Justin and Brittany sitting with one another that night, “It just hit me: ‘They are going to be together,’” Tom said.

Despite their having extremely busy schedules, the two man-aged to make time for one another, cooking dinner, taking walks and studying together. They dated until their senior year when things got more serious.

Justin popped the question right before he left for an intern-ship in Washington, D.C. that spring. He and Brittany had been wandering around campus, when they ran into friends. “[They] didn’t know that’s what I was about to do, so they kept talking,” Justin said. Brittany started to get cold and just wanted to go home and bake brownies, and Justin started to get impatient.

But soon they left their friends and ambled back behind Scott Quad, where stone benches surrounded by blooming flowers overlooked South Green and the river. There he asked her to marry him. She said yes.

The summer of 2010, many HTCers convened in Youngstown for Brittany and Justin’s wedding. Some of his pals from White Crow Films, a video production organization they started at OU, worked in the wedding in various ways; Sean Howlett and Tom Wagener took photos while Wes Cronk DJed.

“The wedding was beautiful and simple, with Justin and Brit-tany’s siblings serving as groomsmen and bridesmaids,” Tom said. “I loved seeing family and friends contributing so much to the event.”

Now, Justin and Brittany live in northern Virginia. Justin works at Moon Bounce Media, a video production company, while Brit-tany is a paralegal for an immigration law firm.

Though their relationship’s path is similar to other college couples, their shared HTC pasts make their love a truly special connection.

ABOVE: Brittany before the ceremony.

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Swinging into Love:

If you attend any of Swing Columbus’ monthly dances or workshops, you’ll likely see former HTCers Dan (Physics ‘08) and Gail (Political Science ‘08) Lindy Hop, Charles-ton and Balboa across the dance floor. Since meeting

in OU’s Jitterbug Club and living on the same floor in Read-Johnson, the two have been dancing. “We would be up super late studying in the common room on the first floor,” Gail said. And at the time Gail’s roommate’s boyfriend introduced her to swing dance. “I got hooked,” she said. Dancing twice a week in Athens and traveling to locations such as Columbus and Pitts-burgh to dance helped Gail and Dan grow closer. “We ended up dating and just didn’t ever stop,” she said.

After graduating, the two spent time apart—Gail at a Teach for America position in Philadelphia and Dan at a Teaching Assistantship near Seville, Spain. The year of teaching was dif-ficult for Gail, and she looked forward to visiting Dan over spring break. The long distance, however tough, solidified their commitment to one another. When she arrived in Spain, he took her to his favorite part of Seville: a royal palace called the Alcazar. Inside the beautifully manicured gardens surrounded by trickling fountains, bright flowers and ambling peacocks, Dan asked Gail to marry him. “It was gorgeous,” Gail said.

Graduate school led both of them back to Columbus, where Dan worked on a Ph.D. in physics and Gail on an MPA in pub-lic policy at the Ohio State University. Coming back to the area meant reentering the swing scene; many of the same Swing Columbus leaders from their college years still danced there. Excited to reclaim their shared hobby, the two joined Swing Columbus’ competition team. They have even trotted their talent to competitions such as the Dayton Swing Smackdown and the International Lindy Hop Championships. In 2011 they won at Dayton and in 2010 they placed eighth at the Lindy Hop Championships.

Currently, Gail is the instruction chair for Swing Colum-bus; she sets up lessons, develops curriculum and plans special workshops, and Dan regularly teaches lessons.

Although they live in Columbus, Dan and Gail keep up with the Athens scene. “We were dancing with Athens people Sat-urday night at the monthly dance here,” Gail said. “And we’re coming down for [OU Jitterbug Club’s] workshop this week-end.” Last year they even choreographed a competition piece for the team.

While the two have moved through life to different loca-tions, jobs and aspirations, their shared passion for dancing brings them back to a familiar place. Like their love for one another, the swing world serves as a welcoming haven, where they can continue to groove for years to come.


marriages

ABOVE: Dan and Gail swing dance at their wedding reception.

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Dan & Gail

feature

Story by Jessie CadlePhotos provided

HTC Times ThreeABOVE:Kathie Nalepa on her

graduation day in 1976.

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Mathematics is major formom, dad and daughter

Ohio University is rumored to be the place to find one’s soul mate. The first class of Honors Tutorial College alumni, who

lived together in Fenzel Hall, took the OU dating myth to a whole new level. “The Fenzel eugenics program we used to call it. There were a lot of us dating,” said Russ Nalepa, a 1976 graduate who studied math and met his wife Kathie through HTC. “[My wife and I] weren’t the only ones in that group to get married.” Russ and Kathie (Mayfield) studied Math in the newly formed College.

Russ and Kathie graduated with degrees from the College of Arts & Sciences because the HTC math program didn’t offer a seminar at the senior level, which is valuable to math majors hoping to go on to graduate degrees. When they look back at their time at OU, however, they remember themselves as true HTC students: misfits who found their place with the intellectual—yet social—students. “When you’re that kind of a kid, you’re different. You don’t fit in anywhere,” Russ said. “There were 35 of us [in HTC] in those days, and it was like family.”

Furthering the family connection, Russ and Kathie’s daughter, Liz, chose to attend HTC also to study Math. Russ, as a math teacher at Ursuline High School in Youngstown, also funnels his best and brightest students into the HTC program.

“At my Math interview with Dr. Keck (the former DOS), he sat me down and said, ‘I didn’t get the Christmas letter this year, how’s your brother?’,” said Liz, who graduated from HTC in 2009. “It instantly felt like home.”

Fenzel FriendshipsIronically, Russ first dated Kathie’s

12 | Ampersand

RIGHT: Russ and Kathie Nalepa on their

wedding day.

BELOW: Liz, age 13, and Michelle Yost,

daughter of HTC alumna Linda

Lang Yost.

roommate before falling for Kathie. He claims her friends had to beg her to go out with him, but Kathie says that she wanted to date him, since they had a natural attraction within their group of friends.

As a couple, they had much in common. Both were math majors with a side interest in theater and the performing arts. Russ had starred in all of his high school’s productions, and Kathie participated in both theater and music in college and at church. Though Russ described, with much chagrin, that their families differ on the political and religious spectrum, “when we talk we are so much alike it isn’t even funny,” he said with a playful chuckle.

The two were in a group of friends in Fenzel that learned a card game each quarter, which they played every night for an hour. They started with euchre, moved to pinochle and later took up bridge. Kathie added, “Once we landed on bridge, it’s all we ever played.”

She also recalls nights of frivolity at the Athena’s dollar midnight movies and mornings of mischief. Russ taught her how to use a credit card to pick the lock to the boy’s hallway so she could say goodbye to him when she left early for church on Sunday mornings. Even with all the fun, Russ and Kathie — like most HTCers — were serious studiers.

“We had calculus study parties. Study for an hour, party for an hour and then sleep for the test the next day. It was almost always pizza and cupcakes,” Kathie said.

A gaggle of their male and female HTC friends rented a house with two apartments attached at 110 North Congress. Around eight or 10 boys lived in the single rooms in the house, two girls perched in one apartment and an already married HTC couple claimed the second apartment over

the garage. Though the group has since moved to

cities and states far beyond North Congress, they remain in contact. Kathie recalls one instance where she and a fellow HTC graduate living in Columbus met with their respective daughters, and their daughters were so similar in disposition that Kathie called them “twins separated at birth.”

“The people we keep in touch with in HTC have the same values and raise their kids in the same way,” she said. “It was shocking to my daughter; ‘someone thinks like I do.’”

It’s All in the FamilyThe Nalepa family has quite a reputation

at Ursuline High School, Russ, Liz and her brother Peter all graduated as valedictorians in their respective classes. “The family joke is that Kathie has the lowest class rank in the family because she was second [in her class],” Russ said, but she is quick to chime in that she had the highest GPA.

When Liz talks about her parents, she is quick to say that they didn’t pressure her to come to Ohio University; she chose HTC on her own. “They were surprised when I chose OU,” she said. “Everywhere else I looked, it seemed like it was a veneer, but it didn’t feel like that at HTC. Nothing was forced about it.”

Most of her friends in HTC studied the hard sciences and were members of the OU Duello Fencing club. When she moved with many of them off campus and into a house, it was a street over from where her parents had once lived.

When her parents returned to visit when Liz was at OU, the two have lunch with various members of the College separate from Liz so that it’s clear there is no favoritism. And as if the parents aren’t

connected to the school enough, they often see people on the streets that Russ sent to the college from Ursuline.

“When my parents come to HTC, it sounded to me like they had come home,” Liz said. “When I return now, it does feel like coming home. This is my place.”

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Above: Liz Nalepa, 2009.

Story by Jessie CadlePhoto providedIllustration by Paula Welling

feature

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

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Ashley Senary thanked mentors with meal

ABOVE: Clockwise from left: Former Political Science DOS Julie White, Assistant Dean Jan Hodson, Former Dean Ann Fidler, Political Science Professor Barry Tadlock, 2007 graduate Ashley Senary and Political Science Professor Susan Burgess.

Ashley Senary still has the card that was originally at-tached to a plant. Holding onto the small token is sig-

nificant for the 2007 graduate of the Honors Tutorial College because it is signed by former Dean Ann Fidler, Assistant Dean Jan Hodson, former Political Science DOS Julie White, and Political Science professors Susan Bur-gess and Barry Tadlock. The plant was a gift to Ashley when she gathered the group together at a friend’s apartment to thank them for helping her with her thesis.

“Who is going to get three college professors, a dean and an assistant dean to come to our apartment?” Ashley said with a laugh. Because she developed ties with the five authority figures, it ap-peared normal to her to have them over for polenta.

During her time as an OU under-graduate studying Political Science, Ashley, like many HTC students, de-veloped an incredibly close relationship with her professors. She now has a job at the prestigious law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. in San Antonio, Texas.

She still exchanges emails with Pro-fessor Tadlock. In fact, they recently had dinner when he visited Texas. Din-ner has been a tradition ever since the OU Dinner Lasagna Project, an initia-tive where professors invited students to their homes for dinner to interact on a more personal level. The dinners with Professor Tadlock and his family con-tinued, and now each time she visits, dinner is a must.

Ashley grew close to more than just Professor Tadlock in the political sci-

ence department. Her Director of Stud-ies, Professor White, became a confi-dant and caretaker for Ashley during her time at OU. Every time she returns to visit, Ashley feels at home in Profes-sor White’s office chair.

“I must have spent 100 hours of my college life in that chair,” she said. “Her interest in me as a person was equal to, or more, than her interest in my edu-cational and intellectual development. She was making sure we were all grow-ing up right, in addition to learning.”

The most memorable story in her re-lationship with Professor White stems from the day Ashley received her LSAT scores. They weren’t what she had hoped for, and she was “inconsolable.”

She called up a close friend, Joe Fran-doni, who happened to live near Profes-sor White.

“Next thing I knew, I heard a knock, and it’s Joe and Julie climbing up the stairs to my rickety apartment,” she said. “I think it was just such a big thing for Julie to come down the street to my apartment. I instantly felt better about the whole situation.”

Joe and Professor White sat with Ashley. Both had a whiteboard marker, and the two would take turns writing future life options on the board for Ashley to consider. Looking back, “Julie was the biggest part of my development at OU,” Ashley said.

Ashley remains in touch with the mentors who helped her throughout her time at Ohio University, and she recognizes the sacrifices these teachers made to care for her. As a memento of their affection, she hangs on to the little card they all signed in her honor.

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Dean Cohn:Mother & Mentor


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feature

A lot has changed since the Honors Tutorial College was founded in 1972. Honors students who were once housed in Fenzel, are now in Hoover, Read and Johnson. HTC used to be a three-year program, and now it’s four. The freshman class size has sprung from the thirties to the seventies.

ABOVE:Dean Cohn with Dean

Joe Berman.

But much of what makes HTC unique, has stayed the same. The goals of HTC have always been personal fulfillment and following

tangential academic interests. The teachers have always cared for students beyond their academic achievements. And more specifically, students have considered the College a home away from home: Former students used to call Dean Margaret (Peg) Cohn “Ma Cohn” and current students call Assistant Dean Jan Hodson “Mama Jan.”

Recently Dean Cohn explained her in loco parentis role as dean of HTC.

“It’s like having a whole bunch of nieces and nephews, and you can follow their careers. Many of them go on to do such interesting things,” she said.

Dean Cohn helped HTC form in 1972 and served as assistant director until 1979 when she became director. This position switched from director to dean in 1980. She still exchanges Christmas greetings with those in the first HTC graduating class because the students she met during her time as dean are a part of her extended family. But her immediate family became part of HTC when her daughter enrolled as an HTC student in 1976.

“I didn’t start out in HTC, and I decided after one quarter that I really wanted to try for it. I thought other students would think the only reason I got in was because of my mom,” said Dr. Alison Jameson, who graduated from HTC in 1979 in English, going on to receive her master’s at OU and her doctorate at the University of Arizona.

As if Dean Cohn’s family weren’t already intertwined enough with HTC, Alison met her future husband, Dr. Ralph Jameson, in HTC. He graduated in 1980 with a degree in physics.

Though Dean Cohn and Alison both appreciated being at HTC at the same time, they respected the other’s personal space.

“Mostly I think she did her thing, and I did mine,” Dean Cohn said. Dean Cohn’s husband also worked at OU as graduate dean, so for Alison both parents were well known.

“I didn’t see them very often,” she said, adding with a laugh, “My father had an office on the first floor, and I surprised him once by climbing through the window

when he wasn’t there and hiding.”When not dropping in, literally,

to visit her parents, Alison saw her parents when she did her laundry at home. For other students, however, Dean Cohn served as a second mother.

She recalled various anecdotes about her time with HTC students. Once, she was awakened in the night by a call from an RA reporting one of her students missing from the dorms. She helped track the student down and discussed struggles the students was having with the student’s parents. Another time, when a student could not afford glasses, she used some of HTC funds donated by a parent to buy the student a new pair.

“She was everyone’s mother in absentia,” Alison said. “There were some people who were jealous of me because she was my actual mother … they felt they had earned that relationship with her.”

While Alison didn’t spend much time visiting her parents, she lived in Hoover and befriended many HTCers, most notably her future husband Ralph. “I met him the day he moved in. I was getting out of the elevator and he was coming into it with his parents. He asked me if he could leave his bike in the dorm. I remember that very clearly,” Alison said. “His idea of a hot date was studying.” Alison laughed, crediting him with her success in HTC and her eventual doctorate. Many couples from her HTC era started dating as students and eventually married, she said.

Alison and Ralph married two days after commencement in 1980 because his parents were already in town, and many of their friends were in the area. Many HTC students married that week. In fact, Alison was slated to be in the bridal party of a wedding scheduled for the night before her own. “My mother-in-law told me in no uncertain terms I couldn’t do that because I needed to be at my own rehearsal dinner,” Alison said, laughing.

She remains in contact with people she met in HTC and considers OU her true

Ampersand | 17

alma mater, even though both she and her husband later attended the University of Arizona for their respective doctorates.

Currently, she is a teacher at a community college, working with college students just like both of her parents did. “The way that I teach and interact with my students and the standards that I have for them all come from the interactions that I had with my tutors at the HTC,” Alison said.

For both Alison and her mother, HTC became a cherished network that continued far beyond the days spent on campus. Be it through Christmas cards or marriage, the connections made are lasting. And in this way the College has achieved its goal of bringing intellectual students together to create a community, whether in Fenzel or in Read or accomplished in three years or four.

ABOVE: Allison (Cohn) Jameson, 2012.


feature

Backdrop’s Backstory

18 | Ampersand

ABOVE: Gina Beach (left) and Tara Melvin on a study abroad trip before embarking on their senior year as publisher and editor-in-chief of Backdrop.

Years after its creation by two HTCers, a student culture magazine still thrives

What began as a mere conversation in journalism class transformed into the first by-student, for-student glossy magazine on campus—with all the advertising revenue, content, staying power and

pomp of a thriving real world publication. The combined brain-power of HTC alumnae Tara Melvin (BSJ ’09), Gina Beach (BSJ/BSC ’09) and two other journalism students from their class forged Backdrop Magazine, which aimed to provide “a taste of student life with Athens as our backdrop,” said Tara.

Today, four years after the magazine’s inception, Backdrop still publishes a four-color glossy magazine once each quarter, with content continually added to the website. It covers college lifestyle and culture, sex and health, profiles, sports, music and more.

Alex Menrisky, Backdrop’s current publisher and an HTC Jour-nalism senior, credits the magazine’s current popularity to its long-running history. “People recognize us now,” he said. “We’ve been around for a while, and there’s a population that faithfully reads us.”

But the road to Backdrop’s current success had its own set of pot-holes that Gina and Tara had to maneuver.

As an emerging publication, many had reservations and skepti-cism about its viability. At Gina’s positions at The Post and Univer-sity Communications and Marketing, her peers asked if the maga-zine would be a conflict of interest. “I had to say ‘Look, we’re not trying to steal your stories,’” she said.

They also faced those who did not take them seriously. Tara re-members specific difficulties with the printer they worked with in Columbus, who didn’t print things on time. “We were young stu-dents, and they kind of pulled the wool over our eyes,” she said.

And although the students had some practice in conceptualiz-ing and designing magazines in a class, Backdrop was a whole new animal. They followed the model from Jack Brady’s “Magazine Ed-iting & Production” class and came up with their target audience, brainstormed their different departments and sections, and created a media kit to gain advertising interest.

Gina described the process as incorporating a hodgepodge of influences and incubating them. “We spent a lot of late nights in Alden,” she said. “We were flying by the seat of our pants, borrow-ing from Southeast Ohio, a ton from what we liked at The Post, and drew it all together. And ended up being successful.” Tara added, “It was everyone’s baby.”

In the first year of Backdrop’s existence, it published two issues. Tara and Gina took a backseat the first year, with the two other Backdrop founders taking the two highest ranking positions on staff: editor-in-chief and publisher. By its second year, Tara and Gina served as editor-in-chief and publisher, respectively. Tara credits HTC for the great working relationship that she and Gina had. “We had known each other from the first semester in HTC, took tutorials together and had a strong working relationship and friendship,” she said.

The two graduated in spring of 2009, leaving Backdrop in the hands of their successors. While letting go was difficult for Tara and Gina, they wanted to be hands-off after they left. “As hard as it is to let go of something, the magazine becomes the contemporary child of the new editor,” Gina said.

Backdrop has since undergone a redesign, rebranding and, ac-cording to Gina, has improved its content. Alex, who has been around since Backdrop’s first full year of publication, agrees. “I think we’ve narrowed down our focus on the magazine,” he said. “We’ve made little changes that have kind of accumulated to a final product.”

Tara and Gina have both ventured into careers; Tara is associate marketing manager at Us Weekly and Gina is in her third year at a Teach for America position in Chicago. While they have come a long way from the magazine class that fostered it all, the little publication they started will likely always form a part of their lives’ backdrops.

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friends

20 | Ampersand


Back to the BricksOne friendship circle reunites to remember HTC memories

ABOVE: The group convenes at the OU vs. OSU football game in 2010 to show their bobcat pride.

Hoover House brings people together, and many remain close even once they leave. “It does really all go back to everyone being in the dorm together,” said Joe Romi-niecki, a 2005 Journalism graduate and member of a

close-knit friendship group. He credits the placement of like-minded, academically driven

HTC students in the same building as part of the strength behind their bond. “We had different majors but were in the same mode of what we were looking to get out of our time there,” he added.

The group, comprised of several guys and a few girls who all lived in the same mod, met their freshman year and have remained friends ever since. While their majors ranged from History to Jour-nalism to English, they still shared many commonalities. For ex-ample, Joe remembers how the group of friends developed a daily meal ritual. At 4:30 p.m. they met in the mod for some rounds of Mario Kart before heading to dinner. They always tried to arrive at Nelson dining hall before the dinner rush. “Now that I think back on it, it reminds me of old folks going for early bird specials,” Joe said.

Beyond playing video games and eating food as a unit, they had side adventures, such as having a “campout” in the mod and road tripping to North Carolina for spring break.

Once, when it snowed so badly that school was cancelled, they played tackle football on Hoover Beach, the area where Adams Hall now sits. During fall and spring months, they used the same space to play baseball and Frisbee.

Their athletic ventures did not stay confined to pickup games, though—they also joined intramural broomball and softball teams. And while their team had a competitive spirit, they didn’t consider themselves a particularly strong opponent. “None of us were truly gifted athletes,” Joe said. By senior year they had developed their skills but could not clinch any championships.

When graduation and moving on to the “real world” became a reality, Joe created a Google group so that everyone could keep in touch. At that point, Facebook had not yet become a “thing,” he said. In the Google group—which they still use—they post regular-ly and can still read messages all the way back to when they gradu-ated. It also helps them organize reunions back in Athens.

Fortunately, one member has lingered in the area to ensure his friends keep coming back. Brian Dearing, a 2006 History graduate, Athens native and current teacher at Athens High School, offers his house as a crash pad for his friends when they return.

But, he demonstrates chagrin towards those who have upgraded from his couches. “Now that they’re married they have all turned lame and buy hotel rooms,” he said.

Typically, they all reconvene during Memorial Day weekend. During their last reunion they met with Jan Hodson, HTC assistant dean, and chatted in the new Common Room.

Brian said that reconnecting with Jan helped them stay on top of each other’s life happenings, as she would ask them about things they don’t normally ask each other. “We ask each other about rela-tionships and what not,” Brian said. “She would ask more about our jobs and grad schools.”

While the friends have scattered to cities across the United States—Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, to name a few—they still try to maintain their connection to one another. However, the transition from group dinners and Nintendo 64 to careers and marriages inevitably impacted their group dynamics. Now when they get together they must catch up on what has trans-pired in between reunions, rather than just between classes.

Yet, to Joe, the things that have stayed the same bring everyone back together. “We’re pretty much the same goofy group of kids we still were in college,” he said. “So part of the reason we get back together is to relive that.”

Ampersand | 21

ABOVE: The group convenes at the OU vs. OSU football game in 2010 to show their bobcat pride.

ABOVE: Several of the friends at Jason Smoot’s wedding at Lake Chautauqua.


Scottish Thanksgiving may not involve turkey or celebrate Pilgrims, but a group of friends who graduated from the Honors Tutorial College in 2005 and 2006 look forward to it nonetheless.

friends

New Traditions, Old Friends

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ABOVE: Scottish Thanksgiving festivities get underway.

Correction: In the original version of this story the author incorrectly listed Joe Meri-cal as the creator of Scottish Thanksgiving when it was, in fact, Andrew Connor.

Noah Blundo, Jennifer Bonnar, Andrew Connor, Jason Lea, Joe Merical and Miranda Nixon, who met in Hoover Hall in 2002, celebrate their made-up holiday together annually.

Andrew created their most unusual tradition, Scottish Thanksgiving, during his time studying abroad in Scotland, where they don’t celebrate the quintessentially American holiday. So, he created his own Thanksgiving the Saturday after the officially recognized day. He ate Mexican food — the closest food to American cuisine available — and threw together his own holiday.

Upon his return, he brought the holiday back with him, and the group has celebrated it every year since their senior year of college. They add new traditions each year, so now the day is full of numerous quirky customs: Mexican food, ice cream cake, a notecard-based group game and a piñata — crushed with rocks instead of a bat. “Bats are too fast,” Noah said.

Typically the event is held at Andrew’s, but he was in Greece this year, so Noah hosted the holiday. Noah was quick to add that Andrew still “had Scottish Thanksgiving in Greece.”

The group of friends who use the holiday as an excuse to gather on a yearly basis met as many do in college: in the dorms.

“It’s kind of amazing that we all met. When I got accepted, I wondered whether I should live in the honors dorm. Like, are they all going to boring people who want to study all the time? That was just not the case,” said Noah, who studied Journalism. “I feel pretty lucky that I ended up in this one mod on this one floor where most of the people ended up being my really good friends.”

During the their time at OU, the group spent many nights attending themed dinners at Nelson dining hall, grabbing a few drinks at Tony’s and enjoying board games at Donkey Coffee. “A lot of our friends were Journalism majors, and they had a lot of useless knowledge. They could play Trivial Pursuit for hours,” Miranda said laughing.

Beyond Scottish Thanksgiving, the friends make it a point to gather for other special occasions. To attend Joe’s wedding last year, they road tripped together for 12 hours to get to the beach occasion. They drove all night, the car died twice the next day, and they barely made it in time for the rehearsal dinner. The important thing is that they made it though, after 24 straight hours in the car together, Jennifer said.

Although the friends stay in touch through yearly events and random emails, two members of the group are quite a bit closer. Jason and Jennifer married in 2007 — twice — once in July to complete the legal documents and again in December, with friends at a large-scale affair. “I actually met him for the first time almost 10 years ago, at HTC Interview Day. He has no memory of it whatsoever,” Jennifer said.

The two Journalism majors were friends their freshman year and began dating their sophomore year. They graduated a year early, in 2005, and moved into his family’s house. In 2006, they bought their first apartment together. Later that summer, Jennifer received a surprise after spending a day grocery shopping. When

she returned home, a post-it note attached to the front door sent her on a scavenger hunt.

“It led me all around the apartment to places with meaning to us,” she said. “The final clue was in his sock drawer in an empty ring box. It guided me out onto the balcony, and he was on one knee with the ring.”

Jennifer credits HTC and her college friendship group for helping her meet and fall in love with Jason.

“Sophomore year was the year where that friendship group came together. It was probably one of the best years of my life,” she said. “And that bond has carried through the years for the group of us.”

The pair always makes an appearance at the annual Scottish Thanksgiving celebration. Although the traditions of the made-up day aren’t associated with carving turkeys or playing football, the fake day is much like Thanksgiving because they spend their time appreciating each other and giving thanks for the bond they have all formed.

Ampersand | 23

Above: Jennifer and Jason cut the cake at their wedding.

Fondly referred to as “The Castle,” the grand, stone residence I live in houses seven women, six in the Honors Tutorial College. We have

all been lucky; we met the first week of college and immediately clicked.

Despite different majors, backgrounds and interests, we became close friends. During the weeknights, our dining room table is hardly visible beneath layers of papers, textbooks and laptops. We’re working on different classes, but we’re still working together. We take breaks to laugh, keeping each other’s morale high and stress low.

My roommates and I understand the value of staying levelheaded. By practicing patience and understanding, we’ve been able to restrict our biggest arguments to whose turn it is to do the dishes.

Everyone in our house is taking on a huge academic load, and fifteen other responsibilities on top of that. But despite all the papers, work hours and organization meetings, we keep our doors and hearts open. We take the time to hear about one another’s day.

Not only do we help each other, but we also learn from each other. Every young woman I live with is passionate about her pursuit of knowledge, and we’re always eager to discuss with one another the things we’re learning about the world around us.

I have been blessed to live with six ambitious, compassionate and hard-working women. In the end, the cold, gray stone house I live in does not do an ounce of justice to the warm laughter, love and friendship within. —Patty Arnold

35 Grosvenor: The Castle

24 | Ampersand

friends

HTC residents:Patty Arnold, BiologyJessie Cadle, JournalismBeth Clowes, BiologyBridget Mallon, JournalismKatie Meisky, SpanishKatie Mitchell, Political Science

Photos by Paula Welling

From halls to homes, HTCers live together

Before we found a new television, my roommates and I would sit in the living room in the evenings passing around a quaffle (the spherical,

dimpled ball used in quidditch in the Harry Potter series) that our roomate Alec Bojalad had brought back from a trip to Harry Potter Land in Orlando.

We would talk for hours—about politics, about literature, about Chuck Klosterman and Tolkien, about overrated hipster music, about Arrested Development. The television had been a casualty in the move from our old house, 45 Morris, to our new residence: 13 Mound. It hadn’t worked all summer, but we kept it in the corner of our living room too big for our furniture as a mantelpiece for candles or wine glasses.

When we finally disposed of the archaic thing—it was huge, designed to fit in an old-fashioned entertainment center—we took strange pleasure in rolling it down the hill.

We never seemed to miss it at the time. We didn’t need it.

Having lived in a house comprised of 75% HTC students for the past two years, I have come to appreciate the quality of the friendships that can be formed with such vibrant and intellectual peers.

These friends—many of whom I would not have met outside of HTC—have seen me in my pajamas after a night out, have supported me at presentations and performances, have explored the nooks and crannies of Athens with me, have made mistakes with me and have helped me establish a space in this sometimes unrelenting town that I can truly call home.

Our home, which we refer to as the Model Home, has become a place of comfort, of security, of laughter—sometimes of debauchery—but mostly of energy. Here, I feel renewed. I suppose that’s what it’s like to come home. — Rachel Grimm

13 Mound: The Model Home

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From halls to homes, HTCers live together

HTC residents:Stephanie Fisk, Art HistoryRachel Grimm, French/EnglishAlex Menrisky, Journalism

26 | Ampersand

friends

When deciding on a college, I considered a lot of factors from academic rigor to the distance from my home.

But what I really longed for were the intan-gibles: good friends, quality mentors and the ability to be pushed as a person. How can you really determine what your col-lege experience will be from a mere one day visit?

I showed up for HTC Interview Day with low expectations. “Ohio University is a party school, and I am no party school-er,”

I thought to myself snootily. But the Col-lege charmed me. The deep red bricks, the wide green fields, but more than that, the College staff. Assistant Dean Jan Hodson joked with us; the students who toured us around the glossy brochure-looking cam-pus seemed down-to-earth and thoughtful. They weren’t nearly the nerdy, boring kids I expected. When I heard about the Journal-ism program, I was sold: the ability to do whatever I want?! It was the college dream.

They had me on Interview Day, and they have me still. Through HTC, I have found

six of my closest female friends, count-less mentors whom I turn to whenever I am breaking down and a home away from home. It must sound cliché, but it’s true that HTC is like my family. And making this is-sue has just reinforced what I’ve always be-lieved about the college: it unites those who are passionate and driven, and pushes us to do more.

Really this issue should be titled, “A Love Letter to HTC,” but we thought that seemed a little long and melodramatic. But honest-ly, HTC, this one’s for you.-Jessie Cadle

On a rainy spring day in 2009, I sauntered into the HTC office. I hadn’t come in to see friends in the Common Room, grab a

cookie or say hello to Margie and Kathy. This day I had come to interview for a job.

The position description enticed me: newsletter editor. Spending my days writing blurbs, finding clip art and designing the whole shebang sounded like the perfect résumé builder. (I was an overeager freshman.) After an interview with the venerable assistant dean, Jan Hodson—where I tried my best to sound both qualified yet nonchalant—I walked out of the office, fingers crossed that things

would go my way. They did. But in more ways than I could

have imagined.Looking back on these four years, I can

say with confidence that my job at the HTC office has definitively shaped my time here. Every week I have spent at least 10 hours in the office, doing my job (of course!) but also chatting and getting to know the HTC staff. Sure, everyone has their quirks (just ask Kathy about the Amish or Jan about ATMs), but I have never met a group of people so fervently dedicated to their jobs. Everyone cares deeply about the College’s mission and spends ample hours working (outside of 9-5) to make it even better.

Meeting these people has not only given me a sense of family here at school (Jan and her husband Tom are my Athens parents) but has also shown me the type of career for which I should strive: one where the passion outweighs the stress.

So, when you ask me: “What is your special connection?” I feel lucky to have had so many. I’ve cried in Jan’s office, tried to fix Margie’s internet, babysat Cary’s kid and convinced the dean to get a Twitter account. It’s these memories, these people who have become my family, giving me more special connections than I ever could have anticipated when I came into the office on that rainy spring day. -Gina Edwards

From the creators of this issue:Why we love HTC

I was one of the last students to arrive at Precollege in June of 2009, traffic was bad and my family is notorious for getting places late. I sat down at the

only table with an open chair and scoured the room. I looked at each kid one at a time, trying to get a feel for what this College was all about.

I was convinced that I wouldn’t fit in. I was convinced that everyone would be so different from me. I was convinced that I wouldn’t connect with any of my class-mates.

The idea of HTC intrigued me, don’t get me wrong, but I was worried that my classmates would be uptight, snotty, know-it-alls.

I could not have been more wrong. The people I have met through this College are some of the most important in my life; I even live with several of the girls I met at Precollege.

HTC has become my home. I have worked in the office for ten hours a week since Spring Quarter of my freshman year. I have met outstanding alums who inspire me to make the most of the opportunities I am afforded here. I have had conversations in the Common Room that made me laugh so hard I cried, think deeper about a topic than I ever had before, and question my own notions.

There is something indescribably special about a College that gives students so much

control of their studies. Committing to OU was a big deal for

me, both of my older brothers had come here, and I was afraid if I came here too I wouldn’t be an individual, I’d just be an-other Mallon. Once again, I could not have been more wrong.

The individual attention I receive at this College is more than I could have asked for. Not many college students can walk into the office and immediately be greeted by name by the dean and assistant dean. I have never felt like a number at HTC.

I am so proud to be an HTC student and so lucky to have this opportunity. I love the Honors Tutorial College and couldn’t be happier to be here. -Bridget Mallon

Ampersand | 27

Friday

2 to 3 p.m. Coffee Hour 35 Park Place Common Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Career and Grad School Roundtables with Students Alden Library Faculty Commons

5 to 6 p.m. Ellery Golos Lecture: Journalism Educator & Poynter Institute Fellow Adam Hochberg, HTC ‘85 35 Park Place Common Room

6 to 7:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception Baker 1804 Room

9 to ?Informal Gathering Jackie O’s

Saturday

9 to 10 a.m. Coffee Hour with Informal Remarks from the Dean 35 Park Place Common Room

1 to 3 p.m. Student Showcase35 Park Place Common Room

6:30 to 9 p.m.HTC Banquet with Award Presentations & 2011 Outstanding Alumna talk, “The Democratic Case For Striking the Affordable Care Act,” by Anna HarveyPing Center Atrium

Reunion ItineraryApril 13 -14, 2012

Don’t forget to register for the upcoming 40th Reunion. Visit http://www.honors.ohio.edu/alumni/reunion.html. We would love to see you

there to share even more HTC Special Connections.

LAST LOOK:HTC seniors at the 2011 All-College Supper.

The Honors Tutorial College35 Park PlaceAthens, OH 45701740.593.2723

Documents

Ampersand Special Connections