As Ohio State alumni, you’re changing the world
Buckeyes all around the globe put their talents to work to make opportunities, discoveries, welcoming homes and a safer planet — setting the bar for the next generation.
The DC Alumni Club welcomed Molly Ranz Calhoun (second from left) and President Kristina M. Johnson and her wife, Veronica Meinhard (both at right), for a game watch party this fall. Joining them are India Harris-Jones (left) and Melissa Wasser (center).
In this season that invites us to reflect on kindness and gratitude, I’m excited to have so many reasons to celebrate our boundless Buckeye spirit. Ohio State alumni have an incredible capacity to create positive change around the globe when they share their experiences, ideas, talents and gifts.
As you read Ohio State Alumni Magazine’s winter stories, you will see some of the many ways our fellow alumni are transforming possibilities into realities in people’s lives and the places we call home.
You will learn more about President Kristina M. Johnson’s unwavering commitment to creating limitless opportunities for our students, advancing critical research and discoveries, expanding entrepreneurship and increasing diversity. This includes her plans to ensure that over the next decade, Buckeyes will be able to earn their bachelor’s degrees without the burden of debt.
The focus of her wife, Veronica Meinhard, on engaging more alumni and friends in growing scholarship support is an outstanding part of that vision. When these student scholarship recipients become alumni, they will be better equipped to choose the next steps on their journeys — opening doors for them to be as accomplished as the recipients of our 2021 alumni awards. Our honorees are serving others in communities near and far, and our new graduates will follow their examples.
As you browse these stories, you’ll also read about Taylor Gruenwald ’16, who already is working on $100 million projects to build affordable housing and vibrant urban community hubs as a full-time developer with The Model Group. She’s so passionate about transforming spaces to enhance the quality of life for residents that she does it in her spare time by volunteering with the St. Bernard Community Improvement Corporation. Taylor balances new development with historic stabilization and preservation, always with people at the center.
Our support for future Buckeyes is one of the most significant ways we pay forward. Lonnie Thompson ’73 MS, ’76 PhD and Ellen Mosley-Thompson ’75 MA, ’79 PhD are known for their decades of groundbreaking climate research and daily contributions to a greener planet. Yet, they are most driven by their overarching mission: to prepare the next generation of scientists, who in turn will inspire their mentees.
All of our tomorrows are brighter because Ohio State alumni, including you, continue to illuminate paths for others. Share your stories with me, on Twitter (I’m @BuckeyeMolly) or with an email to OSUAAPresident@osu.edu. I want to know how you are leaving our world better than you found it, one person at a time.
