The Coshocton County Beacon March 6, 2019 - Page 15

CLASS: Youth leadership class pays it forward
FROM PAGE 1
He decided to work with his friend Noah Kobel and
together they donated their money to Ava Winner and her
family.
“She had a brain tumor that was removed,” Coff man
said. “Th is money will assist them with hospital bills
which I’m sure are very expensive. Cancer is just a terri-
ble thing.”
Kobel said he was humbled by the experience.
“I know they are facing a lot of hardships,” he said. “I
want to say thank you to the Coshocton Foundation for
providing us with the opportunity to do this.”
Andrew Martin also donated his money to Winner and
her family.
“She is 9-years-old and has so much life ahead of her,”
he said. “One hundred dollars is nothing compared to the
life of a child.”
Jaelyn McGee decided to donate her money to Women
of Witness. She asked what items they were in need of to
help families and ended up purchasing diapers, wipes
and school supplies.
“Th is made me feel very grateful,” McGee said. “Grow-
ing up my family never struggled to give me anything I
needed. It’s so hard to think that there are people in our
community that can’t get the supplies they need or don’t
know how they are going to provide for their child on
their own.”
When she brought the donations in, the volunteer at
Women of Witness told her she was such a blessing.
“Th is whole experience exposed me to the reality there
is a reward in philanthropy and being selfl ess,” McGee
said. “It’s helped me to learn to be more selfl ess.”
Emma Anderson put her money toward a project being
Josie Sellers | Beacon
Nicole Schwartz was one of several members of the cur-
rent Coshocton County Youth Leadership Class who spoke
about her pay it forward project on Feb. 27. The presen-
tations were given during a joint program day with adults
from the Leadership Coshocton County Class of 2019.
worked on by the teen leadership class at River View High
School. Th ey used it to help buy supplies to make fl eece
tie blankets to donate to the Ronald McDonald House.
Seven blankets have already been made and they have
$50 left over to make more.
“Most people who stay at a Ronald McDonald House
are there because their child has cancer and are at a
nearby hospital,” Anderson said. “If we can give them
something as small as a blanket I fi gure why not. I want
to thank the Coshocton Foundation for this opportunity
to make a diff erence with $100.”
Like many of the students Nicole Schwartz didn’t know
what to do with her money at fi rst. After much thought,
she decided to use her money to help a family friend who
recently left an abusive relationship. She bought the chil-
dren winter boots, the mother a winter coat, and provid-
ed them with a few Christmas gifts.
“Christmas Day I got a video of them opening pres-
ents,” Schwartz said. “I was amazed to see how happy
they were with even the littlest gifts. Th ey had so much
gratitude for even being able to open one present.”
Natalie Uhl gave her money to the Conesville Elemen-
tary Preschool, which allowed the students to vote on
how to use the donation.
“Th ey bought educational toys that will help better
their future,” she said. “Hopefully the kids grow up into
future leaders and better Coshocton.”
Other projects students donated to were the Coshocton
County Honor Guard, the sheriff offi ce’s k-9 program, the
Pregnancy Distress Center, the Coshocton County Fa-
therhood Initiative and the West Lafayette Food Pantry.
Betsy Gosnell, executive director of the leadership pro-
grams, was very proud of how the students approached
their challenge.
“You didn’t take it lightly,” she said. “You took that mon-
ey very seriously and you all made very good decisions
that will have a lasting impact on this community. I want
to say thank you to the Coshocton Foundation and the
trustees for continuing to support this project.”
COTC: Berry excited to return to COTC and partner with communities
FROM PAGE 1
by that I mean all four COTC campuses, has always been
home to me,” Berry said.
He rejoins the college at an exciting time with many new
initiatives in the works including the Coshocton Promise.
Th is program guarantees that COTC will fund the gap be-
tween tuition (instructional and general fees) and remain-
ing student need after all other private scholarships, in-
stitutional, federal and state aid are exhausted. Under the
Coshocton Promise, all tuition will be covered for eligible
Coshocton County residents annually reporting a house-
hold income of $60,000 or less on the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Initial Coshocton Promise
funds are made possible through a unique public/private
partnership between COTC and the Coshocton Founda-
tion's Clarence and Grace Miller Scholarship endowment.
“Th e initial reaction from people still seems to be, ‘Wait
a minute?’” Berry said. “We want to take that fi nancial
burden and make sure it is not an obstacle. Th e time,
energy, and eff ort are still yours to make this a successful
experience.”
He also has plans to further enhance COTC’s College
Credit Plus program, which enables middle and high
school students to earn college credit during high school.
“We want to work with our K-12 partners and especially
help the students who don’t have someone pushing them
to go on to school or know how the system works,” Berry
said. “We want to help the students work toward their
ultimate degree and career aspirations. If we can create
MARCH 6, 2019
diff erent career cohorts we
can help teach them about
opportunities available to
them. Showing them dif-
ferent career pathways will
increase their success and
our ability to maintain them
as students.”
Another priority of his
is to showcase the unique
identity of each of COTC’s
campuses.
“Th e needs of each are
diff erent and so are their
Berry
resources,” Berry said. “I love
the natural resources here and could see our culinary pro-
gram working with the wineries, breweries and bed and
breakfasts or starting a hospitality program or ecotourism.
COTC is a comprehensive institution of higher education.
It’s not just about technology. It’s also liberal arts.”
Another strong asset of COTC is its ability to work with
communities and businesses in helping them meet work-
force needs. Most recently, a memorandum of under-
standing (MOU) was signed between COTC, the Edward
Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation and Th e American Ceramic
Society (ACerS). Th rough this MOU signing, the entities
have agreed to work together to launch at COTC the only
two-year ceramic engineering technology degree program
in the nation.
“Th ey were working with Hocking College, but wanted
www.coshoctonbeacontoday.com
to expand and be in a more centralized area,” Berry said.
“We off ered them that centralized location and they had
heard of us by our reputation. It was too good of an op-
portunity for us to pass up. Th e program will be located in
Newark, but we will see where the need is and if we need
to expand to other campuses.”
COTC also off ers a number of short-term certifi cation
programs that can lead to immediate employment in phle-
botomy, electrocardiography and addiction studies.
“Th e certifi cations can get you were you want to go faster
and for less expense,” Berry said.
In addition to its Coshocton and Newark location, COTC
also has campuses in Knox and Pataskala.
Currently the college has an overall enrollment of
between 3,700 and 3,800. Berry hopes to increase that
number to 4,200 by 2021.
“I think that is completely manageable with our pro-
gram eff orts and the Coshocton Promise,” he said. “We
off er people an aff ordable option. It’s not cheap, but it is
aff ordable and it’s a quality education.”
Berry plans to be an external agent for the college and
spend time at each campus.
“To be able to see and hear what people are saying you
have to be present,” he said. “I don’t want to make deci-
sions for the communities. I want to hear from the com-
munities and come together to collaborate. Reach out to us
if there is something you’d like to see happen here. All you
need to do is make a phone call.”
For more information on COTC, visit www.cotc.edu or
contact Berry’s offi ce at 740-364-9509.
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