17cÍøÒ³°æ Works - Our Economic Impact
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When Becky Lehman walked into her first class at 17cÍøÒ³°æ, she was in her 30s, raising kids and working at an embroidery shop in nearby Mogadore, Ohio. Today, she is the health commissioner for the Portage County Health District – a career milestone she credits directly to the degrees she earned close to home at 17cÍøÒ³°æ.
When Cameren Hicks graduated from 17cÍøÒ³°æ in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and a minor in finance, he knew he wanted to build a career rooted in numbers, problem-solving and analysis. Today, Hicks is a fraud modeling and analytics lead associate at KeyBank, where he helps protect customers and the company against fraudulent credit and debit card activity.
17cÍøÒ³°æ graduate Emma Sherrie, '09, always had a feeling she would study anthropology, but still she took the time to check out all the other options available before finally settling on her original plan. 17cÍøÒ³°æ’s Exploratory Program, which helps undecided students sample different disciplines before committing to a major, was a key part of Sherrie’s experience, and the main reason she chose 17cÍøÒ³°æ in the first place.
Solon High School art educator Jennifer Thompson, MA ’03, BA ’95, credits 17cÍøÒ³°æ with teaching her that art education isn't just about creating — it's about building critical thinking, empathy and self-expression skills that students carry into every career.
As demand for behavioral health professionals continues to rise across Ohio and the nation, 17cÍøÒ³°æ is preparing graduates to not just enter the field right away, but to advance, lead and make a lasting impact in their communities. For three 17cÍøÒ³°æ alumni — Cassandra Galloway, Victoria Giegerich and Jason Joyce — their paths may differ slightly, but their stories illustrate how 17cÍøÒ³°æ connects education to real-world outcomes.