Uniquely “U”
University College’s talented alumni are as distinct as their self-directed majors.
In 1970, Ohio University became one of the first universities in the nation to offer an individually designed degree program. Originally named the bachelor’s in general studies (BGS) — now the bachelor’s in specialized studies (BSS) — its purpose has stayed the same: to allow students to design their own interdisciplinary degrees that best suit their career and educational goals. From the first dozen graduates in 1974 to 215 BSS recipients in 2011, the program has drawn students who are open-minded, flexible and independent. “(Employers) want people who are adaptable, people who are broadly educated, people who are self-starters,” says David Descutner, dean of University College, which administers the BSS program. “Every time I read those descriptors, I think, ‘Well, they’re talking about a BSS student.’” Ohio Today spoke with five BGS and BSS alumni whose opportunities, successes and experiences can be traced back to their degrees.
GARY NAKAMOTO, BGS ’81 sales management Photograph by CHAD BARTLETT MA ‘09
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lthough he switched from an elementary education major to the BGS program, Gary Nakamoto never forgot his passion for improving the lives of children. The former chairman of the IT firm Base Technologies, Nakamoto is now the president of Youth for Tomorrow, an organization that helps at-risk children become responsible citizens. “(We) take children who have been sexually and physically abused ... we get them off the streets and in a safe, nurturing environment,” Nakamoto says of YFT, which has nine residential facilities near Washington, D.C. The organization houses and educates more than 100 at-risk students aged 11 through 18. Among their 26 high school graduates in the past two years, 25 earned college scholarships. “We truly save their lives,” he says. His charitable work and business expertise garnered Nakamoto recognition by Washingtonian Magazine, which named him one of the city’s 150 most influential people in 2007. He says improving his community is one of his passions, and his community extends beyond his current home near Washington to his roots in Meigs County, Ohio, and to his alma mater. Nakamoto serves on The Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees. He established the Nakamoto/Meigs County Scholarship during Ohio University’s Bicentennial Campaign in 2004, which has since been re-established as the Pam Crooks Meigs Alumni Scholarship, in honor of a Meigs High School classmate who passed away. He also invites a handful of Meigs County high school students to the nation’s capital every summer for an introduction to the city and to entrepreneurship. “It would have been a game changer for me had I had that kind of exposure when I was in high school,” Nakamoto says, “so it’s important for me to pass the opportunity on to others.” » KAITRIN MCCOY
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