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Marina Puhalj ‘21 - Graphic Design USA Winner
in the Graphic Design Award Competition
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Senior visual communication and graphic design (VCGD) major Marina Puhalj was recently named a winner of the 57th anniversary Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) graphic design award competition. The competition saw more than 10,000 entries this year, and only the top 10 percent were selected as winners.
Anthony Ezzo, Assistant Professor of Visual Communication and Graphic Design, submitted pieces created by VCGD students to the competition. Marina’s piece, “Furniture Show Conceptual Project,” came from a concept and design class project. Marina’s winning piece will be featured in GD USA’s Design Annual, to be seen by thousands of designers who receive their newsletter.
“My posters are for a contemporary furniture show based off the EmilBach House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. One poster design is based on the windowpane inside the house, one poster is based on the blue prints, another one is based on the sunroom in the house, and the last one is based on the outside of the house,” said Puhalj.
“We are so very proud of Marina and are delighted that her talents have been recognized with this prestigious award,” said Dr. Jennifer Swartz-Levine, Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences. “She is an outstanding student in our program, which, under Professor Tony Ezzo’s leadership, has become known for its creativity and innovation. Marina’s winning of this award is not only a testament to her own excellent work but also to the leadership and vision of Professor Ezzo. How very proud we are to count them both as members of our LEC community.”
LEC Students Shine in Entrepreneurship Competition
Cameron Zona, ‘21 Autumn Herrera, ‘21 Sean O’Hearon, ‘21
Last semester LEC returned to the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (EEC) comprised of 11 Northeast Ohio Colleges. Students were offered the opportunity to participate in a virtual version of ideaLabs 2020, a business concept competition held first locally at LEC. Two Lake Erie College finalists would participate in the Regional ideaLabs 2020 competition via a video depicting each student’s unique business concept. Cameron Zona’s ’21 idea, The Access Theatre Project, received an Honorable Mention Award at the Regional Finals. Autumn Herrera’s ’21 idea “Night Light” (a graphic novel) moved onto the Regional Competition as well. Sean O’Hearon ’21 also participated in the LEC local competition with his project about Grappler Landscaping & Tree Service.
Students Celebrate the Suffrage Centennial
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Lake Erie College students had a chance to join forces with faculty, staff and local historians to organize a year-long celebration of the numerous Lake Erie College alumnae who fought for women’s rights and for the right to vote. Throughout 2020, participants in the Centennial Suffrage Celebration hosted events and contributed to research and opportunities to honor local suffragists. The class that accompanies this historical suffrage project is continuing in the spring 2021 semester and will produce new projects and the dedication of LEC’s first Pomeroy Historical Marker honoring Mary Evans, Principal of Lake Erie Female Seminary and first president of Lake Erie College.
Senior Alexandra Strawbridge ’21 worked as a student volunteer with Northeast Ohio Suffrage during the 2020 spring semester and over the summer. She wrote an article for their website highlighting Elizabeth Bartlett Grannis ’62, a Lake Erie College alumna, and her role in women’s suffrage and dress reform. Sophomore Kayla Clark ’23 presented a paper from the Suffrage Centennial at the National Social Science Association Conference. Her confidence and knowledge of the subject astounded the audience. For current Lake Erie College students, this has been a chance to connect with trailblazing LEC alumnae of the past.
New Minor in Applied Technology Gives Students Real-World Skills
Lake Erie College recently announced the addition of Applied Technical Skills (ATS) to its list of minor programs. The program will afford students an opportunity to add technical skill sets to their liberal arts education while addressing a growing need of industry employers looking for skilled professionals.
Lake Erie College’s mission and vision encourages selfdiscovery, strong personal attributes and leading lives of personal and global significance. This program will provide students a unique opportunity to enhance the traditional liberal arts experience with hands-on, experiential learning in courses related to technical skills and to apply those skills to their areas of interest. For example, students pursuing a major in management would have an opportunity to learn the skills that are utilized in regional trade industries as they develop a better understanding of companies at which they may be seeking employment upon graduation, while a student pursuing a bachelor’s in fine arts could learn welding skills to aid in creating metallic sculptures as part of their showcase work.
Lake Erie College’s Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Johnathan Tedesco, Ph.D., describes the minor as one that will allow students to gain relevant, real world skills while pursuing traditional liberal arts degrees. The ATS minor is open to students in all majors and, in addition to providing technical experience, will provide students an opportunity to earn certifications in areas like electrical theory or applications like welding. “The landscape of higher education is certainly changing, and we are always looking for ways to increase the value of our academic offerings. This is an excellent example of how collaboration across our campus is providing novel opportunities to our students and local communities while staying true to our values as a liberal arts institution,” said Tedesco.
Herb Dill, Executive Director of the LEC HVACR program, agrees. “The creation of this minor is a natural extension of our welding and HVACR high school programs, involving Lake Shore Compact, Painesville City Local Schools, and Fairport schools, along with our adult programs for welding and HVACR that are already available.” The minor can coincide with any undergraduate program in which students are enrolled beginning the semester of Spring 2021 and will be open for high school students interested in earning College Credit Plus (CCP) credits toward a degree. For questions
