Kent State employees share their thoughts about a variety of
topics on the Kent State Connects blog.

On the Kent State Connects faculty and staff blog, Associate Professor of Psychology Joel Hughes writes about suicide prevention to mark Suicide Prevention Week, and Video Production Supervisor Jon Jivan offers a soldier’s recollection of 9/11.

Hughes’ first exposure to suicide was as a 12-year-old boy, and he writes that suicide is often preventable:

“Probably all of us have encountered suicide throughout our lives. According to NIMH, about 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year… My first exposure was as a boy, when my father’s fishing buddy killed himself in his backyard with a shotgun. My dad was enraged that nobody referred him for professional help, even though a couple people knew how depressed this man had been after his wife’s death from cancer. Although I was maybe 12, my dad censored no detail, and I never forgot his point: suicide is often preventable.”

Click here to read more from Hughes' post.

This week, Americans will remember the sad events that happened 11 years ago on Sept. 11. Jivan was completing basic military training on that fateful day and writes about his experience:

“With my basic military training officially coming to a close, I had been pushed further and harder than my 18-year-old self could have ever imagined. Tears overwhelmed me while the drill sergeants raised the flag. It felt cheesy, but it was true; I was ‘proud to be an American.’ The day was Sept. 10, 2001.”

Visit www.kentstateconnects.com tomorrow (Sept. 11) to read Jivan's post.

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Every Kent State faculty and staff member can join the conversation on this online forum — return often, share your thoughts about the blog posts and ask the bloggers questions.

For more information or questions about the blog, email connects@kent.edu.

Gift Card Winners

Congratulations to Wendy Tietz, associate professor in the Department of Accounting; Jennifer Kramer, director for marketing and public relations for the College of Communication and Information; David Veits, application support analyst; Drew Sellers, assistant professor in the Department of Accounting; and Peter Dorff, associate professor with the Department of Accounting Technology at Kent State University at Stark. All five faculty and staff members won $15 Starbucks gift cards for being the first five subscribers to the Kent State Connects faculty and staff blog.

Congratulations to Roxie Patton, program coordinator for the LGBTQ Center, who was the first Kent State employee to post a blog comment. Patton also received a $15 Starbucks gift card.