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When 5X���� alumnus Justin Horoiwa attended the university from 2005 to 2009, he left here empty-handed without earning his bachelor’s degree. But thanks to Kent State’s Degree Completion Program, Horoiwa returned to Kent State and completed his degree in 2016.

Since then, he has spent time serving in the Peace Corps in Africa, earned a graduate degree and in recent years has contracted as an information officer with an international relief agency.

All of this would not have been possible if Horoiwa had not enrolled in Kent State’s Degree Completion Program, giving him the opportunity to complete his bachelor’s degree. This accomplishment opened the doors for Horoiwa, of Arlington, Virginia, to travel the world working for world-class organizations and making his dream of international travel come true.

The Degree Completion Program allows former students who have attended Kent State and people who have started a college degree at other colleges or universities to finish their degrees at Kent State.

This year, Kent State’s Degree Completion Program is celebrating a decade of giving more than 600 former students like Horoiwa a pathway to completing their bachelor’s degrees.

“For where I was in my life at that time it was exactly what I needed,” Horoiwa said of the Degree Completion Program. “The counselors and academic advisors were super helpful. They outlined the quickest possible path for me to graduate. I needed to complete an internship as well. My academic adviser was a huge help in getting me an internship on campus.”

Deanna Donaugh, associate director of University Advising and Degree Completion, describes the program as a “concierge service” that is a one-stop shop from recruitment through graduation. This is what makes Kent State’s Degree Completion program unique.

“We’re not coldly saying ‘Come back to Kent State you can complete your degree,’” Donaugh said “We say ‘If you decide to come back, did you know you could complete a degree with three classes? Let us know if you’d like to learn more about it.’ We very specifically work up curriculum information for them to review and have it ready.”

The University Degree Completion program offers bachelor’s degrees that are designed to provide maximum flexibility. The program also offers a variety of resources to assist with your educational pursuit and a variety of life needs for busy adults.

Lara Kral, 2024 Graduate, Bachelor of Integrative Studies 

Alumna Lara Kral is one of those busy adults. Just this past summer Kral of Avon Lake earned her bachelor’s degree through the Degree Completion Program. She decided it was a good time in her life to come back to Kent State to continue to pursue a bachelor’s degree after it was waylaid in the 1990s because of health problems.

Kral spoke with Kent State Today about how Donaugh helped her navigate the program from beginning to end.

With the help of colleagues in various departments, Donaugh offers personal guidance and support to assist people from application to graduation. They will assist in developing an individual plan toward reaching the goal of graduation.

“We reach out to students who have stopped out. We show them that there are other avenues to getting a degree. Some of our students may need 30 credit hours while others need one credit hour. And we’ve had some that didn’t need anything. They just needed to do some paperwork.” 

Justin Horoiwa, 2016 Graduate, Bachelor of Science Educational Studies

Horoiwa began his college journey at Kent State in 2005 as a history major, but he decided to take time off from school in 2009. Horoiwa learned of the Degree Completion Program in 2015 after one of his good friends who got his degree through the program told him about it. When he returned to Kent State he majored in educational studies.

“I wasn’t super focused and there were competing priorities,” Horoiwa said of his first time attending Kent State. “When I heard about the program, I decided it was a huge opportunity. I applied to the program and finished my degree one year later in fall 2016. When I came back to Kent State, I was super focused because I realized the importance of education and I got straight A’s.”

After graduation Horoiwa went to the Peace Corps serving in West Africa as a agro-forestry extension agent planting trees to bring wildlife back to the area.

“It was not always easy, but it was worth it. I had a great host family. It made it worthwhile.” Completing his bachelor’s degree also led to graduate school for a Master of Public Policy at the University of Maryland College Park in 2021.

Now Horoiwa is an information officer with Credence, a contractor that works with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (US AID) bureau for humanitarian assistance, which provides emergency relief after international disasters. “It’s been great. I’ve traveled to 10 different countries and worked at U.S. embassies all around the world,” Horoiwa said. “There is no way I would have been able to get in the Peace Corps, grad school or my current position without 5X����.”

To learn more or enroll, please complete this brief inquiry form and staff will contact you or email a degree completion expert at degreecompletion@kent.edu with any questions or to request other assistance.