The Community Foundation for Crawford County is pleased to introduce Emma Kirby, a 2025 recipient of one of the 20 Doug and Renee Leuthold Scholarship awards, one of the 20 Margaret and Donald Wenner, MD Scholarship awards, and the Richard E. Stearns Scholarship award.
Emma, the daughter of Misti Renee Kirby and Jason Allen Kirby, is a 2022 graduate of Crestline High School. She is in her fourth year of a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at Marietta College.
What is your favorite aspect of college life and why?
"Within these past four years, I'm sure I have felt that many different aspects of college life were my favorite. As of last semester, I would say that my most favorite aspect is events on campus. This is due to the fact that these events allow you to meet new people and build connections. These events also give freshmen an opportunity to learn their way around campus and see what all the college has to offer. So, not only are they good for socializing, but they can also be used as a resource for freshmen to feel more at home."
What new interests or courses of study have you discovered at college?
"This past semester I took a course called Health Campaigns. Although this course was required for my Health Communications Minor, I did genuinely enjoy it. At the beginning, I was somewhat skeptical of it, but once we got into the material it was super interesting. Before this course, I never thought about all of the different aspects that go into making a campaign. Along with this, it was eye opening to learn that certain aspects help to determine how successful the campaign was. While taking this course, we got the opportunity to work with the Marietta Community Health Department. For them we made flyers and social media posts to help promote getting tested for STIs and getting vaccinated to help prevent illness. I felt that this was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to gain exposure to working with clients. It also helped me to step out of my comfort zone and learn how to make flyers and social media posts, which was something I had never done before."
In what way has the college experienced changed/improved you?
"The college experience has improved me because it has helped me to become a well-rounded individual. It has taught me to become not only independent but also responsible for myself and learn how to take care of things on my own. Although there are still times where I call and ask my parents for advice, for the most part, I am capable of handling the majority of situations that arise. This is the way I have been most improved because looking back at my freshman year, I would've been too scared to go and speak to anyone and would've had my mom call for everything."
What advice would you give an incoming college freshman?
"The advice that I would give to an incoming freshman would be to go to all of the events on campus and use as many of the resources offered to them as possible. The events are important because it helps you become familiar with campus and meet people outside of your classes and even your major. As for the resources, these are things that you are already paying for, so you might as well use them. Along with this, I would also say it's super important to have conversations outside of just your friend groups because many times we are friends with like-minded people. So, having conversations with those that aren't as like-minded can help you see things from a different perspective."
What is one item on your bucket list and why?
"One item on my bucket list is going to New York City and watching the Christmas tree lighting. For as long as I can remember, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and one of my favorite things about it is the Christmas lights. I specifically want to experience this because not only will I get to see what New York looks like in the winter, but it is also a big deal and many people go to see it."
Congratulations and good luck in the future, Emma!
To learn more about scholarships offered through the Foundation, visit www.cfcrawford.org/scholarships
