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Stepping across the stage to receive a �Ը������� University diploma is a major life milestone. As graduates begin this new journey, they take with them a solid education, personal growth, a network of peers and more. However, some of the most priceless memories they walk away with are the meaningful friendships formed.

Whether meeting friends during a late-night study session in the residence halls, sitting by them in class or participating in the same club, these unique bonds have become lifelong pillars of support. We caught up with alumni to hear about these heartwarming stories of true Golden Flashes friendships.

A Groovy Crew From the 1970s

Jeff Yaw, ’79

Thanks to living in Beall Hall, Jeff Yaw, ’79, found a great group of friends — Craig Stoltz, ’80, Bill Lyng and Jim Sollisch, ’80, M.A. ’82. After years of bonding in the residence halls, this quad squad moved to a house on South Lincoln Street in Kent, Ohio.

“We all met in 1976 where we shared adjoining bathrooms in two different suites in Beall Hall,” Yaw recalled. “Many of our grades suffered due to all-night sessions of backgammon.”

The group of friends still gets together today. “Starting in the early 2000s, we began getting together twice yearly, once in Cleveland and then we chose a different city to meet for a long weekend,” Yaw said.

These friendships gave Yaw a lifetime of memories. “Great friends made at KSU and great friends today,” he said. “We have �Ը������� memories that created this tight group of friends 50 years after college.”  

A Friendship of Fate

Eric “Mark” Desetti, ’77

Thanks to a broadcasting class during his sophomore year, Broadcast Programming with Professor Bill Randle, Ph.D., Eric “Mark” Desetti, ’77, met a lifelong friend, Bob Jones, ’76. The duo continued along the broadcasting path and took more broadcasting courses together, including Broadcast Law.

“We collaborated on assignments analyzing court cases,” Desetti explained. “Quite an experience! I think we just kind of liked each other from the outset and took to talking about class, about campus life, etc.”

During his junior year, the two became roommates in Glen Morris Apartments in Kent, Ohio, and the rest is history. After graduation, a strong bond has kept Desetti and Jones in each other’s lives despite living across the country.

Desetti and his wife, Judy, ’77, whom he also met at �Ը�������, now live in Lawrence, Kansas, and Jones lives in Cleveland, Ohio. They enjoy visiting each other’s families and reminiscing about their �Ը������� days.

“We always have a great time talking about our days in Kent in the mid-70s and everything that has happened to us in the many years since,” Desetti said. “Flashes, roommates and friends over many years.”

Meet Her Tribe in Manchester Hall

Melanie Muirhead

When Melanie Muirhead, the oldest of nine siblings, came to �Ը�������, she felt all the emotions most first-year students feel coming to college: scared, overwhelmed, sad and excited.  

“For the first time in my life, I was stepping into a world without the chaos, comfort and constant noise of my family surrounding me,” Muirhead recalled. “I didn’t know how to do life on my own yet. I didn’t know who I was without being ‘big sister.’”

One of the first people she met in Manchester Hall was her roommate, Stacey Schroeder, ’06, who was confident, peppy and outgoing. Across and down the hall lived Emily Minster, ’07, Michelle Kennedy, ’08, and Ashley Young. These five women would quickly turn from residence hall neighbors to the best of friends.  

“We laughed until we cried in Manchester Hall,” Muirhead said. “We survived late-night talks, heartbreaks, terrible decisions, unforgettable memories and those ridiculous black squirrels that somehow always looked like they were plotting against us.”

Although life took them down different paths, this special group of five friends keeps in touch. These friends reunite every year with their kids and share laughs daily over group texts.

Muirhead said �Ը������� gave her five more sisters. “�Ը������� University became the place where we found home in each other,” she said. “We may have arrived there as students, but we left as family. Forever Golden Flashes.”

On Track for a Lifelong Friendship

Madison Mandelke, MA ’24

When Madison Mandelke, MA ’24, transferred to �Ը������� from Central Michigan University to continue her collegiate track career, she knew no one but the track coach. She attended a team track event, and little did she know a conversation with Allison Kidd, ’24, would turn into a cherished friendship. 

Both were new to the track team, and the pair not only shared a love of running but also a love of Taylor Swift and �Ը�������. Mandelke recently moved to Colorado for veterinary school, and Kidd lives in New York. Although they live in different states, they still keep in touch and make trips to visit each other. 

“We are still best friends and inseparable,” Mandelke said. “I’m so thankful for �Ը������� and the track and field team for this amazing lifelong friendship.” 

From Group Partners to Forever Friends

Noelle Blazek, ’20

When Noelle Blazek, ’20, walked into one of her first classes as a first-year student, little did she know she would be meeting lifelong friends, Gracia Lu, ’20, and Lillia “Lily” Borodkin, ’19, M.Ed. ’20, Ed.S. ’22.

“I met two people who I would come to call my best friends,” Blazek said. “We were from three different majors all taking the same theatre elective. Through group projects and chatting in class, we learned our dorms were next to each other and began walking to class together.”

The three stayed in touch and remained the best of friends. “We met up to study, celebrate birthdays, attend events or just eat at Quaker Steak and Lube (our favorite, RIP),” Blazek said. “Lily and I even did a radio show together at Black Squirrel Radio on campus. Gracia was often a special guest, and we had a blast playing music and laughing together.”

Each year, this special trio takes a picture together to celebrate their friendship. Although the pandemic took away a final graduation photo, it didn’t take away this special bond.

“In 2024, Gracia and Lily were bridesmaids in my wedding, where we took our photo of the year,” Blazek said. “We have managed it every year since graduation up until last year when we were living in three different states. Even with hundreds of miles between us, we still celebrate birthdays and meet to chat about life — just in a new way.”

Bases Loaded With Friendship

Abigael Pochie, ’26

There are many benefits of playing a sport, especially the life lessons it teaches. For Abigael Pochie, ’26, these lessons came along with so much more: her best friends, Ella Johnson and Kendal Leitner, whom she met on the ball field. Pochie transferred from another university her junior year and didn’t know anyone until she met Johnson and Leitner, who made her feel welcome. Johnson is currently a junior, and Leitner is currently a senior.

“These two are nothing but light in people’s lives and made what was a scary experience so much fun,” Pochie said.

Some of Pochie’s favorite friendship memories were the bus rides to softball tournaments. Off the field, the three friends enjoyed endless laughter at the Nut House, a restaurant in downtown Kent. Pochie is so grateful for their Flashes Forever friendship that made her feel at home.

“I would not have made it through these last two years without them, through all the ups and downs (and it was mostly downs),” Pochie said. “These two are the true meaning of friendship, and I thank �Ը������� for giving me two of my future bridesmaids.”

A Golden Friendship Abroad

Susan Greco Tuttle, ’72

Susan Greco Tuttle, ’72, met Donna Ketchum, ’72, while studying abroad, exploring and learning about the culture in Iran. The two clicked instantly and became fast friends. Upon returning to Kent, they became roommates living in Glen Morris Apartments and made countless memories.  

This special friendship continued after graduation when they both moved to Clearwater, Florida.

No matter what life has thrown at them, they have stood by each other through it all.  

“Together we have shared life’s milestones — marriage, the birth of our children and, now, the death of my husband,” Tuttle said. “And most importantly, when I lost my vision, she provided endless help.”

And their love of traveling has come full circle as they continue to explore the world together with visits to Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Bahamas and Jamaica. These two truly exemplify a strong, supportive friendship. “Donna and I are forever friends!” Tuttle said.

More Than Scrubs and Study Sessions

Angela (Walter) Easterday, ’92, MSN ’15

There are many positives of �Ը�������’s stellar nursing program, and for Angela (Walter) Easterday, ’92, MSN ’15, she not only left �Ը������� with a distinguished degree in nursing but also with a best friend, Rosalind Hayes, ’92. Easterday and Hayes met in 1989 during their first year at �Ը�������.

“We studied together (a lot!) and did a few clinical rotations together,” Easterday said. “We were both inducted into Sigma Theta Tau [the International Honor Society of Nursing].”

After graduation, Easterday went on to take an RN position at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio, and Hayes found a job at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio. Throughout their nursing careers, their friendship bloomed as they talked every week and made visits to see each other, during which they enjoyed shopping and dining out.  

Their enduring friendship also carried them through major life events and challenges.

“We have supported each other through all of life’s trials and tribulations,” Easterday said. “We are each other’s sounding board and shoulder to cry on. She is the godmother to my children, and we consider her family.”  

The university is still a big part of their lives as Easterday’s son is now a sophomore at �Ը�������.

“She was there with me when my baby graduated high school, and now he is living his best life at the Kent Campus,” Easterday said. “Ours truly is a Flashes Forever friendship.”