Columbus State to award nearly 1,000 degrees Dec. 19
Campus News | Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Above: Graduates at the Spring Semester Commencement on May 9, 2025.
The college’s commencement ceremony will include the second cohort of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) that launched in Autumn 2024. The first cohort of students received BSN degrees in May. Nine students will earn a BSN this semester.
Columbus State Community College will award diplomas to 960 Summer and Autumn semester graduates when degrees are presented at the 210th commencement ceremony.
Among the graduates is Monica Chakerian, who is earning her third Columbus State degree! The 49-year-old wife and mother earned degrees in dental laboratory technology and dental hygiene in 2000 and 2002, respectively.
As a lifelong learner, she later earned a private pilot certificate. “While flying, I became intrigued by how the engine and different parts functioned,” said Chakerian. That’s when she decided to return to Columbus State to earn her Associate of Applied Science in aviation maintenance technology. She will receive that third degree on Dec. 19.
Twenty-year-old Jolene Starner is a first-generation college student who utilized the Columbus Promise to pursue her passion in the food service industry.
“Through every obstacle—whether it was financial stress, health setbacks, or moments of doubt—I stayed focused on my goals,” said Starner. “I learned to turn pain into motivation and setbacks into stepping stones. Columbus State became more than a school; it became a place where I could grow, heal, and thrive.”
Starner will receive her Associate of Applied Science in restaurant management and transfer to The Ohio State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in human resource management.
Mark Rovah, 39, came to the United States from Ghana in 2022. He said he was inspired to study respiratory care because a child at an orphanage where he worked in Ghana became ill and oxygen-dependent before passing away.
Arriving in Columbus, he began work at a long-term care facility, where he says he truly began to understand the field of respiratory care. “I saw the same fear, anxiety, and struggle on the faces of oxygen-dependent patients,” said Rovah. “My heart has always been drawn to those whose lives depend on breathing support, and that desire is what led me to pursue respiratory therapy.”
With his associate degree in respiratory care, Rovah will begin work at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
Ohio’s College Credit Plus Program enables high school students to enroll in college classes and earn both high school and college credit simultaneously. Every semester, the program allows a few motivated students to earn a college degree ahead of a high school diploma. Olivia Buck from a central Ohio high school is one such student.
“I have been blessed to earn enough credits while in high school to graduate with my associate degree,” said Buck. “I have taken mostly online classes, which allowed me to go at my own pace and watch lectures on my own time. In addition, the program has helped my family and me in relieving much of the financial burden associated with education.”
Buck plans to transfer to an area college to work on a bachelor’s degree in sonography. With her college credits in hand, she will enter as a junior.
Allysen Todd, recently retired Dean of Arts & Sciences at Columbus State, will provide the Commencement Address.
The commencement ceremony will take place on Friday, Dec. 19, at 11 a.m. at the Celeste Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, 717 East 17th Ave., Columbus. A live feed of the event will be available at this link: https://vimeo.com/event/5590751.
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