A love story of institutions and the people they unite
Since 1971, COTC and Ohio State Newark have nurtured a special cost-shared partnership, combining resources and facilities to save money without sacrificing any student support services. Couples like the St. Johns — Mary Ellen who taught at COTC for 27 years, Lee who served Ohio State Newark for 42 years — characterize the cooperation and connectedness that has fueled this thriving campus ecosystem.
Alumni Award Winners Honored
Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) presented three alumni awards to graduates who have reached remarkable heights in their careers and shown extraordinary dedication to the communities they serve.
Lacey McCombs
Nursing Technology
Upon returning to civilian life — at that point a trained combat lifesaver — McCombs chose to pursue a nursing career. She enrolled at COTC’s Coshocton campus because she “loved the idea of staying local. Plus, the classes were smaller and more personable.” She earned her practical nursing certificate in 2008 and an associate degree in nursing technology two years later. After a full decade in the National Guard, she concluded her tenure in 2011.
Becca Saxton
Nursing Technology
Whether it was with her family to new homes, with fellow missionaries to an underserved country or with her COTC nursing cohort to different clinical sites, Becca Saxton has always been on the move. When it comes to her career, her first move was always clear.
Paving His Own Way
James Golden III lives by a creed: “Dream big. Work hard. Become legendary.” He handled the first two stages starting at a young age. Now, as the founder and CEO of Pavement Management Group, he’s striving to achieve that elusive last step.
A Bred-in-the-Bone Curiosity
Shaun Lewis’ life was shaped by a couple of car crashes. His perseverance since has shaped the strength, spirit and success he displays today.
Handling the Pressure
Affiong Hawkins’ hands have been her hallmark. She has used them both to soothe and to save. Throughout her journey into nursing — filled with pauses and the perseverance to stick with it — COTC has provided a huge helping hand.
An Innovative Idea
Bev Donaldson drove home from COTC with a dead cat in a plastic bag. She was a 17-year-old nursing student, and dissecting it as homework was her only chance at hands-on learning. Almost 50 years later, now the founder of The Inns concept and president of The Inns Management Group, Donaldson is dedicated to giving today’s COTC students access to technology and opportunities that she never had.
A Seemingly Impossible Path
Jessica Kinser came to the podium apprehensively during COTC’s Spring 2025 commencement. She had just been deemed the ideal representative of her graduating class, but it quickly became clear why her story stood out. She put it best: “Being a student at COTC saved my life.”
Sophia Tosi
Business Management Technology
Sophia Tosi was a distance runner until she decided to focus on sprinting through her education.
As a high school senior, four years into the College Credit Plus (CCP) program, she discontinued extracurriculars to finish her associate degree in business management at COTC. Her dedication paid off, and now she’s getting paid. The 18-year-old earned a COTC degree — plus six certificates — this spring and landed a job before graduating high school.
Timothy Young
Business Management Technology
Young graduated in 1990. A few years later, one of his former professors asked him to sit on the board for the nascent Licking/Knox Goodwill Industries. He sat on the board from 1995 to 2008 and is now the company’s president and CEO, a position he accepted in 2011. “I got started here purely by the instructor and connection I had made at COTC.”
Vorley Taylor Recognized for Years of Dedication to COTC and Ohio State Newark
After 28 years of dedicated service, Vorley Taylor retired from Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) and The Ohio State University at Newark at the end of 2024. Taylor spent the past 22 years in the Office of Student Life, most recently as program manager of multicultural affairs.
Tina Gibson
Nursing Technology
Like many Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) students, Tina Gibson came back to the classroom as an adult learner, hoping to switch to a more rewarding and fulfilling career. In 2019, Gibson graduated from COTC with an associate degree in nursing (ADN) and has devoted herself to the nursing community ever since.
Billi Gross and Matayah Berry
Nursing Technology
For some, Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) is the beginning of their professional journey. For others, it’s a legacy they carry throughout their lives. For mother and daughter Billi Gross and Matayah Berry, it’s both.
Toby Starr
Business Management Technology
As Ohio public affairs manager for Intel Corporation, 2016 COTC graduate Toby Starr has a front-row seat to the exciting changes that are taking place as Licking County settles into its place at the center of the Silicon Heartland.
Building on the skills he honed during his time in COTC’s business management program, Starr quickly launched a trajectory that began with an associate degree, expanded to bachelor’s and master’s degrees and has placed him in a rewarding career in his home state.
Jennifer Ellis-Brunn
Business Management Technology
From a young age, Jennifer Ellis-Brunn understood the importance of hard work and the value of education. “I was working in banking while in high school, and I wanted to continue gaining career experience while getting the education I needed to advance,” she explained. COTC’s flexible class schedules allowed her to work full time and also attend classes, resulting in her Associate of Applied Business in Business Management Technology.
Braden Feick
Electrical Transmission and Power Distribution Technology
As an energy delivery system operator associate for American Electric Power (AEP), Braden Feick is one of many “hands on deck” when a power outage sweeps through the area. Thanks to his extensive training at COTC — which dovetailed into an immersive internship in his field of study — Feick has been able to launch a fulfilling career that transitioned seamlessly from his education experience.
Heather Prince, DNP, APRN-CNP
Nursing Technology
As a transplant to the Buckeye State from Colorado Springs, Heather Prince used to drive past the Pataskala campus of COTC and wonder what went on there. Prince was in her 30s at the time and, as it happened, seeking a new career direction. Turns out, she wouldn’t have to look far — COTC had exactly what she needed.
“I would pass [COTC’s Pataskala campus] all the time going home, and I was like, ‘Let me just go online and see what that’s all about,’” recalled Prince, who had worked in medical billing but never with patients.
Mother and Daughter Earn Same COTC Degree 20 Years Apart
In 2002, an expectant Lora Smith crossed the stage to receive an associate degree in surgical technology at Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). These days the associate professor sits amongst the college’s faculty watching “her kids” in the surgical technology program graduate. But in December 2022, this phrase took on a literal meaning as Lydia Fink, the daughter Smith carried 20 years ago at her own graduation, crossed the stage to receive the very same degree as her mother.
COTC Alumna Bolin Inspires Hope Through Change
When Melody Bolin, LSW, works with her clients, she knows how hard change can be.