Springfield Resident Receives Conference Award at Ashland University

2016 Feb 4

Springfield resident Mellie Derry, a sophomore majoring in marketing, was one of the four Ashland University students receiving awards at the NEOHO (North East Ohio Housing Officers) RA conference on Jan. 30 in Alliance, Ohio.

Ashland University's Residence Life Department participated in the NEOHO (North East Ohio Housing Officers) RA conference and a number of students won awards. The conference is a chance for AU's RAs to meet and discuss RA topics with other RAs in our region.

Three Ashland University teams presented programs at the event: "Social Justice in the Halls" presented by Susanne Silvernail, Mellie Derry and Emily Kaiser; "Taking a Step Beyond Pizza & a Movie" by Sharon Jackson and Jessica Reagan; and "#Blacklivesmatter vs. #Alllivesmatter" by Sharon Jackson.

Sharon Jackson's "#Blacklivesmatter vs. Alllivesmatter" was voted one of the top 10 programs and won best "Graduate/Profession Break Out Session."

The University had two teams compete in the case study completion and Kouri Weber and Rupesh Maharjan won first place for returning RAs while Mellie Derry and Derek Stallard won third place for new RAs.

When asked to describe her first experience at NEOHO, Derry stated, "I had an amazing time at NEOHO, being able to share my experiences as an RA with other RAs and learning new ways I can improve to be the best RA possible was just awesome. Derek and I went into the case study competition very nervous, but walked out confident and very satisfied with how the competition went. Getting a trophy at NEOHO just made me more excited to see what Residence Life at Ashland University has in store for me the next two years. Receiving a trophy along with my awesome partner Derek, and Kouri, Rupesh, and Sharon from my staff just made my NEOHO experience joyful!"

Ashland University will be hosting NEOHO on Jan. 28, 2017.

Derry is the daughter of Joy Derry of Springfield, and is a 2014 graduate of Greenon High School.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###