Jim and I were married August 29th, 2000 at Mirror Lake on the OSU campus.  (It gets even better)  We met in New Jersey at the Kick-Off classic between Ohio State and University of Miami on August 29th, 1999.  Our seats were across the aisle from each other.  We each had a little something in common....a block "O" tattoo!  Our second date was a tailgate for the OSU v. UCLA game a couple of weeks later.  As the season progressed, so did our relationship.  

Jim asked me to marry him at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe on February 11, 2000, and we were married a year to the date we met, at Mirror Lake, with a dinner following at the HOF Cafe, for family and close friends. Judge William H. Pollitt, Jr.,  who played under Woody Hayes, officiated the ceremony.  Our celebration continued with a Tailgate Reception for the OSU-Fresno State Game!  --Go Bucks!

Chapter 2:  The Kids: Colin & Alex It is such a blessing to have perfect, beautiful, charming, well-behaved, genius,(and did I mention, perfect) children! Link here for older pictures
Alex - Sept '06    6 months         Colin - June '04    5 months		Colin - Sept ' 06 2 years and 7 months old
Alex July ' 06    3 months old.	Colin to the rescue...Have Big Wheel, Spiderman Backpack and Safety Glasses...Ready to Roll!	Colin is a big help with "Baby Sister" Sept ' 06
Mommy's been playing with Photoshop again!	Christening June 4, 2006.  Grandma made my gown from both her and mom's wedding gowns.

My path to the Department of Sociology 

I completed my Bachelor's degree in Human Ecology at Ohio State in 1993.  During my college career I worked in various student services offices on campus.  This ultimately led to my chosen career path.  From 1995 to 1999 I was an Admission Counselor for Ohio State at the Mansfield Campus in Richland County.  In 1999 I left my full-time position and Richland County to pursue a graduate degree at Ohio State in Sport Management.  I am still working on this degree while working full-time as an Advisor in the Department of Sociology.  I love my job and love working with college students!

My interests in Sport Management include marketing and working with student athletes.  I am interested in speaking with anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in this field, who enjoys discussing current issues facing student athletes.

Honors & Awards

The Academic Advising Association of Ohio State (ACADAOS), the professional organization for academic advisors, announces the 2005 Outstanding Advisor Awards for undergraduate advising. The award is jointly sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs at The Ohio State University.

The award winners are Paul A. Heimberger from the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences, and Karyl Shirkey from the Department of Sociology. The award winners each receive $500. They were recognized at the annual ACADAOS award luncheon and year-end meeting at the Younkin Success Center on Thursday, May 26, 2005, where Dr. Martha Garland presented the awards.

Department of Sociology Undergraduate Student Services honored with a NACADA Certificate of Merit:  http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Awards/archive/dc.htm

2002 University Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award
The Undergraduate Student Services (USS) unit works to advise 1,100 undergraduate sociology/criminology majors, 25 percent of whom are minority students. The unit is comprised of Verta Taylor, director of undergraduate studies and professor of sociology; Angela Henderson, academic counselor and diversity coordinator; Karyl Shirkey, coordinating academic counselor; Cynthia Pelak, graduate administrative assistant and undergraduate adviser; and Donna Crossman, records and curriculum coordinator. "This is truly an outstanding staff which has worked hard to make OSU a livable and challenging place for students of all backgrounds and interests," wrote a nominator. USS has taken several significant steps recently to extend services to minority students, including the creation of a student round table, named AHANA for African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American students. Round table discussions led to the formation of the Organization of Minority Students in Criminology and Sociology, which has sponsored forums on internships and law and graduate schools. The unit has created an AHANA listserv to disseminate information of interest to minority students and a "Diversity Directions" page on the Sociology Undergraduate Student Services Web site. The unit also provides an AHANA advising program, advised by Henderson, which provides another means to ensure that minority students can take advantage of the opportunities available to them at Ohio State.

2001-02 Department of Sociology Outstanding Staff Award

2002 Superbowl Go Patriots!
Ohio State's New tradition...Carmen Ohio after the game!
Several Indian's players were in town for the announcement of the Warfield Scholarship. Kelly Hopkins, Jim Thome and me.	SO excited about walking out on to the field!
THAT'S ME ON THE SOUTH 40 YARD LINE!!!	I'm on the scoreboard!
And Now... 2002 National Champions!	Way to go guys!

 

Undergraduate Student Services Staff

Department of Sociology Staff