When the Future Calls, Buckeyes Answer
Glenn College student Ejuan Kendrick celebrates with Brutus Buckeye at the Glenn College spring pre-commencement ceremony. (Credit: Majesti Brown)
As Glenn College student Ejuan Kendrick followed his passion to be a lawyer and work in advocacy or policy, his path made a stop in the nation’s capital, where he was a John Glenn Fellow in the 2025 Washington Academic Internship Program.
Receiving the endowment scholarship was truly a blessing. It helped me tremendously and made it financially possible to live in D.C. this summer.
Making the Change the Future Needs
Read more about the ways Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign has powered Glenn College success for students, research impact and our mission to inspire citizenship and develop leadership.
“Without it,” Kendrick said, “I might have had to postpone WAIP for another semester, as leaving Columbus with all my obligations wouldn’t have been financially feasible. The scholarship made it so much easier to come to D.C.”
Thanks to alumni and friends of the Glenn College, from 2017 to 2025, during Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign — the largest philanthropic effort in Ohio State’s history — students like Kendrick were supported by more than 900 scholarships, for a total exceeding $2.8 million, to follow their passions in public service.
Every gift moves the needle forward and makes a difference; that’s the power of philanthropy to change lives.
Ejuan Kendrick enjoys the college’s fall semester welcome back event, Picnic at Page Hall, with fellow students (front row, from left) Kylie Hayes, Taylor Lefkowitz and Sarika Soni and (back row, from left) Curtis Nutter, Kendrick and Nick Buehler.
While impressive, the numbers don’t tell the story as well as the impact those dollars have made in the lives of Glenn College students, researchers and members of Ohio and local communities.
As a WAIP intern, Kendrick was a research assistant to co-researchers Sheila Ronis, a Glenn College lecturer, management consultant and national security expert, and Professor Leon Fuerth, who held federal public service positions for 30 years. Kendrick helped them develop resources for students and public service practitioners on anticipatory governance for democracy and drafted a strategic manual and framework that can guide future democratic engagement across government and civil society.
“One of the most important things I learned through my work on anticipatory governance research is that every institution, especially within government, should incorporate this model into its strategic planning,” said Kendrick, a public management, leadership and policy major. “The future is increasingly uncertain and unpredictable, and as this reality becomes more widely recognized across agencies, it’s essential to have anticipatory structures in place to help navigate and respond to emerging challenges.”
Scholarships she received from donors helped Glenn College graduate Lauren Sabo on the path toward opening her law firm and inspired her to establish her own scholarship.
“Scholarships — like the Peterjohn Scholarship — were instrumental in my ability to pursue graduate education without incurring debt. They gave me the flexibility to focus on my coursework, clerkships and community involvement without being overwhelmed by financial pressure,” said Sabo, who earned her dual Master of Arts in Public Policy and Juris Doctor in 2018.
In three years, when Chris Richards completes her multiyear pledge to the Peterjohn Fund, it will provide more than $45,000 in scholarship awards annually — three times the amount awarded when the Time and Change campaign began.
“That generosity,” Sabo said, “made a lasting impression on me, and creating my own scholarship felt like a natural way to pay it forward.”
Learn more about the Industries of Ideas project and the Multi-State Postsecondary Report.
For example, OERC has joined a collaborative project, the Multi-State Postsecondary Report, with Kentucky and Indiana to analyze employment outcomes in the three-state area.
While he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Glenn College, Joe Laborie, left, followed his passion in public management with support from a scholarship established by Guy Worley, right, a Glenn College Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management graduate. (Credit: Joan Slattery Wall)
The scholarship covered costs and decreased his future debt load, enabling him to serve as an intern with Jefferson Township, on the far east side of Columbus, where he is now community development coordinator.
“The Worley Scholarship will benefit me by covering costs now and decreasing my future debt load,” Laborie said when he received the scholarship before finishing his BS in Public Policy Analysis in 2023 and Master of Public Administration in 2024. “This will allow me to focus on finding a position that I enjoy and where I can make a difference, rather than going for the highest paycheck.”
“When it comes to local government, I think it can often be more exciting and impactful than on the state or federal levels,” said Laborie. “Every day we drive on roads, walk on sidewalks, turn on the lights and grab water from a faucet. Local governments help to ensure that all of this can happen.”
Find out how the Worley Scholarship helped Laborie reach his peak potential.