Allison Romeo of Bowerstown is set to graduate from Kent State University at Tuscarawas this month with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies. (Submitted)

NEW PHILADELPHIA - A local mother of 10 is being recognized for overcoming adversity to achieve academic success. 

Kent State University at Tuscarawas student Alison Romeo of Bowerstown was one of nine students throughout the university's eight-campus system to receive The Sage Project Award for 2019. The awards recognize women-identifying students who have overcome adversity to shape their life and Kent State experience. 

Romeo decided to return to college in her mid-40s following the loss of her first-born son, Maxwell, in a traffic accident. She says she did it for her kids.

“I did it for my son, Maxwell, who should have been a junior Kent State,” said Romeo. “I did it for my other children to show them that they can set goals and be strong. And I did it for me, to prove to myself that I am a survivor.”

Romeo initially worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with her younger counterparts. But with a lot of hard work and the support of her family, she graduated from Stark State College with an Associate of Science in Technical Communication in 2017 before transferring to Kent State Tuscarawas.

Romeo is set to graduate this May from Kent State Tuscarawas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with a concentration in Applied Communication. She has been accepted into graduate school and will continue her studies in communication at Kent State this fall, where she was also awarded a teaching assistantship. She says her career goal is to become a teacher in the field of communication at a smaller university or community college.

“I have seen firsthand in the classroom, the workplace and in the home how effective communication positively contributes to personal and business relationships,” she says.

Romeo is a trained Ambassador of Hope for Shared Hope International, a nationwide organization devoted to stop human trafficking and provide healing help for trafficking survivors. She also is certified by Green Dot in bystander training, a violence prevention program that teaches people how to be an active bystander and to safely take action when needed. Additionally, Romeo serves as the founding secretary of the Communication Club at Kent State Tuscarawas.

She was honored during a luncheon and ceremony at Kent State.

To learn more about The Sage Project, visit www.kent.edu/SageProject.

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY AT TUSCARAWAS