Dear Cohort Alumni and Supporters,

Thank you again for participating in this year's fundraising campaign. With your generous support, the program was able to meet our goal of engaging 200 unique donors and raise over $71,000 in the process!

This year the 24th Cohort came in first place with 69% of the students donating - we cannot thank you enough!

Regardless of the winning class, we appreciate the support from each and every one of you. None of the opportunities our students receive would be possible if not for your continued contributions. Because of you, Cohort students are able to travel and interact with business professionals from all over the world. They are able to make a lasting impact on their communities and at Ohio State. And most importantly, they are given opportunities that challenge them to become tomorrow's leaders.

To everyone in the Cohort family - thank you. Once again, your support of our incredible program does not go unnoticed!

Hey Everyone,

We are just over 72 hours away from crowning our annual Battle of the Classes Champion!!! The 24^th class is currently leading with 55% participation, but it is truly anyone’s game. 

Thank you again for making a generous gift to the program this cycle and for your continued support, it truly does not go unnoticed!

Hey Everyone,

After almost one month of giving and two incredible matching campaigns, we are excited to share the latest standings in the Annual Battle of the Classes. The two current classes are still leading the pack, with the 21st not too far behind. Who will win it all?!

Speaking of Matching Campaigns, we are very grateful for everyone that made a contribution over the past 24 hours. 61 generous donors like you quickly surpassed the $10,000 matching limit in a matter of hours, raising a total of $23,296. With Laith Khalaf’s generous match, an amazing $33,296 has been generated for the Honors Cohort program in the last day alone! We are truly blown away by the generosity of our alumni and supporters, your support to the program definitely does not go unnoticed.

Let’s finish this campaign strong, Go Bucks!

My name is Shannon McCalmont, and I am a fourth-year studying Marketing with a minor in Fashion & Retail Studies in the 24^th Honors Cohort Program. As I reflect on my time here at Ohio State, one of my proudest accomplishments was birthed from the Honors Cohort Impact Challenge during my junior year. My team and I were tasked with the ambiguous challenge of creating an impact in our community. This happened to be during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when most Ohio State students were struggling to figure out how to manage online school and maintain relationships from a physical distance.

Happiness levels in young adults have already been falling at a continuous rate over the past couple of years according to the World Happiness Report, and we knew that this global pandemic would only be straining students’ mental health more. We decided to set out to improve the happiness levels of students at Ohio State through a program we created called The Happiness Campaign.

After lots of research, we discovered that there are five categories of habits that are linked to increases in long-term happiness: sleeping, healthy eating, social interaction, personal reflection, and physical activity. We developed a program that encouraged participants to complete their selected habit daily and each time they would log it on our website, we donated $0.10 to LifeAct, a nonprofit working with teens’ mental health. By the end of the program, we donate over $130 and increased the happiness of our 100 participants by nearly 10%.

As a team, we decided that there was so much more we could do with The Happiness Campaign, so we founded a new student organization on campus at the end of last year. I now serve as the Executive Vice President, and we have over 30 students in the new club. Our goal is to run our program with a new student organization each month to encourage the development of healthy habits all over campus. I am so proud of the work that this team has done over the last year and am excited by all of the plans we have to make an even larger impact going forward. The Happiness Campaign, from the funds needed to create the website to the money being donated to the nonprofits, wouldn’t have been able to happen without donors like you. Thank you for your constant support and for assisting us in our mission to make the world a better place.

Dear All,

Much like the Buckeyes crushing the Boilermakers this past weekend, an outpouring of support from generous donors just like you allowed us to CRUSH the matching campaign last week, surpassing the $10,000 limit in just over 24 hours! Thank you for making your kind gifts to the program count twice through this unique opportunity.

We are also excited to provide an update on the annual Battle of the Classes competition. After 1 week, the 25th Cohort (current Juniors) and 24th Cohort (current Seniors) are off to strong starts, with the 20th and 14th Cohorts leading the pack for graduated classes. Who will win it all?!

Thanks again for your continued support of the program, it does not go unnoticed.

Hi everyone,

My name is John Ostrowski, and I am a senior in the 24^th Honors Cohort. I’m originally from Belle Mead, New Jersey. Being from out-of-state, I came to Columbus longing to find a community amongst my 70,000 new peers at Ohio State. Through the Honors Cohort program, I found just that, along with so much more!

I liken each of our seminar classes as a weekly masterclass, getting to interact with some of the brightest and influential minds on a variety of topics that will shape us for the rest of our lives. Whether it is working on meaningful projects alongside influential executives, gaining early career success tips from enthusiastic Cohort alumni or learning wellness tips and the importance of giving back from experiential opportunities, Cohort has transformed my life for the better. 

I truly found my community of support and friendship at Ohio State, fully thanks to the Honors Cohort program. I was able to surround myself with 28 of the brightest individuals I have ever met who challenged me to grow as a leader, strategic thinker and overall human being during my two years in this program. And I recently secured a full-time job in New York City thanks to the incredible Cohort alumni who are constantly looking to give back. 

The support of alumni, parents and donors like you have made these incredible experiences possible, which is why I thank you for supporting this year’s fundraising campaign by making a gift that doubles your impact! 

Just in case you haven’t heard yet, we are excited to announce a matching gift challenge for our campaign, which kicks off today and runs through December 31^st. This incredible opportunity to maximize your donation is made possible by a Cohort alumna and her family who have generously made a commitment to match every gift made in the first 48 hours, up to $10,000.

With your support, Honors Cohort will continue to provide unparalleled experiences to current and future students.

On behalf of the 24^th and 25^th Cohorts, thank you for supporting the Honors Cohort program.

Sincerely, 

John Ostrowski