Cedarville University

As the demand for cybersecurity professionals soars, Cedarville University is launching a new student-led initiative to equip future cyber experts with technical and leadership skills. The university's Center for the Advancement of Cybersecurity will introduce the Cyber Leadership Development Program (CLDP) in spring 2025. The two-year program, tailored for upperclassmen, focuses on enhancing communication and leadership abilities, equipping students to become multifaceted professionals in the rapidly growing cybersecurity field.

Cedarville University's theatre department will bring "Radium Girls," a powerful historical drama written by D.W. Gregory, to the stage February 13-23. The production explores the events of 1926, when young women working in a watch factory used radium-based paint to create a luminous glow - only to later face devastating health consequences. For tickets and show times, visit Purple Pass or the theatre page at www.cedarville.edu.

An estimated 85 million Americans - about one in four people - struggle daily with a skin condition, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. After years of battling cystic acne and testing countless products with little success, Alex Simons, a junior marketing major at Cedarville University, took matters into her own hands. She created "Skin Safe," an innovative app that helps users navigate skincare by scanning product ingredients, pinpoint ingredients and recommending safe, personalized alternatives. Simons' groundbreaking idea earned the $1,000 first-place prize at "The Pitch," a business competition hosted by Cedarville University's Robert W. Plaster School of Business.

It was a sweet victory for Cedarville University's forensics team at the 2025 Ohio Forensics Association State Championship, held Feb. 14-15 at the University of Akron. In claiming the state championship, Cedarville's team took the top spot in the categories of both speech and debate. Cedarville's success was highlighted by five first-place finishes. Noah Hollenbach, a political science junior from Moseley, Virginia, claimed the debate competition while also earning the top debate speaker award. Laura Ball, a freshman majoring in special education from Harker Heights, Texas, won the after-dinner speaking category and was the runner-up in debate speaking and rhetorical criticism. Freshman economics major Zane Enos from Colorado Springs, Colorado, won in impromptu speaking, while Eliana Boerner, a freshman communication major from Cincinnati, Ohio, claimed the informative speaking championship. Boerner also secured a runner-up finish in persuasive speaking and, with that performance, qualified for the Interstate Oratorical Association national championship, held April 26-27 at Tennessee State University.

As a college sophomore, William Woods II has already achieved what many professionals are only beginning to pursue. He started his own podcast - Will Woods Exper!ence- in 2023. Last year, in December, he launched his own marketing business, Create to Inspire Strategy. Woods, who is majoring in marketing at Cedarville University, is focused on providing his clients with social media strategies, personal branding and content creation that will set their business apart from competitors. He caters his work toward small business professionals who want to create compelling marketing messaging that amplifies their core values.

The future is shaped by the past, and for Mary Madigan, a Cedarville University student, that couldn't be more true. Madigan, a history major from Plain City, Ohio, has her sights set on a career in archaeology, combining her passion for history and humanity. Her journey into archaeology began with a love for history and a pivotal anthropology class.

From childhood MiaRose Hess has always had an entrepreneurial mindset dreaming of the day she had a business of her own. She never imagined, however, that a simple love for baking would turn into something much bigger - until she arrived at Cedarville University. In September 2024, the freshman from Spencer, Indiana, opened The Bagel Girl, a homemade Greek yogurt bagel business. With this new business, she is using her education to exercise her entrepreneurial spirit. "I've always wanted to start a business. I've always loved baking," said Hess. "I don't know what's in store in the future, but I know this is something I want to do now and learn from while I'm still in college."

Cedarville University's mock trial team made history at the Fayette District Courthouse in Lexington, Kentucky, securing its first-ever tournament team award at the tournament hosted by Eastern Kentucky University from January 25-26. The team of Cedarville students competed against top-tier programs, including the University of Tennessee, Indiana University, the University of Dayton, and Xavier University. Cedarville's A team finished the competition with a 6-2 record, scoring their first tournament win since the formation of the Mock Trial program last year.

Stepping onto the tournament stage for the first time during the 2025 Spring semester, Cedarville University's forensics team wasted no time making an impact. The team earned 12 first place wins at the OU 1804 Tournament and Ohio Forensics Association Novice State Championship at Ohio University in Athens. "I am always thrilled when we receive competitive success. It's rewarding to have a visible acknowledgement of our hard work," said Eric Mishne, assistant professor of communication and the director of Cedarville's forensics team. "But it's not just about first places. Sometimes we count championships as the biggest competitive victories, but sometimes I am most proud of students who show improvement."

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - For most children, the news playing in the background is easy to ignore. But for young Payton Arbuthnot of Springfield, Colorado, it was a source of fascination - one that would eventually inspire her to pursue an internship with the State Department's Bureau of Overseas Buildings and Operations. "I would come home from school every day, and my mom would be listening to the news. I was fascinated," said Arbuthnot. "I thought it was the coolest thing to go to school and know what was happening in the world. That was the beginning of a passion."

Cedarville University's cyber operations program, the highest-ranked program in the nation according to Intelligent.com, proved its worth by winning Liberty University's Cyber Summit Capture the Flag competition in November and finishing third at the prestigious VIVID Coalition event in Augusta, Georgia. Cedarville claimed the $3,000 prize at the Liberty event on November 2. The team of Yellow Jackets outscored teams from Messiah University and Montreat College. On November 14, the cybersecurity team placed third in the VIVID competition that was held near the U.S. Army Cyber Command. The event is the highest-level competition for schools designated as National Centers of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Students at Cedarville University have been named to the Dean's Honor List for the Fall 2024 semester. This recognition requires the student to obtain a 3.75 GPA or higher for the semester and carry a minimum of 12 credit hours. Cedarville University, a Baptist institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio's largest private universities and is recognized by the Wall Street Journal as being among the nation's top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.

Some of the biggest names in Christian music, including For King and Country, Lecrae, Crowder and Danny Gokey, have been captured by the lens of Matthew Black, a junior broadcasting, digital media and journalism major at Cedarville University. Black's journey as a performance photographer began in 2023 with a last-minute opportunity to photograph Winter Jam in Tampa, Florida, near his Spring Hill home. Black continues to balance his studies with a blossoming freelance career, fueled by his dedication to capturing the perfect shot. With his many concert experiences, Black has seen his work featured by artists on major social media platforms and in marketing campaigns.

Students at Cedarville University have been named to the Dean's List for the Fall 2024 semester. This recognition requires the student to obtain a 3.50 GPA or higher for the semester and carry a minimum of 12 credit hours. Cedarville University, a Baptist institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences, and professional fields. With 6,384 students, it ranks among Ohio's largest private universities and is recognized by the Wall Street Journal as being among the nation's top three evangelical universities. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics, and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.

Most students choose a college based on academic quality and affordability. Avonlea Brown, meanwhile, a senior broadcasting, digital media and journalism major at Cedarville University, was driven by a different question: What university would help her see the world? Having grown up in Southwest Harbor, Maine, a tiny community just outside Acadia National Park, Brown did not discover her love for travel until her junior year in high school. Brown's first international excursion, a mission trip, took her to Namibia in Africa.

Overcoming the cultural divide for international college students is the focus of a social media campaign run by a group of students at Cedarville University. Through Instagram, five students have created a space that allows international students at Cedarville to share their voices and foster a deeper sense of community while they are thousands of miles away from their home and families. Nationally, nearly six percent of college students in the United States come from international cities, according to a report from Forbes. These international students face the struggle of navigating a new culture in addition to managing classwork and making new friends.

A baby shower for a birthing manikin is a unique event, but the Cedarville University School of Nursing used this creative opportunity to support New Path Pregnancy Resource Center. The event celebrated Cedarville's new birthing simulator, Victoria. The manikin was added to Cedarville's family of simulators in the spring to provide more real-life experience for nursing students. "We don't often get a new simulator, so it's fun to celebrate," said Nate Kincaid, assistant professor of nursing and the initiator of the event. "This is a great opportunity to celebrate our new manikin and also honor our community."

As Cedarville University forensics teams excel in competitions across the country, their dedication to speech and debate transcends winning - it exemplifies their commitment to positively impacting others. Last month, Cedarville's forensics team won its competition at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. The team triumphed over schools like Ohio University, the University of Akron, Marshall University and Grove City College. Ellia Torlone, a junior communication major from Delaware, Ohio, won first in prose interpretation. Eliana Boerner, a freshman communication major from Cincinnati, Ohio, took top honors in persuasive speaking and earned second place in informative speaking. Spicer Wadman, a junior physics major from Hillsboro, Virginia, won first in poetry interpretation. And Laura Ball, a freshman special education major from Salado, Texas, was number one in rhetorical criticism.

Cedarville's main street comes alive on the first Saturday of every month as residents and the college community gather for Sidewalk Saturday. Each event features a fun assortment of activities, including line dancing, food trucks and local vendors. In booths lining the sidewalks, students from the Cedarville University Entrepreneurs (CUE) student organization market their products and gain hands-on experience as business owners. In August of 2024, Dr. Kary Oberbrunner, assistant professor at Cedarville University and Berry Chair of entrepreneurship, and William Woods II, a sophomore marketing student from Seward, Pennsylvania, and the president of CUE, contacted Revitalize Cedarville, a local organization dedicated to fostering community engagement. Both groups agreed that the student businesses would add value to the Sidewalk Saturday events.

The editing and publishing industry is highly competitive, especially for recent college graduates. To secure a position in this industry often requires experience and connections with other professionals in the industry. For two Cedarville University alumni, securing editing and publishing positions shortly after their graduation in 2024 was a testament to their hard work, dedication and the impact of Cedarville's revised editing and publishing minor. Emily Vest and Brianna De Man were among the first graduating class to have completed the revised editing and publishing minor. These revisions provided the students with a broader education for entry into the editing and publishing industry.

Whether on the gridiron or on the pitch, it was a summer of football for the Master of Athletic Training (MAT) students at Cedarville University. Six aspiring athletic trainers were in the facilities of NCAA Division I schools or on the sidelines with major league teams. Two of these future trainers, Lauren Barnes and Jacob Bonville, share their summer stories on the latest Cedarville Stories Podcast. Lauren had the thrill of working with the nationally ranked Penn State football team, while Jacob gained experience with Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew.

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - Time marches on, but important moments in history permanently mark the landscape where they occur. For 30 Cedarville University students who traveled in the Deep South on the Civil Rights Tour from October 16-20, they felt the emotional echos of the past as they visited the sites of America's battle for civil rights. Led by Dr. Patrick Oliver, associate professor of criminal justice, and Dr. Robert Clark, assistant professor of history, this trip immersed students in American history as they walked across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the same bridge where civil rights marchers endured the beatings of Bloody Sunday in 1965.

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - A shoebox at Christmas brings heartfelt joy to the young children who receive a box from Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child. Each year, hundreds of thousands of shoeboxes are packed through this international campaign that brings joy through gifts to those who receive a box. Cedarville University's student-athletes believe strongly in this mission.

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - Cedarville University's athletic training students will put their excellence on display by competing against other Ohio athletic training students in the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association's (OATA) annual symposium and quiz bowl. The event will take place on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Upper Arlington High School in Arlington, Ohio. Fifteen Cedarville students and two faculty members will learn from symposium presentations before students compete in the quiz bowl to test their knowledge of athletic training. The quiz bowl winner will advance to the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association's (GLATA) competition and face off against the winners from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - For the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy, diversity is more than a difference in skin color. It encompasses the variety of experiences and perspectives every individual brings to the table. This is a vital component in providing quality health care because a diverse group of people can best serve a diverse community. This year's P1 class, the first-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) students, has a population of 47.4% non-white students, with a 41.34% average for the last five years. Students across the program come from places like India, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana and from all corners of the United States.

CEDARVILLE, OHIO - A shared mission and location are responsible for a growing relationship between Cedarville University and Answers in Genesis (AiG). These two unapologetically Christian organizations, located less than 100 miles apart, share the common goal of upholding Scripture's authority. Cedarville is one of only three Christian universities recognized as an official Creation College partner with AiG. Creation Colleges embrace biblical authority and a young Earth view of creation. The Creation College designation helps Cedarville attract students who are looking for a university that teaches every subject through the lens of the Bible. It also provides for a perfect internship partnership between the two organizations.

Cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship is sweeping across Cedarville University as student entrepreneurs from diverse majors create innovative solutions that break traditional boundaries. Daniel Ormsbee, a senior mechanical engineering and molecular biology major from Cedarville, Ohio, combined his passions for bioengineering and entrepreneurship to create his revolutionary company, Nutrafuel Bioworks. On September 27, his game-changing innovation won the $1,250 first place award at "The Pitch" competition hosted by Cedarville University's Robert W. Plaster School of Business.

Few college students can say that they are the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for a multimillion dollar company. But that's exactly what Ben Hutton can say as he leads the marketing for CoinHub Media, an online business for coin collectors. Hutton, a junior marketing major at Cedarville University, was selected for this position by his friend, Blake Alma, a 23-year-old entrepreneur and the CEO of the company. The decision by Alma to step back from his multimillion dollar business became a life-changing opportunity for Hutton.

National defense policy in the United States, as designed and implemented by the Department of Defense (DOD), is complex and ever-changing. When Brad Hoffman had the opportunity to engage experts in this field, he pursued a partnership with the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) Summer Honors Program. Hoffman, a senior political science major at Cedarville University from Reading, Pennsylvania, was selected by AEI. He was a member of the program in Washington, D.C. titled, From Capital to Combat: Understanding America's Defense Policy. AEI is a leading public policy think tank in Washington, D.C., dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential and building a freer and safer world.

Building community through athletic competition is the heart of a new ministry program at Cedarville University. Using the game of basketball, Cam Arminio, associate director of career services, seeks to use the sport as a tool to build and deepen relationships among Cedarville students. It is his hope that this ministry will lead to developing deeper connections and opportunities for gospel-centered conversations. Arminio played collegiate basketball for Otterbein University near Columbus, Ohio. With his combined interests in basketball and Christian ministry, the new initiative is a slam dunk.