Lighting pathways to empowerment

“Empowerment” was a word spoken often by Courtney Johnson-Benson ’09, ’11 when she recounted her life story. She retells the collection of anecdotes over and over again as she interacts with high school students in Central Ohio in her role as senior assistant director of admissions for The University of Akron (UA).

The rollercoaster story involves how the death of her father and her graduating from GlenOak High School later than her classmates, being injured in a horrific car crash and getting kicked out of a university (the one she now works for) for poor grades didn’t diminish her self-determination to return to college and earn two degrees, receive national recognition as an excellent college admissions professional, and start a side business that centers on empowering women.It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

“There’s a lot of power in your personal story,” said the 36-year-old UA alumna from Jackson Township.  “It’s really easy for me to relate to all different types of students because of it. I know what it means to work hard as a student. I know what it means to not care as a student. I know what it means to have some type of cognitive disability where it adds to the struggle of just getting through a lesson.”

Before working at her alma mater, where she previously earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in higher education administration, Johnson-Benson used her personal empowerment to overcome what she felt was discrimination against her for simply being a woman in male-dominated jobs. In fact, she quit one job after airing her grievances on how women were treated differently in that particular workplace.

Continue reading: https://www.uakron.edu/wrc/stories/cjb

Press

 

Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling has a NACAC Rising Star

Courtney Johnson-Benson, senior assistant director of admissions, has been named a 2018 Rising Star Award winner by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). The honor recognizes Affiliate College Admission Counseling Associations’ emerging members and innovative programs that exemplify excellence and dedication to serving students in the transition from high school to college.

At the 2018 Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling Annual Conference, Johnson-Benson was awarded one of its New Member awards. As a result, she was nominated for the NACAC Rising Star Award by OACAC past president, Jeff Stahlman. In his nomination, he wrote, “Her character, kindness and her breathtaking positivity make OACAC better...she is a difference maker for our organization.”

Johnson-Benson is a UA alumna twice over — having earned a B.A. in Political Science in 2009 and an M.A. in in Higher Education in 2011.

She will be recognized on Saturday, Sept. 29, during the annual membership meeting at the NACAC National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rising Star honor includes a complimentary 2018 NACAC conference registration and a 2019 individual NACAC membership. Additionally, OACAC will extend a complimentary one-year membership to Johnson-Benson.

https://share.uakron.edu/mailAll/Digest/article/1339831

https://www.nacacnet.org/about/awards/rising-star-awards/2018-rising-star-award-winners/

Headlines

  • 5 Under 35 - The University of Akron Alumni Association

    In conjunction with the University Ambassadors, Gamma Sigma Alpha, Order of Omega and Rho Lambda, our Alumni Association will host its second annual “5 Under 35” event on Thursday, Nov. 29, in the Jean Hower Taber Student Union Starbucks at 6 p.m.

    This event highlights five of our stand out young alumni and invites current students, faculty members and staff to hear about their Akron experiences, words of wisdom and career successes.

    https://tinyurl.com/CJBMAED

  • Courtney Johnson-Benson OACAC New Member Award Recipient 2018

    The Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling began the new member award in
    1993. It was inaugurated to recognize significant contributions of those members with less than five years’ involvement with OACAC.

    https://oacac.org/new-member-award/

  • Courtney Johnson-Benson is interviewed in About Magazine's, "Twenty under 40," series.

    What motivates or inspires you to better the community?

    Working in education definitely inspires me to better my community. As a member of a helping profession, I am constantly reminded that one small action can cause a ripple effect of positive outcomes. I refer to this as the “ripple effect of awesomeness.”

    What is the best career advice you’ve ever been given?

    Be authentic, be invested, be a change agent. Become an asset to your professional community.

    What advice would you give the younger generation when it comes to advancing in their careers or strengthening Stark County?

    Telling your story can lead to great things and inspire others to do more both professionally and personally. Networking is the best way to connect with others, find common ground, an avenue to tell your “story,” and be presented with opportunities to advance your professional career.

    List three to five things people might not know about you.

    I am proficient in eleven different dance disciplines. I am an avid music fan, I have been to over 160 concerts and live shows. I also collect Hall and Oates on vinyl.

    https://www.aboutstark.com/features/twenty-40-courtney-johnson-benson/

  • 'Bans Off' rally in Akron jumpstarts Ohio abortion rights campaign for Issue 1

    Courtney Johnson-Benson drove up from North Canton. She listened intently, her pink uterine ear rings dangling, the fallopian tubes on her necklace curling into a pair of extended middle fingers.

    “I’ve been committed to reproductive rights my entire life,” said Johnson-Benson, a board member for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio. “When I couldn’t openly talk about reproductive rights to my family, and my friends and to my (Catholic) school, I actually was a patient of Planed Parenthood myself.”

    As a girl, she couldn’t go to her family’s physician for birth control. Access to that medicine opened the door to learning about safe sex, breast cancer screening and more. It’s all on the ballot in November, she said.

    “It’s ‘abortion and’. And what I mean by ‘abortion and’ is the language of this ballot initiative is more than abortion.” It’s about access to invitro fertilization and miscarriage care.

    “If you have a miscarriage and this ballot initiative does not pass, your life could actually be in danger,” she said. “So, it’s not necessarily about just abortion. It’s about being supported in your reproductive health and having the freedom and the choice to make those decisions between yourself and your healthcare provider.”

News

  • National Association for College Admission Counseling - Member Spotlight

    https://www.nacacnet.org/membership/member-spotlight/meet-courtney-johnson-benson/

  • Featured in The Reporter -Urban weekly newspaper covering Akron, Canton, and Cleveland

    Young Entrepreneur Inspires and Motivates Youth 4.7.17

  • College Love Story

    https://www.uakron.edu/im/news/alumni-share-their-ua-love-stories

  • Featured on 52 Feminists

    http://www.52feminists.com/