We Salute Our Fall 2024 Graduates

Aba Azeem is a dedicated leader and community advocate. Professionally, she has spent over a decade in recruiting and talent development, creating mentorship programs, and building employee growth and leadership initiatives at organizations including PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rockwell Automation. Recently, she launched Mahogany Search Partners, an executive search firm focused on helping professionals navigate leadership roles and career transitions while fostering environments where employees feel safe, supported and equipped to thrive.  

As an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University, she launched and served as president of the collegiate chapter of Eritreans for Education, creating a safe space for underprivileged students to explore East African culture while accessing academic support and guidance. She also chaired programs for one of the university’s signature student-led events, the African American Heritage Festival, and served as vice president of Delta Sigma Theta, where she championed the values of scholarship, sisterhood and service. After college, Aba continued her advocacy by organizing fundraising events for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and chairing the Create Columbus Commission. She also organized community educational events and hosted the Black Women's March at City Hall. Additionally, she was appointed to the Chief of Police Advisory Panel, where she provided input on public safety strategies and worked to strengthen community relationships.

A first-generation college student, Aba received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ohio State. By earning her MBA with a Specialization in Organizational Leadership, she becomes the first person in her family to earn a graduate degree. Aba and her husband, Vada, live in Columbus, Ohio, with their sons, Luca and Peyton. 

Kristin Gardner has fulfilled the requirements necessary to receive her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. She currently serves as the chief nursing officer at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital. Kristin has been a nurse for over 25 years and a healthcare executive for over 10 years. Community service has been an overarching theme of her healthcare career evidenced through positions in community hospitals, as well as on local and state boards, advocating for healthcare funding and changes to improve patient care. She demonstrates her passion for education not only through her own development and professional growth, but also by working with nursing students at several nursing schools. 

Rose Pepoy graduates with her B.S. Applied Management. Rose is currently a dynamic document developer and team lead at the Sherwin-Williams Company in Cleveland, Ohio, where she has been employed for 19 years. She began her career at Sherwin-Williams as a part-time print operator, and has held several supervisory roles in the operations sector before transitioning to information technology. In her current role, she leads a team that transforms raw data into published documents and interactive applications for employees and customers.  

Dr. Sarah Bradford Fletcher began her work at Franklin University as a tutor in 2014, and became an adjunct professor in 2022. Teaching is her passion, and she shares that through her approachable, inclusive style of teaching. She believes in meeting students where they are and fostering their growth while supporting and challenging them. Sarah’s undergraduate work in education was completed at Indiana State University. She spent several years working in alternative K-12 schools in Indiana and South Carolina. Sarah holds a master’s degree in drama, language arts, literature and reading, and a doctorate in literature for children and young adults, both from The Ohio State University. Her career in education spans 22 years, with the last 14 focused in higher education.  

Dr. Steven Hess has been a Franklin University adjunct professor since 2023, and has mentored research design, statistics and other courses. His teaching style is unorthodox, as he embraces the older ideological construct of mentor-learner education grounded in the directed evolution of worldviews. His long and impactful career in higher education includes a variety of administrative roles, as well as serving as chair, methodologist and/or consultant on approximately 1,000 dissertation committees. Steve is a product of the California Community College system, the University of California, Davis, and Walden University. His educational background spans applied mathematics, theoretical physics, education, adult education, computer science and related areas. His career has included risk analysis, venture capital, various educational roles, instructional design, curriculum development and accreditation.