DEAR EDITOR:

I have always been proud of my Youngstown State University education. My undergraduate years opened my eyes and opened a world of opportunity for me: I traveled, received research grants, had work I’d written published, held my first copyediting jobs, found my voice, built a resume and built relationships that I cherish to this day.

I was recently honored as a “Penguin Woman on the Move,” a recognition given to alumni who have “gone above and beyond with their personal, professional, academic and / or philanthropic endeavors.” I was touched and honored — and very proud — but the recognition felt hollow. It is coming at a time when so many people who helped me get to where I am today are watching their programs be “sunsetted” (read: slashed), contracts go unrenewed and entire departments head toward extinction.

My YSU education has served me incredibly well, but it wasn’t luxury student housing and amenities or new sports complexes that helped me reach where I am today. It was YSU’s faculty.

I studied under professors at the top of their respective fields who saw something in me and invested in my future, opening doors for me that would have otherwise remained closed. I now work at a national conservation organization, am a published writer, I am finishing a master’s degree, and I remain engaged, curious and committed to learning and improving the world in my own small way — because of them.

I will always be “Y and Proud” for having the experiences I had with these incredible professors who gave me so much, but I can’t help but feel deeply ashamed to see my alma mater in its current state: on life support, with a greedy and short-sighted administration preparing to pull the plug. I urge other alumni to speak out and fight to save the beating heart of the university: its academic programs.

Without them, is there anything left to take pride in?

MOLLY TOTH

Pittsburgh,