Owens Outstanding Grad Lickert Succeeds as First-Gen College Student
As a first-generation college student, Michael Lickert had to learn a lot both inside and outside of the classroom.
With his persistence as well as support from his family and individuals at Owens Community College, Lickert will graduate this month with an Associate of Science degree while being named the Gerald Bazer Award winner for outstanding Arts and Sciences graduate.
The Gerald Bazer Award recognizes one student each semester majoring in Arts and Sciences with a minimum GPA of 3.5 who has demonstrated exceptional scholarship and achievement at Owens.
“My parents are truly a blessing and have helped me as much as possible with navigating college, but they don’t have any background with how college works,” Lickert said. “I think the most challenging part of college was figuring out what classes I needed to take at Owens to transfer into my degree at Bowling Green, and I honestly would have messed this part up without the help of my parents. We’ve had countless meetings and hours spent trying to figure out this puzzle.”
Stepping in to help answer those questions and provide guidance was Owens academic advisor, Brad Meyer.
“I’ve had multiple meetings with Brad and countless phone calls to hand-pick the best courses to take at Owens to transfer to BGSU,” Lickert said. “Brad still calls from time to time just to check in and make sure everything is going as planned. Brad is truly a blessing, and Owens is lucky to have him on their team.”
Lickert came to Owens after graduating from Genoa High School, where he took College Credit Plus classes that gave him valuable credits before stepping foot on campus. He knew Owens was the best step to take partly because of its affordability.
Next up for Lickert is completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Construction Management at BGSU.
“I have had so many great experiences at Owens Community College, and I could not recommend Owens enough to anyone,” he said. “I genuinely enjoyed my time at Owens. It’s been a great stepping stone in my life.”