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Owens Alumna Crystal Smith Wins AAF Mosaic Award

Crystal Smith

Crystal Smith, an Owens Community College alumna, recently received a Toledo American Advertising Federation 2025 Mosaic Award for the Most Promising Multicultural Student for her work on a podcast and student broadcast at the University of Toledo.

Smith said winning the award was a validation of her sacrifices and hard work.

“When I was talking to the director, she said, ‘Crystal, any time that you want to give up or you just don’t want to do this anymore, you need to look down at that award and keep going,’” Smith said. “It was like breaking stereotypes, breaking barriers.”

Smith is a single mom from Toledo who never thought she would go back to school. Thanks to insistence and support from her mom, Smith went back to school at Owens. She graduated with an associate degree in Political Science.

“I went to Owens and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is great, like I could do this,’” Smith said. “Owens was the stepping stone for all of this. It was just so easy to get in my classes. I can still be a stay-a-home mom because I did online a lot. Owens was just that factor, like, ‘Crystal, you can do this.’”

Smith was working in retail when she had her daughter. She realized she wanted to do more for herself and her child.

“I want her to be impressed and say, ‘Hey, that’s my mom,’” Smith said. “The only way to do that is to go to school.”

From filling out financial paperwork and the FAFSA to registering for classes, she said Owens made the process of going to school easy.

After graduating from Owens, Smith seamlessly transferred to UT, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in media communications. She’s now working toward a master’s degree in strategic communication and social media from Bowling Green State University.

Through her now award-winning journey, Smith said she, “100 percent wouldn’t be where I’m at without Owens.”

“Everything I did in Owens transferred, so that gave me the headspace to just focus on my craft,” Smith said. “I did all the hard work, the online stuff at Owens and now I was just able to focus on what I wanted to do. I thank Owens a lot for that.”