AIɫɫ

Alexis Cardinale has spent five years at AIɫɫ, completing her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy before beginning her Master of Occupational Therapy degree that she will complete later this fall. During her time on campus, she’s been a student leader, part of several organizations, and a dedicated member of the Office of Admission, serving as an Orientation Leader and as the office’s Graduate Assistant. During her time in the office, while preparing for orientation season to begin, she ended up coming up with the phrase that would become a spirit call across campus.

“About three years ago during my second season as an Orientation Leader, we were prepping for an upcoming Orientation and everyone in the Office of Admission was getting excited and coming up with different AIɫɫ State slogans,” she said. “During this, I was joking and came up with ‘Paws Up’, and my fellow coworkers and Orientation Leaders used this as a fun slogan to get students energized during their orientation. We would teach students a ‘Paws Up’ chant and have them take pictures around campus with a ‘Paws Up’ pose.”

Without realizing it, she had created SSU’s newest spirit tradition. The “Paws Up” pose – holding both hands in the air as bear paws – has been witnessed at campus events, athletic games, and is even a go-to pose for students representing their university at places like the Ohio Statehouse with lawmakers. The Office of Admission also announced the creation of the “Paws Up” scholarship – a need-based scholarship for students who do not qualify for aid through the FAFSA, yet are also just missing out on the qualifications needed to receive merit-based aid. Seeing her idea take off and become a core part of SSU’s values has been an incredible experience for Cardinale.

“Seeing President Braun and other departments across campus embrace ‘Paws Up’ as a slogan and campaign, has been surreal seeing the widespread effect,” she said. “When I first started at SSU, I was a shy student from Cleveland, Ohio, and the campus-wide initiative has been so cool to see as someone who could hardly believe the effect of the ‘Paws Up’ inception during her time at SSU.”

As the “Paws Up” initiative has spread across campus, Cardinale feels the tradition was something that was needed on campus to showcase university pride.

“’Paws Up’ has gained a lot of momentum throughout the years, and I truly believe it has become a sort of spirit call for all SSU students,” she said. “I feel that having a slogan or tradition such as ‘Paws Up’ can bring together our campus community and add a fun energy among the student and staff populations.”

Seeing her time on campus as a student coming to a close in the coming months, Cardinale is grateful to have created something that the university can use for years to come.

“It has been an honor to contribute to the traditions that may continue for many years to come,” she said. “As AIɫɫ State has given me so many opportunities during my undergraduate and graduate education, I am thrilled to leave my legacy behind and give back to the community that has helped me succeed.”