Born and raised in Columbiana County, a graduate of the same high school as her parents and grandparents, and a member of various functions in the county, Monica Allison understands the meaning of community, traditions, and friendship.
After graduating from Southern Local High School, Monica attended Walsh University and graduated Cum Laude with her Bachelor’s Degree in History and Museum Studies. She was a member of Phi Alpha Theta and worked in a variety of museum settings. After college, she moved to Maryland and worked as a summer educator at an archaeology park, where she spent the summer teaching children in educational summer camps.
In 2012, she moved back to Ohio and obtained a position as a career coach at Mahoning & Columbiana Training Association (MCTA). She worked alongside local manufacturers to collaborate in closing the skills gap in the OH-PENN region. She received her Career Development Facilitator training and with her experience joined the East Ohio family as the Career Management Director.
“The best part of career services was watching students’ dreams become a reality. I loved helping our students in the Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, Medical Office Administration, Business Administration, and Nursing programs with the transition of becoming a college student to a college graduate and then finally a career professional!”
After a couple of years in career services, Monica started her new role and is currently the High School Admissions Advisor.
“Being an admissions advisor allows me to use my degree and training to help guide and coach high school students toward their career goals. I get to drive and visit all the high school students in the tri-state region, host campus events, and create programs and workshops to help individuals in the community.”
Monica has designed scholarship workshops to assist high school students with finding scholarships, drafting essays, and helping find financial resources. For local schools, Monica created a bus tour that focuses on “ADULTING,” training students on life skills they will need to know such as cooking, sewing, laundry, taxes, personal finance and loans, job applications, and professionalism.
In the summer, there is a three-day nursing camp for students interested in becoming a Registered Nurse or who want to know more about medical career training. The camp was created by Monica to help students in high school understand nursing classes and the campus’s nursing program in East Liverpool, Ohio. The camp is called Jeans-to-Scrubs and students can register by going to East Ohio’s Facebook page and looking under “Events.”
“Everything I have created and designed are things I wish I had as a young adult. Like where do I find scholarships? Who can proof-read my essay? What are student loans? Why are so many taxes taken out of my paycheck? And is this a suitable career for me? I want high school seniors to be confident in their career decision and prepared for that next chapter in their life.”
“My favorite part about being a member of the East Ohio family is that we are a FAMILY! I have met so many wonderful people and they are now life-long friends. I know what it is like to be nervous being in a new place, so when a new student comes to East Ohio for the first time, my goal is to have them leave here smiling. It is not surprising to have students in my office, hanging out, and eating Chinese food. College should not be scary. As a student you should look forward to arriving on campus and know that it is the place where you belong.”
Outside of the office, you will find Monica exploring and hitting the trails with her dog Delta Dawn and her friends. Monica is a big-time animal lover. Her family has horses, cows, dogs, cats, and a white dove, which Monica has owned since she was ten years old. She is a board member of Leadership Columbiana County (LCC) and is a graduate of the LCC class of 2015. Monica and her mother used to be 4H advisors for many years and still like going to the county fair and local youth rodeos.
FUN FACTS: Monica was a bit of a daredevil back in the day. She has done bull riding, participated in wild cow milking at the 4th of July rodeo, was top three in Chute (Steer) Doggin’, has been bungee jumping, and parasailing. In the past few years, she has gone underground paddle boarding in caves, has gone caving in all of Ohio’s Caves and Caverns, plus hiked the highest peaks in West Virginia, Virginia, and New York. Currently, she is in love with a type of rock climbing called Via Ferrata. “My future goal is to go to Colorado and Banff National Park to complete their Via Ferratas… before or after I thru-hike the Appalachian Trail!”