Kaylee Schubenski has fond memories of her high school experiences at Buckeye Local.
She was the homecoming queen and secretary of the National Honor Society. She also was an active member of the foreign language, science, art and fellowship of Christian athletes clubs. She loved being a cheerleader and was a four-year member of the football, basketball and competition squads.
Schubenski also excelled in the classroom, finishing fifth in her 2015 graduating class in overall GPA. She was excited about her future, but like many 18 year olds, she was undecided about where to go to college and what career path to study.
"I decided to start at Ohio University Eastern because it was conveniently located in St. Clairsville, and the tuition was affordable," Schubenski said. "During my freshman year, I explored different career options like law, medicine and finance, but decided to follow my heart and became engaged in the middle childhood program.
"After choosing my major, I considered relocating to the Athens Campus but decided to stay at Ohio Eastern because of the small, personalized class sizes and overall cost. In addition, assistant professor and middle childhood education program coordinator Jacqueline Yahn welcomed me to the program with open arms, and I was performing well in my education classes. As the spring semester of my sophomore year came to an end in 2017, I knew I made the right choice."
Schubenski graduated with honors a few weeks ago and was named the Outstanding Middle Childhood Education Student. At first glance, these achievements would not seem too surprising. After all, Schubenski achieved the same success in high school.
However, her accomplishments are nothing short of astonishing, when factoring in the traumatic accident that injured her severely and nearly cost her life halfway through her college years.
The incident happened in the summer of 2017. Schubenski was riding in an off-road vehicle with her boyfriend, Mason Larkins, when the accident occurred and changed her life forever.
"We were life-flighted to UPMC Presbyterian where I would spend the next four days in the ICU on life support," she said.
"While I was in surgery to have rods placed in my broken legs, a blood clot formed in my carotid artery. The blood clot traveled to my brain, causing a right-sided, middle cerebral artery stroke that paralyzed my left side."
Schubenski would remain hospitalized for the next 17 days at UPMC before she finally was stable enough to move to an in-patient rehabilitation center. She would spend the next two months learning how to walk again, along with many other rehab skills.
"I was only given a 50 percent chance of living from the brain surgery and a 25 percent chance of leading a normal life," Schubenski said. "With the grace of God and the love of my family, I beat all of the odds and actually made it out of rehab in half the time the doctors had predicted. I truly couldn't have done this without the overwhelming support of my close-knit family. My parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, friends and boyfriend made sure I never spent a minute alone."
Miraculously, Schubenski only missed one semester of college. By the spring of 2018, she was enrolled full-time, mostly online.
"I was very fortunate to not obtain any mental deficits from my traumatic brain injury," she said. "With hard work and determination, I overcame this adversity and continued to excel in my classes."
Schubenski also is very appreciative of her classmates in the middle education program.
"Looking back, I truly couldn't have made it through college without the help of my friends and classmates," Schubenski said. "Emilee Weaver, Cat Sloan, Haleigh Black and Janelle Bilyeu all went above and beyond to help me. They drove me to school, gave me their notes and were always there for me. I am so fortunate for their friendship and know they are each going to make great teachers because of the care and love they gave me."
Schubenski is the daughter of Ryan and Sara Vitek. She has two younger sisters, Emma and Sophia.