Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            In pursuit of a degree at Shawnee State University, one Kenya native found a great community in Portsmouth, Ohio, and stayed.
            Evelyn Gitome came to the United States in September 2005 to pursue her degree and she graduated in December 2008 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting.
            She began working as a senior auditor at Caudill & Associates CPA’s and works on audits of organizations that receive government funding, ranging from non-profits and cities to school districts and other local governments in Ohio and the tri-state area. She is a member of the Institute of Internal auditors (IIA).
            Gitome has been serving in music and as a “go-to person” for other Kenyans who have come to SSU study. She also serves as a mentor for Puberty to Adulthood Camps Kenya (PACK), an organization that strives to mentor the young (14-22 years) to help them develop personalities of a mature well-rounded nature with humility, hard work, integrity, diligence at work and a self sacrificing, assertive attitude.
            This year, the National Association of Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA): Association of International Educators invited Gitome to present her story at the Region VI Ohio State Drive-In Conference at Franklin University in Columbus.
            NAFSA was founded in 1948 to promote the professional development of American college and university officials responsible for assisting and advising the 25,000 foreign students who had come to study in the United States after World War II.
            The association's scope soon expanded to include admissions personnel, English-language specialists, and the community volunteers who played an important role in helping foreign students become acclimated to American college communities.
            The “drive-in” conference is a state-wide event with workshops, roundtable discussions and special presentations.

Cutline:
Evelyn Gitome, Kenya native and Shawnee State University alumna, presented her story at the National Association of Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA): Association of International Educators Ohio State Drive-In Conference on Friday, April 30 at Franklin University in Columbus. Gitome is a senior auditor at Caudill & Associates CPA’s and works on audits of organizations that receive government funding, ranging from non-profits and cities to school districts and other local governments in Ohio and the tri-state area. She is a member of the Institute of Internal auditors (IIA). In the photo, Gitome is shown at her graduation ceremony in December at SSU