Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: Miami University

Title of entry: A Chance to Stay. An Opportunity to Lead., Miamian magazine

About this entry: This profile was written for the Fall/Winter 2025 issue of the Miamian magazine as part of Campaign Connection, a recurring feature designed to link individual stories to Miami University’s comprehensive campaign, For love. For honor. For those who will. The target audience is 130,000 alumni and donors, with a strategic goal of demonstrating the tangible impact of scholarship support on student success — particularly for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in STEM and medicine.

“A Chance to Stay. An Opportunity to Lead.” profiles Godfred Agyemang Prempeh, a first-generation college student whose path to medicine was shaped by financial strain, mentorship, and targeted scholarships. Through in-depth interviews and narrative storytelling, the piece connects Godfred’s journey — from limited access to healthcare in Ghana to on-campus leadership roles — with campaign priorities around access, affordability, and student support. The story was intentionally structured to move from personal adversity to donor-enabled opportunity, reinforcing the “last mile” of financial aid as a decisive factor in staying enrolled and graduating.

Published in the Miamian in print and online, the story has been leveraged across University Advancement channels to illustrate donor return on investment and advance campaign messaging. It strengthened alignment between student success narratives and fundraising priorities, provided frontline staff with a compelling stewardship asset, and increased awareness of programs such as Emerging Leaders in STEM (ELIS) Scholars and the Last Mile Scholarship. By humanizing complex financial-aid concepts, the story shows donors how their support fuels persistence, leadership, and future impact in medicine.