Six More Buckeyes Earn their Degrees – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 19, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Five more Ohio State football players who were seniors this past year, plus one former player, received bachelor’s degrees from The Ohio State University during commencement ceremonies Sunday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
The five are Nate Oliver (sport and leisure studies), DeVier Posey (communications), Solomon Thomas (sociology), Dan Bain (English) and Derek Erwin (civil engineering).
Thomas, the pleasant defensive end who likes to smile and is from the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, says it is bittersweet to be graduating because “I love this university and being a part of this football program,” but he knows that now is the time to apply what he has learned toward becoming a productive member of society, which in his case includes becoming a coach and eventually getting his master’s degree.
“College is so much more than just going to classes and playing football,” Thomas said. “I’ve learned a lot about people. I’ve learned a lot about myself. And I’ve learned a lot about being mature, accountable and what self-sufficient really means. These things are more than just words or thoughts.
“And I think one of the most important things I’ve learned is that life has its ups and its downs. You have to be prepared for them both.”
Thomas has spent the last three months interning with a local Boys & Girls club and, outside of an ankle surgery scheduled for the end of March, applying for jobs in the Columbus area is his next priority. He feels good about his prospects to work in the sociology field and to eventually transfer what he has learned into the coaching arena.
“Education is part of the plan of life,” Thomas said. “You have to be educated, and I’m happy to say I have been.”
Another former Buckeye proud to now be an Ohio State graduate is Jason Winrow. A four-year letterwinner between 1990-93, Winrow finished his requirements for a degree in economics through the athletic department’s highly successful Degree Completion Program. An all-Big Ten Conference guard in 1993 for the 10-1-1 Big Ten co-champions, Winrow is the 137th former Buckeye student-athlete to graduate through the Degree Completion Program.
The six Winter 2012 graduates increases the number of Buckeye football players/former players to earn their degrees during this academic school year to 13.
2011-12 Ohio State Football Graduates
Winter 2012
Dan Bain – English
Derek Erwin – Civil Engineering
Nate Oliver – Sport and Leisure Studies
DeVier Posey – Communications
Solomon Thomas – Sociology
*Jason Winrow – Economics
Fall 2011
Mike Brewster – Communications
Nic DiLillo – Communications
Donnie Evege – Communications
Dan Herron – African-American and African Studies
Tony Jackson – Marketing
Chris Roark – Marketing
*Alex Stepanovich – Communications
*Graduates of the Degree Completion Program
