Breaking barriers and sustaining the Buckeye spirit
Breaking barriers and sustaining the Buckeye spirit
As told by Blaine Dearth, Ohio State Engagement Specialist
Her goal was always to pursue a career in education and teach elementary school students — however, Mary Syfax Noble ’70 felt discouraged when, as a black woman, she was at first told she shouldn’t teach children older than kindergarteners. This only served to motivate Mary to break barriers and lead by example.
Mary took her first steps on campus in the fall of 1966, and more than fifty years after graduating, Mary is still known as the Buckeye Girl in Shoreview, Minnesota. While she attributes this primarily to the multiple Block Os on her car, I think Mary has retained this nickname because of how she embodies the Buckeye spirit.
When Mary attended Ohio State, she was one of the first black women to participate in Block O. During her tenure, Mary became a leader and worked on the negotiation of Block O’s move into the open end of Ohio Stadium. This was all during a special era of Ohio State football — one that brought another national championship. After Mary earned her undergraduate degree from Ohio State and two master’s degrees from Xavier University, she began her career as a teacher in the Cincinnati Public School system, and would finish her career in the Minneapolis Public School system as an elementary school principal.
Mary’s investment in the next generation is a clear illustration of Ohio State’s shared values of excellence and impact that every Buckeye works to embody.
“I always pushed my students to be the best version of themselves. I told them that we never wanted junk, and as long as you put in your best effort, nothing you do will ever be junk.”
Mary is one of many Buckeyes who help students get an Ohio State education with fewer financial obstacles. She chooses to give because she had the opportunity to pursue her Ohio State degree at no cost thanks to a scholarship, and supporting scholarship funds at the university gives her the opportunity to pay forward. She feels that without her time here, she wouldn’t have been able to make an impact on so many others through her teaching career, or to testify in front of Congress in favor of passing the National and Community Service Act of 1993, now known as AmeriCorps.
As our community continues its work to make education more accessible and affordable, it’s a better time than ever to support scholarships at Ohio State. Thanks to the support of caring Buckeyes like Mary, a debt-free future for Buckeyes may soon be a reality.
Learn more about how you can join caring Buckeyes like Mary today and give to scholarships at Ohio State.