A love story of institutions and the people they unite

The first step in Mary Ellen St. John’s career at Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) was to attend class at The Ohio State University at Newark. 

Before officially starting as a natural sciences professor, she needed to fine-tune her technical knowledge and refresh her understanding of subjects like anatomy and biology. Luckily, her husband Lee needed a lab assistant in the Ohio State Newark nursing class he taught. Mary Ellen obliged. The arrangement was not only a win-win; it welcomed her to the workplace she and Lee shared for almost three decades.

It’s an origin story that could only exist on the Newark campus. Since 1971, COTC and Ohio State Newark have nurtured a special cost-shared partnership, combining resources and facilities to save money without sacrificing any student support services. Couples like the St. Johns — Mary Ellen who taught at COTC for 27 years, Lee who served Ohio State Newark for 42 years — characterize the cooperation and connectedness that has fueled this thriving campus ecosystem. 

They saw the realization of the cost-shared model in real time. Lee began teaching at Ohio State Newark in 1970, a year before COTC came to be. From the moment Mary Ellen started her journey in 1977, “our departments were already sharing a lot,” Lee recounted. “We all felt that was the best way.” Thus, the St. Johns juggled a joint budget. They used the same equipment and anatomy lab. They collaborated from adjacent offices, eventually cutting holes in their adjoining wall and installing small doors to communicate more easily. “At some other co-located campuses, it’s like two different armies on the same battlefield,” Mary Ellen said. “But this atmosphere was always very cordial.”

So much so, Shawn McDonald didn’t even realize that two colleges cohabited the campus. It took until his junior year at Ohio State Newark, when he met his wife Jennifer — then a COTC student — in the Hopewell Hall cafeteria. They learned they had a lot in common, including their marketing professor. “He let us do a project together,” Shawn said, “and that helped solidify our relationship.” Two years later, they got married, their rings becoming a ringing endorsement of the unique nature of the Newark campus. If not for this place and this partnership, Shawn emphasized, “we probably wouldn’t have even met.”

He probably wouldn’t have his current career either. As a sophomore, Shawn accepted a role as a purchasing agent with Ariel Corporation in Mount Vernon. Almost 40 years later, now a supply chain specialist, he has never worked anywhere else. 

Shawn’s story speaks to both the level of student preparedness and the local connections the Newark campus can cultivate. Jennifer has seen it all up close at the Licking County Chamber of Commerce, where she’s presently the president and CEO. “I work with so many businesses that need people with the proper experience, and a lot of them turn to COTC and Ohio State Newark,” she said. “These students are going right into really well-paying jobs. This campus contributes to the quality of life in this area.”

And it has continuously played a role in the McDonalds’ lives. It’s where they taught their sons how to ride a bike, and later how to drive. Both sons have since attended Ohio State Newark. “Our youngest one actually met his wife on campus,” Jennifer added, “so I guess that legacy continued on.”

The St. Johns stay connected to campus mainly through their son, an Ohio State Newark geology instructor. He’s a manifestation of the foundation they laid. Along the way, their working relationship informed their relationship as a married couple. “We learned to meet often and meet halfway,” Lee said. “And we remember that the welfare of one affects the welfare of the other.” 

For 55 years now, they have proudly watched these partner institutions use the same principles to uphold their own kind of marriage. “I know there are tensions just like any relationship, but COTC and Ohio State Newark always seem to work them out,” Mary Ellen said. "We spent a lot of time in the early development of this cost-shared partnership. We put our careers and our hearts into it. It's so satisfying to see it continue, and for those of us who go back that far, it's not a surprise.”