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Education alumna, veteran, and business owner Dr. Audry Blinstrup '07, '09 gives back
to CSU in several ways today.
Dr. Blinstrup's fitness career began in 1985 when she entered the United States Air Force as a Ground Radio Operator. After returning
home from military training, she began to further engage in the fitness activities
she began on duty, eventually sculpting her body into an award-recognized physique
on a local and national level, earning her competition awards for the past 30 years.
Somehow, Dr. Blinstrup was able to manage a full career in Education at the same time,
starting as an English teacher and working up to superintendent of Ombudsman Schools,
overseeing all four high schools' operations. Today she continues to adjunct at multiple
universities.
A strong work ethic and impressive bandwidth enabled Dr. Blinstrup to open her own
gym three years ago; Chitown Mecca Fitness, using her education background to fuel her business plan and communication strategy.
Today, she volunteers on the CSAA Board and offers a discount to alumni at her gym. Read the full story here.
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MG William Walker is a retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant
at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the 38th House Sergeant at Arms
and the first African-American to hold the office. He last served as the 23rd Commanding
General of the District of Columbia National Guard. Since retirement, MG Walker has
moved into the private sector as Vice President Corporate Security Director of Allied
Universal. |
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Dr. Abraha came to the USA from Ethiopia in 1980 to pursue education. Her degree in
Chemistry enabled her to pursue a doctoral degree at Loyola and went on to her postdoctoral
fellow at Johns Hopkins and Northwestern. By 2002, she returned to CSU as a faculty
member where she served as interim associate dean, did research on Alzheimer’s disease,
and actively worked to increase the number of Black, Indigenous, other people of color,
and women earning degrees in engineering fields. This work contributed to CSU’s proud
position today as the leader in the nation of graduates of color in physics and other
sciences.
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After graduating from CSU in accounting in 1985, Mr. Osaghae went on to get his MBA
and became a certified public accountant and a certified internal auditor, and owns
his own accounting firm. Eventually, he returned to CSU as a professor of accounting,
using his office as an accounting lab and earning Outstanding Professor of the Year
before retiring in 2024. Mr. Osaghae and his wife, Mabel, celebrated his retirement
by establishing a fund in the Chicago State Foundation to help offset costs of the
CPA exam for CSU students. This new Osaghae legacy will remove the barrier of that
financial burden from CSU students in order to increase Black and Brown representation
in the field.
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Like many students, Ms. Lindsay worked while attending CSU, choosing her classes at
night and on weekends. She began her accounting career at the City of Chicago and
went on to further her education with a master’s degree, eventually leading to a 24-year
career at Blue Cross Blue Shield. She now leads it’s Medicaid operations and feels
CSU was instrumental in her career trajectory.
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