Kenneth L. Glynn is a 2018 Dream Scholar from Lorain County Community College. He was born in Elyria, Ohio and graduated in 1984, Kenneth received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Army as a Communication Chief after ten years of service.

At the age of 50 he became a Displaced Steel Worker after 18 years of employment. Investigating his options he discovered losing his job was the key to finding his true self.

He found the prospect of stepping back into a classroom at Lorain County Community College daunting. Kenneth felt like an “ostrich with his head in the sand” when he stepped into the classroom for the first time after more than 30 years. Because he had lost his job due to the effects of foreign imports on the steel industry, he was eligible for both a Trade Readjustment Allowance through the Unemployment Office and LCCC’s SAIL (Students Accelerating in Learning) Program to assist with tuition and financial barriers.

In May 2017, he graduated with his first Associate Degree in Business Management in only 18 months and a second Associate Degree in Liberal Arts a few months later; making him a First Generation College Graduate of his family.

In February 2018 at the Achieving the Dream Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Kenneth was named Dream Scholar for a poem he had written about his experience returning to school as a non-traditional student. At the conference he was one of seven asked to read his poem and speak in front of 3,500 higher education leaders.

Because of Kenneth’s determination and unified effort from the LCCC team, he was able to accomplish all his goals and then some. Kenneth is now an Adult Outreach Associate for Lorain County Community College and serves on a number of boards within his community.

Kenneth is an active board member for The Lorain County Community African American Foundation Fund, The Lorain County Urban League Guild Board and The Lorain County Child Support Board. He was recognized by the Lorain County Urban League as its 2019 Hometown Hero recipient, as well as honored by the National Coalition of Negro Women of Lorain County for its Trailblazer Award in 2019.

Kenneth is most proud of the vision and leadership of Dr. Marsha Ballinger, President of Lorain County Community College and Cindy Kushner, Director of Business and Workforce Development, along with the President of Achieving the Dream Dr. Karen Stout, for the wind that they placed underneath his wings to allow him to fly higher than he has ever!