Success and struggle

By Jen Sobolewski

In the early morning hours of March 2, 2012, Angelica Mormile was in a car headed north on I-75 with four of her Alpha Xi Delta sorority sisters. The group was on their way to the airport for spring break. Just a few miles outside Bowling Green, a car headed the wrong way on the expressway hit them head on, killing Rebekah Blakkolb, Christina Goyett and Sarah Hammond, and severely injuring Mormile and Kayla Somoles. The driver of the wrong-way car was also killed.

Mormile, who is from Garfield Heights, Ohio, suffered a severe brain injury and broke her neck, her lower jaw, right arm and tibia. But, with the support of her family and friends, she received her bachelor’s degree in telecommunications Aug. 8, graduating just a semester behind her original graduation date.

The road back to campus after the crash was not an easy one.

“It took time coming back and getting used to the swing of things because I was on my own again without my family and their support,” Mormile explained. “It was hard adjusting back to the college life.

“There was a bit of survivor’s guilt. The girls that passed away were older than me and had established relationships with most of the active members at the time, whereas I was still fairly new and did not live in the house yet. As time went on things got better and I got closer to the girls, who gave me their support and helped along the way of recovery.”

Mormile also credits the support of her BGSU faculty with helping her transition back into her classes and college life. “If I ever had a problem or any issues, they would work with me if I needed it. I’m very thankful that I had their support as well.”

Although she suffered significant memory loss after the crash and needed speech therapy, Mormile said her health continues to improve.

“The problems I had post accident with my headaches, I don’t have anymore. My memory has gotten significantly better. Continuing my college education right after was challenging, but I worked myself up to doing really well. I still have some pain in my leg while doing certain activities, but it is not nearly as bad as before.”

Mormile said despite the tragedy, she’ll think back fondly on her time at a BGSU. She was an anchor and a reporter for BG24 news, the student run news program, and the host of WBGU-TV’s entertainment show “BG on TV,” along with her sorority duties. She was also part of the Telecommunications Student Association and served as the group’s alumni relations chair, and on the planning committee for the annual Career Day for two consecutive years.

It was one of the professors of the Department of Telecommunications, Dr. Louisa Ha, who put Mormile on her current career path of media sales. Ha told one of her telecommunication classes about a Media Sales Institute being held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in June. Mormile was one of just a handful of students chosen to attend the intense, 10-day boot camp. The institute has led to several job prospects.

While Mormile feels like she’s excited to move on to the next stage of her life, she said she will miss BGSU very much.

“Thinking about not going back in the fall is weird to me. I’m going to miss doing recruitment and getting back into school, being with my friends. I would not hesitate to tell any student that I came across who was interested in BGSU, that although challenging in my situation, overall it was a good experience and I’m happy I chose to stay at BGSU. ”