U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Carolyn Kinzel, a C-130H Hercules loadmaster assigned to the 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, and an Ohio Air National Guard Counterdrug Task Force criminal analyst, poses in front of an overdose map she created Aug. 1, 2019, at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Cleveland, Ohio. The Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Task Force personnel provide support to law enforcement agencies and community based organizations in order to enhance efforts to counter and defeat the threat of illegal substances, trafficking and violence in Ohio. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis Wade)
Editor’s Note: The Happy Beginnings series features recent College of Arts & Sciences graduates who are getting started in careers, graduate school and service.
Excepted From Ohio Today
Staff Sgt. Carolyn Kinzel ’18 is using the skills learned in Ohio University’s geospatial sciences program to literally save thousands of lives in Northeast Ohio.
Committed to serving her community and her country, Kinzel joined the Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing in 2015, serving as a C-130H Hercules loadmaster. Upon graduating from OHIO, she became a criminal analyst with the Ohio Air National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Cleveland.
Kinzel made headlines this past summer when she was tasked with using overdose data to determine the most effective locations in the Cleveland area to distribute fentanyl test strips. Using the skills she learned while studying geographic information sciences at OHIO, Kinzel created a map that identified targeted areas for the distribution of the overdose-preventing test strips and is credited with potentially saving 15,000 to 20,000 lives.
- Read more at Ohio Today in a story headlined “2019 ‘OHIO Notables’ celebrates alumni who made news – and their alma mater proud.”
- Also see “Ohio Airman helps combat opioid epidemic” at the Air National Guard website.
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