From purchasing a ticket and passing through the turnstiles to buying some peanuts and Cracker Jack — and maybe a couple of hot dogs and a souvenir — an enjoyable day at the ballpark depends on many hard-working people fans may never meet.

ASU students enrolled in PRM 427, Special Events Management for Revenue Generation, were able to meet the people in charge of staging a Major League Baseball game at Chase Field through a visit that gave them insight on how it is done. The gathering of students and experts resulted from a happy coincidence of time and place.

• Read more about ASU special events students learn how stadium staffers get ready to play ball

The Phoenix Indian Center recently honored Christopher Sharp (Colorado River Indian tribes), a clinical assistant professor in Arizona State University's School of Social Work, with its 2021 Man of the Year Award.

• Read more about ASU assistant professor receives Man of the Year award

It was once a place where people cleared out after work, where most restaurants closed by 3 p.m., where only the occasional sports game or First Fridays art walk drew a younger crowd.

Now Arizona State University students live and learn on the Downtown Phoenix campus, bringing an energy and presence that have helped inject new life into the area.

• Read more about Downtown Phoenix campus turns 15

They’re more experienced, wiser and happy with how things turned out since graduation.

We asked several Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions Outstanding Graduates from the last decade to share with the current generation of students what made them successful — both during their time at ASU and afterward.  

• Read more about Past Outstanding Graduates offer advice to current ASU students

They may have been delayed a year, but Arizona State University is ready to go for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which open July 23.

There are 20 Sun Devil athletes competing in Tokyo, representing 14 countries in six sports. Three Olympians — Jorinde van Klinken, Leon Marchand and Jarod Arroyo — are current students.

• Read more about Forks up for Tokyo Olympic Games

Felicia Ganther’s higher education career spans more than a quarter century and includes a PhD degree from Arizona State University. On July 1, that career took a major step forward as Ganther became a college president.

Ganther built strong local roots and gained many memorable experiences before taking over as head of Bucks County Community College, which enrolls 7,100 students at three campuses in and near Newtown, Pennsylvania, and online.

• Read more about ASU PhD grad will use new skills as president of Pennsylvania community college

For the second straight year, a program of Arizona State University's School of Social Work will receive the President’s Medal for Social Embeddedness. ASU President Michael Crow will present the award this fall to the school’s Office of Community Health Engagement and Resiliency (OCHER) for helping revitalize an underserved Tucson community.

• Read more about Tucson revitalization effort earns School of Social Work President's Medal

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2021 graduates.

Spring 2021 master’s in social work graduate Edeline Plaisival has spent her time as a Sun Devil inspiring others to pursue education, both in her role as a management intern for Access ASU and as a proud parent to an 8-year-old daughter.

• Read more about ASU grad passes on wisdom to the next generation, including her daughter

Friends and family members of a grieving person often will advise them to talk to a counselor, to “keep busy” or engage in some other activity they think will help. They want to see that individual return to a “normal life” as soon as possible.

• Read more about Social work professor explores animals’ abilities to help those dealing with grief

ASU’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice has renamed the annual Alumni Scholar Award for a distinguished member of its faculty who retired this spring.

The Dr. John R. Hepburn Alumni Scholar Award was renamed at the request of the faculty. It is an annual award presented for outstanding scholarly contributions to the discipline of criminology and criminal justice by a recipient of a MA, MS, or PhD degree from the school.

• Read more about ASU school renames Alumni Scholar Award for retired Professor John R. Hepburn