Day of Giving
Wow! A total of $63,760 was raised in one day for WVU Potomac State College during the 2023 Annual Day of Giving on Wednesday, March 22. This exceeded last year’s total by 1,100 percent. Finishing 17th out of all 44 units participating system-wide, PSC was also the highest among the regional campuses.
A shout-out goes to Alumnus Logan Scott, an on-air radio personality who is always willing to give back to his alma mater. Logan spent the afternoon live on the radio on location at PSC to promote the 2023 Annual Day of Giving. PSC Student Ambassadors Alaissa Martinez, Kamron Dawson, and Katelyn Thornton joined the live radio broadcast. Faculty members Dr. Heidi Samuels, Andrea Schafer, JoAnn Burnett, and Molly Alvaro also did live radio remotes.
Special thanks go to the WVU PSC Alumni Association for their partnership and the staff of the PSC Office of University Relations. An additional thank-you is extended to the WVU Foundation for its leadership and support.
If you didn’t get a chance to participate, please make an online donation today. Thank you for your support.
NSF Funding for Recruitment and Retention of Biology Students
West Virginia University, WVU Potomac State College (PSC), and the Center for Excellence in STEM Education have been awarded $749,996 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build a stronger pipeline of rural, low-income biology students at WVU.
The Pathways to Academic Student Success (PASS) for biology majors project aims to recruit and retain West Virginia students into the PSC two-year biology program. It also helps project participants transfer to the WVU Morgantown campus four-year biology program, if desired.
Principal investigator and PSC associate professor of STEM, Sheri Chisholm, explained that thanks to the NSF funding and recruitment efforts by PSC’s Enrollment Services, up to 70 scholarships will be awarded over a six-year period to eligible high school students to join the PASS project. Each scholarship will total approximately $6,400 per year.
“Our hope is that these scholarships, coupled with this program’s tailored instruction and advising support, will incentivize talented high school students from rural communities who may not have considered attending college to reconsider and enroll in our biology program,” Chisholm stated.
To help participating students transition to college life and coursework, they will take a special biology-focused freshman orientation class and will be assigned a biology faculty member who will serve as their advisor and mentor. Students will also attend seminars and speaking engagements, explore career options, engage in research, attend tutoring sessions, and participate in coordinated services with other departments. Assistance will also be offered if they wish to transfer to any four-year biology bachelor’s program or need help completing their Free Application for Federal Student Aid Form (FAFSA).
In addition to focusing on student success, the PASS project will also zero in on new evidence-based recruitment, retention, and transfer-student research. An advisory board of WVU STEM leaders and faculty will review PASS project data and strategize ways to help rural, low-income students successfully complete two- and four-year biology programs and pursue careers in STEM disciplines.
Director of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education Gay Stewart expressed her excitement to serve as a member on the advisory board.
“I’m excited to dig into this research and help identify ways to improve student success among our STEM majors,” Stewart said. “The lessons learned from the PASS project will help inform us on what attracts students to STEM careers, how we can better prepare them to stay in their STEM-related field of study through curriculum, student success services, and personalized support, as well as how to help transfer students succeed in their programs,” Stewart said.
Stewart added that the data collected and examined could also extend beyond WVU, laying the foundation for transforming student success in STEM at many other of higher education institutions.
Alumni Mentorship Program at PSC
We heard you! When the PSC Alumni Association received the results from the Engagement Survey last year, by far the most requested item was to mentor and help students. The board has been diligently working in partnership with the College to develop the WVU PSC Alumni Mentorship Program.
This program is designed to help students gain expertise while building their professional networks. The students will be teamed up with an alumni mentor, who will share their knowledge and experience in areas such as career goals, networking, educational planning, confidence and morale building, and study and time management.
The success of the WVU PSC Alumni Mentor Program will depend on the participants. To that end, we are currently searching for volunteers who may be interested in being mentors. The great thing is you can mentor from anywhere because this will be a virtual program. By volunteering just a few hours of your time, you can make a huge impact on the next generation of Catamount alumni!
If you are interested in being a mentor and would like more information, please complete the online intake form. This form is only to gauge your interest. It does not commit you to doing anything with the program.
Ever Vigilant
Have you ever wondered about the lion statutes situated on each side of the Administration Building front steps? It seems like they’ve been there forever, but that isn’t the case.
The lions were donated by Dr. Joseph Cavallaro. Dr. Cavallaro grew up in Westernport, MD, and became a physician in Greenbrier County, WV. Dr. Cavallaro’s wife, Harriet, was born in Frankford, WV, raised in Keyser, and is a Potomac State College alumnus.
Keyser’s Got Talent Winners
The WVU Potomac State College Annual Keyser’s Got Talent Show provided a night filled with exciting entertainment. Prize recipients included (left-right): PSC student and Student Government President, Lucas Lemonds, who received first-place honors for his dance and color guard routine to “No Matter What” by Calum Scott; PSC student, Courtney Barrackman, who placed third performing “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I; and Ben and Baxter Ritz placed second with their rendition of “Everlong” by Foo Fighters. PSC Campus President Chris Gilmer was in attendance, and presenting the awards were Diversity Specialist Shannon Meek and PSC Alumna Patty Sites.
Mark Your Calendar
- Fri & Sat, Apr 28 & 29: Athletic Hall of Fame Events
- Sat, Apr 29: PSC Alumni Board Meeting at 10:00a, in the Mary F. Shipper Library
- Sun, Apr 30: Recognition Day Ceremony
- Sat, May 6: Commencement
Remember to check out the PSC Athletic Calendar. Come out and cheer on the Catamounts!