West Virginia University Potomac State College held its 80th Recognition Day Awards ceremony and Scholars’ Wall event earlier this spring. During this time, Madison Sites, a biology major from Sugar Grove, W.Va., received several awards, one of which was the Keyser Rotary Club’s “Service Above Self” award.
According to Rotary guidelines, the recipient of this award must demonstrate exemplary humanitarian service with an emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others.
While a student at the College, Sites was active in manyorganizations, including: The Life Science Club where she served as president; Circle K; The Film Club where she served as secretary; The Creative Writing Club, Sip and Stitch, Sigma Phi Omega Honor Society, The International Club, and Baptist Campus Ministries. She played on the women’s soccer team and was involved with other intramural sports as well.
Sites was also selected as a Whitmore-Gates Scholar, which includes the inscription of her name on the Duke Anthony Whitmore/Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Academic Achievement Wall, which was conceived as a way of recognizing the academic and scholarly activities of Potomac State College's students, alumni and faculty.
In addition to serving as a tutor in the Academic Success Center at the College, Sites previously helped make blankets to donate to charity; was involved with trunk-or-treat by handing out candy and school supplies to youth in the community; helped teach youth about science at the 2019 STEM Festival, and traveled to Cash Valley School to give science demonstrations.
She was also presented with the Jasper Morris Organic Chemistry Award in honor of Professor Jasper Morris, a former professor of chemistry and physics at the College. The student receiving this award must have the highest average in organic chemistry, both in lecture and laboratory, for the two-semester sequence. Additionally, she received the W.E. Michael Biology Award which is bestowed in memory of Professor Emeritus W.E. Michael, who taught at the College for 33 years. This award is given to the student with the highest average in the complete biology major sequence.
She plans to continue her education at WVU in Morgantown, with future plans of pursuing a doctorate of osteopathy or physician’s assistant degree. When asked what her 10-year-goal was, she replied, “To be able to say that I made a difference in peoples’ lives.”