Why Wesleyan? - West Virginia Wesleyan College

athletic, performing arts and special alumnievents during the fall and spring semesters;and the numerous conference activitieshosted throughout the calendar year.But the economic impact is certainly notthe sole benefit Wesleyan brings to our community.The fact is that many of the servicesand programs now available to local familiesand their children could not exist withoutWesleyan student involvement. The StockertYouth Center, the Upshur Parish House, tutoring,local charities, financial literacy taughtin middle school classrooms, and Read Aloudprograms are just a few of the many activitiessupported by Wesleyan students.Many students serve in an internshipcapacity for various businesses in the localcommunity each year as well. In somecases, Wesleyan students have actually beeninvolved with the organization and openingof new businesses such as the Main StreetArtist Co-Op, where students continue tohelp in staffing and advertising.In addition, Buckhannon would certainlynot have the wide array of cultural offeringsthat the community currently enjoys ifthe College were not here. Wesleyan hasalways brought numerous cultural eventsto town including musical groups, theatreproductions, and entertainers. Local citizensand youth are often able to experience theseacts at a minimal, and sometimes zero, cost.The addition of the Virginia Thomas LawCenter for the Performing Arts in 2009 wasoriginated, in part, as a community resource,and has been active as such from day one.Of course, Wesleyan provides countlesseducational opportunities to our localcommunity. High school students are ableto take courses for college credit. Mastersprograms are available to professionalsin the fields of Business Administration,Education, Athletic Training, Nursing andCreative Writing. Wesleyan has also addedcertificate courses via the Internet, with over7,000 opportunities to choose from. We arethankful for the multiple opportunitiesthat residents have to continue their educationand develop their individual interests.The bottom line is that the thread ofWest Virginia Wesleyan is so well woven intothe local fabric of our community that it isinseparable. I, for one, cannot imagineBuckhannon, West Virginia without WestVirginia Wesleyan College.ALUMNI SNAPSHOT: LAMPINEN GUIDESEDUCATION IN UPSHUR COUNTY, WVWesleyan has a profoundinfluence on Upshur County’seducational system, which iscomprised of seven elementaryschools, one middle school, andone high school, as well as onetechnical center, which servesstudents from Upshur, Lewis andBarbour Counties in West Virginia. Theseschools have a long list of teachers, coaches,music directors, counselors and principalswho are graduates of the College. At thesame time, many professionals in the Boardof Education Office are Wesleyan graduates,including current superintendent ScottLampinen ’78. Since graduating fromWesleyan, the New Jersey native served as ateacher, principal and county administratorbefore becoming the superintendent.In his current role, Lampinen has gaineda deeper appreciation for the College’spreparation of teachers. “Wesleyan teachersare special,” he noted. “They come to ourschool system prepared to teach and theyare current with ‘best practices’ in their field.They have the ability to integrate the latesttechnologies into their daily instructionalactivities. Through their experiences asundergraduate students at Wesleyan, theyalready have an affinity as well as a vestedinterest in our community. A Wesleyanteacher also brings a deep commitmentto community service and to giving back,character traits the College emphasizes inevery academic and co-curricular program.”Lampinen has always wanted to be aneducator. “I knew early in my elementaryschool days that I was going to become ateacher,” he stated. “My fifth grade teachermade the difficult seem easy and mademe feel like I was the only student in theclassroom. I can remember thinking I wantto be able to do that. As a young teacher, Irealized how much I enjoyed working in theclassroom, but also discovered that I perhapscould influence more classrooms by workingwith and supporting teachers. I have neverregretted the decision to become an administrator.As a lifelong learner, I knew thateducation was forever changing. Fortunate tolead our schools as a principal, I now have anopportunity as superintendentto lead our district to be one ofthe best in the state.”Upshur County’s educationalleader is grateful for the preparationhe received from Wesleyan.“Educators such as Dr. John Burgess,Jim Smith ’57, Dr. Ken Welliver,and others not only provided me with theknowledge I needed, but took time tocounsel, encourage and challenge me towork hard and take risks,” continuedLampinen. “The lessons Wesleyan facultytaught continue to influence my work withstudents and staff members.”Lampinen and his colleagues face manychallenges including declining budgetsand enrollment, as well as trying to secureresources to enhance all of the schools. “Wehave to find ways to do more with less andthat alone is an incredible challenge,” saidLampinen. “Another challenge is helpingstudents understand the importance of theireducation. In order for them to compete forjobs that do not exist now, we have to ensurethat students are prepared by providing qualitycurriculum and instruction. They must beprepared to compete and communicate in theglobal society. Today’s students learn differentlythan we did and we must implement21st century teaching and learning, and createlearning laboratories rather than a traditionalclassroom environment.”From Lampinen’s vantage point, Wesleyanwill continue to play a critical role in helpingthe county school system achieve its goals.In addition to the College’s nationallyaccredited teacher education program,Wesleyan now offers several graduateprograms in education. Student EducationAssociation members commit to a numberof special programs, while many Wesleyanstudents volunteer as after-school tutors,mentors and youth sports league coaches.“It is extremely important that Wesleyan andthe Upshur County schools have a strongpartnership,” he concluded. “Together, we playa key role in providing quality educationalopportunities that increase economicdevelopment and improve the quality of lifefor those who live in our community.”SUMMER/FALL 2010 SUNDIAL 3