Why Wesleyan? - West Virginia Wesleyan College

WHY WESLEYAN: INTERNATIONALPlain Talkwith Kim Reed’93This summer Bob Skinner ’75,director of advancement, satdown with Kimberly Reed,a 1993 graduate of WestVirginia Wesleyan, to talkabout Wesleyan’s impactacross the world. Kimcurrently serves as a memberof the WVWC Board ofTrustees and is Senior VicePresident at the InternationalFood Information Council(IFIC) & Executive Directorof the IFIC Foundation inWashington, DC. Here is aglimpse of their conversation…Skinner: How has Wesleyan playeda role in shaping your career path?Reed: West Virginia Wesleyan has beenintegral in shaping my career and whoI am as a person today. When I headedto college in the fall of 1989, my dreamwas to become a physician, knowing thatWesleyan had, and continues to have,one of the top acceptance rates of itsstudents into medical school. However,my experience during a 1990 JanuaryTerm, or “J-Term,” course (wherestudents would take one class duringthe month of January, now offered as“May Term”) changed the entire6 SUNDIAL SUMMER/FALL 2010direction of my life. What started as aclass that I selected simply to fulfill myWesleyan general studies requirement inhistory for graduation, ended up beingone of the most unexpected, positiveexperiences that formed the foundationof my entire professional career.The course — “John F. Kennedy and the1960 West Virginia Presidential Primary”— was taught by Dr. Robert Rupp, atalented history professor who still teachesat Wesleyan. During the month, welearned how Kennedy’s campaign victoryin West Virginia was vital to his electionas President of the United States.Dr. Rupp brought his enthusiasm intothe classroom and, in turn, sparked myown interest in politics and policymaking.In addition to teaching our class thehistory of the 1960 election, Dr. Ruppencouraged me — a somewhat shy collegefreshman — to make this era come to lifeby reaching out to then West VirginiaSecretary of State Ken Hechler, who hada key role with the Kennedy campaign,and request an interview. Faculty at largerinstitutions likely would not have takensuch a step, but at Wesleyan, professorslike Dr. Rupp routinely take a personalinterest in each of their students and helpthem make the most of their abilities.Dr. Rupp encouraged me to seizeopportunity: drive two hours to the WVState Capitol for a one-on-one interviewwith the sitting Secretary of State, and askhim pointed questions on an importantsubject so that I could make an impact.Dr. Rupp went the extra mile so I couldgo the extra mile.I enjoyed this political history courseso much that I ended up dual-majoringin biology and government, and wenton to law school. From there, I movedto Washington, DC, where I was ableto be a part of modern day politicalhistory by working in both the legislativeand executive branches of our federalgovernment, first as a counsel to the U.S.Congress and then as Senior Advisor totwo U.S. Treasury Secretaries. Dr. Rupp’steachings also influenced how I spendmy free time today. I have volunteeredon national political campaigns everyelection cycle for the past fourteen years.I also teach democracy-building coursesin developing countries around theworld. (See photo above — After teachinga session on democracy-building andgood governance in Juba, Sudan, varioussouthern Sudanese political party leaderspose for a photo with me.) Thank you,Wesleyan, for your exceptional faculty andstaff, and commitment to excellence.