BSC Students and Students Support Services Faculty
Participate in Trio Student Leadership Conference

Bluefield State College student Joanne Smith (left) recently received a Director's Award," the Anne P. Crum Scholarship, during the TRIO Student Leadership Conference at Pipestem State Park.  Smith is pictured with BSC Student Support Services Director Carolyn Kirby (right).

( Bluefield)—A Bluefield State College contingent of seven students and three Student Support Services (SSS) staff members were active participants in the recent TRIO Student Leadership Conference at Pipestem State Park. The three-day event, sponsored by the Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel and the West Virginia Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, attracted more than 300 TRiO program students from 17 state institutions.

“Our students thoroughly enjoyed workshops focusing upon leadership and success,” noted Carolyn Kirby, Director, BSC SSS program. The BSC students taking part in the conference included Ron and Heather Goodman, Stephen Dickerson, Joanne Smith, Amy McPherson, Jonathan Harless, and Kevin Richardson. All are SSS program participants and tutors. Smith was chosen from BSC’s delegation to receive a “Director’s Award,” an Anne P. Crum Scholarship, established in memory of a former TRiO programs director at Davis & Elkins College.

Additionally, Kirby directed a workshop entitled, “Developing a Career Portfolio: Preparing for the Job Market in the 21 st Century.” BSC SSS Educational Outreach Counselors Carol Baldwin and Heather Simmons collaborated to present the workshop, “Leadership Styles: Where Do You Fit Into the Puzzle?”

The TRiO weekend included a tour of the State Capitol, where students met West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, a tour of the Capitol, and conference keynote addresses from John Mendez (CEO/First Community Bancshares, Inc.) and The Honorable Booker T. Stephens ( Chief Judge, West Virginia 8th Judicial Circuit Court).

March 6, 2006