By Bob Welty As students across West Virginia complete another successful fall semester, it is the ideal time to highlight the importance of a subject that Fifth Third Bank is determined to ensure everyone in its communities is learning—financial education. The need to know about how to manage money starts even before graduating from high…
By JoEllen Zacks One of the newest trends in education is also one of the oldest. Nature-based learning is beginning to take root in West Virginia as a growing number of schools take the classroom outdoors to give students hands-on learning opportunities and context to their academic work. They’re rediscovering a truth espoused by the…
By Jessica Wintz-Adams West Virginia’s public education system has had its share of state and national headlines in recent years. When the Mountain State’s ranking in national reports is splashed across newspapers and scrolled across the bottom of screens calling it one of the country’s worst in educating public school students, fingers point in various…
Owner, Orion Strategies By Jamie Null Everyone has a turning point in life. For Curtis Wilkerson, a resident of Buckhannon, WV, it came two years ago when a doctor diagnosed him with a leaking mitral valve in his heart. He underwent surgery and was back at his desk as the owner of Orion Strategies within days.…
President & CEO, Bricks Without Straw By Samantha Cart Jamie Summers-Brown can rarely be caught without headphones. A member of West Virginia’s creative class, he has been using music as a motivator since his first job at Waldenbooks when he was 16. “I worked in the back of the store unboxing stock for inventory and shelves,”…
Alumni Coordinator, Leadership West Virginia By Jean Hardiman Be comfortable being uncomfortable. These are words Kate Reed aims to live by. As the alumni coordinator for Leadership West Virginia (LWV), the Elkins resident is on a mission to keep the program’s graduates engaged in the work of moving the state forward. As a West Virginian, she…