By Mandy Lester
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, a staple in the coal fields of West Virginia, is a small college that makes a big impact on the communities it has served for nearly 50 years.
Photo by Mandy Lester
Southern, a proudly multi-generational institution, has helped different generations of the same families reach their educational goals over the years. On Saturday, July 28, the college focused on engaging with local youth in a fresh new way: the college’s inaugural S-Con gaming and pop culture convention. Early estimates show the college welcomed about 350 people to this new event.
The idea for S-Con was nothing new. With the increased popularity of video games like Fortnite, conventions of this sort are branching out at many universities and towns across America. Rick Thompson and Matt Payne, Southern’s IT instructors and FAA-certified drone pilots, had the idea several years ago. They thought it could be a great event for students and for the college.
“I just kept thinking about how much our students would enjoy something like this,” says Thompson. “The more I heard them talking about it, the more it started taking shape.”
However, there was a problem: time. Busy schedules had halted the planning of any such event, at least temporarily. “The timeline was always the issue,” says Joe Nelson, Southern’s web and graphics designer. “We were never trying to compete with any other event. We just wanted a fun day for our students, something that would draw them to our college and give them a break from the everyday grind. Essentially, that was our driving force from the beginning.”
Thompson kept hearing from his students about how much they wanted to see the college host some kind of gaming event, and further discussions between Thompson and Nelson gave new hope to an old idea. Convinced it could be a success, they began putting plans in place in June. With a set date for late July, the men had only weeks to finalize the event. Having such a tight deadline presented some obvious obstacles.
“We knew this first year we couldn’t do a multiday event,” says Thompson. “It was just going to be a matter of whittling it down to exactly what we could offer in one day. Next year, we’ll have more time to get it all organized.”
Photo by Mandy Lester
It was decided that, given the limited timeline, it was best to offer console gaming with a Fortnite competition to cap off the day’s events, but throughout the process, the planning kept coming back to two points of priority: Southern’s students and the local community.
“Really, our only goal was to give our students and our community a fun day and let them see what Southern has to offer,” says Nelson. “Quite literally, we were looking to put the community back in our community college.”
Southern welcomed vendors from the world of comics and art, as well as Marshall University and the Southern Coalition for the Arts. Visitors were able to participate in an escape room courtesy of the Southern Coalition for the Arts.
“I’ve not seen anything like this at Southern since I was a student here about a decade ago,” says Leah Clay Stone, production manager for Southern Coalition for the Arts. “It was just incredible.”
Payne gave drone demonstrations and set up an elaborate obstacle course for visitors. The drones were one of the event’s most popular features. This came as no surprise given that Southern’s drone technology program continues to be among its most popular, cementing it as one of the school’s most successful programs.
While gaming conventions may be more common these days, one thing that set S-Con apart was the blending of ages and generations—a common theme for the hometown community college. It was inspiring to see grandparents and grandchildren walking among the assembled vendors or to see parents and children battling each other on the drone obstacle course.
Melissa Blevins, a local elementary educator with three children, attended the event with her whole family. “I hope it becomes a fixture,” she says. “My children and I felt welcomed and had so much fun. There aren’t many family-friendly environments that are fun and don’t cost an arm and a leg.”
At the end of the busy day, S-Con reached its goal of helping students and the community. All proceeds from on-site vendors went to fund scholarships through Southern’s foundation, which helps students from the area attend Southern at little to no cost.
“S-Con was a great event for our college,” says Gunter. “I can see this becoming an annual event. It was a lot of fun, and a great day for our community.”
About the Author
Mandy Lester is a public relations specialist for Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. She holds a degree in journalism from Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications and has worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntington and the Mingo County Board of Education. Lester resides in Gilbert, WV.
