WVa | WVJC

Staff Highlight: Career Management – Kristy Cunningham

October 2, 2012September 19, 2018

BRIDGEPORT, WV – Kristy Cunningham is the Career Management Director at West Virginia Junior College’s Bridgeport campus. As the Career Management Director, she assists students in finding a job upon graduation, as well as teaching Career Prep.

Kristy is also a liaison between local businesses and the school. She said she strives “to maintain a lifelong relationship with our graduates and assist them anyway that I can with their careers.”

“My favorite part of being a CMD is the phone call from my graduates when they get their first job and are starting their careers and they see that all their hard work has paid off,” Kristy said.

When Kristy is not as work, she loves spending time with her family and dogs, traveling, and watching Kevin Smith movies and West Virginia University football games.

Bridgeport
For more information on graduation rates, median debt of students who have completed their programs, and other important information, please visit our website at www.wvjc.edu/bridgeport-programs. Our programs are equal opportunity employer/programs. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Medical Assisting Student Highlight – Kaitlyn Persinger

September 28, 2012September 19, 2018

CHARLESTON, WV – Kaitlyn Persinger decided to attend West Virginia Junior College Charleston Campus because the staff helped her decide on a specific career path within the medical field.

“I definitely knew I wanted to be in the medical field, I just wasn’t sure what position. When I learned about Medical Assisting at WVJC, I knew it was the right choice for me,” she explained.

The clinical laboratory courses were Kaitlyn’s favorite part of the program.

“Many of the procedures you learn in the MA program are hands-on and this really helped me learn the skills and grasp them quickly and easily,” she said. “My clinical instructor, Cindy Campbell, made the skills exciting and the students were always excited to learn new things.”

WVJC’s small class atmosphere gave Kaitlyn the individualized attention she needed to succeed and she said that this was her favorite part of attending school at WVJC.

“My favorite part about WVJC was the perfect class setting. It wasn’t a huge college and it’s great for students who learn better in a smaller atmosphere, not a lecture hall with 80 other students,” she said.

Kaitlyn had a few individuals at WVJC who helped her along her journey as she obtained her Specialized Associate Degree in Medical Assisting.

“I would like to thank Mrs. Campbell because she always pushed me to put my all into what I was doing,” she said. “She made sure I had the right skills and knowledge for my future career. Also, I would like to thank Mrs. Cindy Tawney because she was always on top of things from making sure I was on time for class to making sure I was working to my full potential and making good grades.”

Kaitlyn has already secured a position at Charleston Area Medical Center in the Orthopedic Trauma Group as a Certified Medical Assistant!

“I wouldn’t have been able to land such a great job without the skills I learned in my program and all of the interview skills I learned in my Career Preparation course at WVJC!”

Congratulations to Kaityn on her graduation, passing her Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant Exam and landing her perfect career!

Charleston
For more information on graduation rates, median debt of students who have completed their programs, and other important information, please visit our website at www.wvjc.edu/charleston-programs. Our programs are equal opportunity employer/programs. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Legal Assistant Spotlight – Christina Johnson

September 18, 2012September 18, 2018

MORGANTOWN, WV – For Christina Johnson, the Legal Assistant (LOA) program at the West Virginia Junior College is a family affair.

It began when her sister, Laura Johnson, began the program at the Charleston Campus.

“I’d talk to my sister, and she’d be so excited about the program that I would think, ‘I want to do this,'” Christina said. “It sounded fantastic.”

Christina contacted the WVJC-Morgantown admissions department to learn more about the LOA program. When she told her cousin, Jessica Hall, her cousin said, “If you do it, I’m going to do it, too.”

So, the cousins began the LOA program. A few months later, Christina’s sister Laura transferred from Charleston Campus to the Morgantown Campus.

“As I began my classes, everything clicked so easily for me that I knew I picked the right program,” Christina said. “Although it was easy for me to understand, it was still enough to keep me interested.”

Christina works in the healthcare industry and was looking for a change when she decided to attend school.

“I’ve loved it,” Christina said. “It’s been an eye opener.”

Legal Office Assistants need to be extremely detail-oriented people, said WVJC- Morgantown Assistant Campus Director Leanne Cardoso, Esq.

Christina, who said she may pay too much attention to details at times, agrees.

“Driven, detail-oriented people need to be in this program,” she said. “There are tough spots, and you get frustrated easily. You have to really want it.”

For Christina, who is the mother of 21-month-old Izaiah, going to school meant changing her priorities.

“Make sure that you set time away from everything else to focus on your studies, read, look over your notes and plan what you want to do,” she said. “You have to give up something – sometimes it’s sleep – to go to school.”

Christina said she appreciates her instructors, their gentle pushing and their ability to help students become much more comfortable with the new field. She said she always loves being taught by lawyers, who teach the majority of the Legal Assistant classes.

“I love being taught by someone who has already been in the field and has already been successful,” Christina said.

For more information about the WVJC-Morgantown LOA program, call 304-296-8282.

Morgantown
For more information on graduation rates, median debt of students who have completed their programs, and other important information, please visit our website at www.wvjc.edu/morgantown-programs. Our programs are equal opportunity employer/programs. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Current Nursing Student Highlight – Lindsay Bible

September 17, 2012September 18, 2018

MORGANTOWN, WV – With over a decade of healthcare experience as a Certified Nursing Assistant, it was a West Virginia Junior College (WVJC) Nursing Program radio ad that finally convinced Lindsay Bible to take her first steps in becoming a Registered Nurse(RN).

She said she applied for the nursing program the day she heard the commercial and took the Nursing TEAS Test a month later. The TEAS Test evaluates a potential student’s essential academic skills.

“It was tough, because I had not been in school for awhile,” Lindsay said. “I definitely recommend preparing, purchasing the study book and doing the practice examples. That helped me a lot.”

With her family’s support, particularly her grandmother’s, Lindsay was accepted into the WVJC Nursing Program where in two years from her September 2011 start date, she will have earned her Associate’s Degree in Nursing and will have been prepared to take the RN Licensing Exam.

At the WVJC, learning begins in a classroom setting where students learn the necessary skills. Those skills are then applied in a lab where students practice on METI-Man a human-patient simulator that gives students a chance to practice their newly-acquired skills in a realistic setting. The lab is followed by clinical where nursing students visit local hospitals for eight hours on Saturday or Sunday.

While Lindsay thought she wanted to work in oncology, watching a live birth during a clinical changed the nursing student’s mind.

“I cried when I saw the first baby being born,” Lindsay said. “For the (patient) to let me experience that was really amazing to me. And the baby was really cute.”

Lindsay said she knew then that she wanted to work in a maternity ward.

“Once we did our maternity clinical, I was hooked,” she added.

Lindsay, a Pittsburgh native who moved to Morgantown five years ago, said the full-time work schedule, plus school and the weekend clinical have created a hectic schedule.

“It’s hard to balance friends, a relationship, school and work,” Lindsay said. “But everyone understands. I try to think positively, because in one year, I’ll be finished.”

She added that the WVJC’s instructors are, “amazing, really supportive and really helpful.”

Even though she spends nearly 12 hours a day in the medical setting, Lindsay still finds time to spend Thursday night watching ABC’s hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy. “She said her favorite character is Christina, although Lindsay said the character nothing like her.

For more information about the WVJC Morgantown’s Nursing Program, visit wvjc.edu or call 304-296-8282.

WVJC Bridgeport Alumni Highlight – Elizabeth Blake

September 6, 2012September 19, 2018

BRIDGEPORT, WV – After attending Fairmont State University for two years studying for a major she didn’t enjoy, Elizabeth Blake decided to transfer to West Virginia Junior College Bridgeport for the dental program.

“I chose the dental program because I have always been very interested in everything the dental field has to offer,” Blake said.

Her favorite part of the program was all the hands-on learning that took place in each lab.

“Some of the things we learned were how to take impressions, make bleaching trays and how to take x-rays on our fellow students,” Blake said.

Blake’s favorite thing about being a student at WVJC Bridgeport was that she got lots of one-on-one time with her instructors.

“I loved the individual attention I received in my classes and that the faculty and staff were all very friendly and helpful throughout my time at WVJC,” she said. “I would like to thank Mrs. Zorick, Ms. Santos, and Dr. Wilfong for everything they did to help prepare me for my board exam and my career as a dental assistant. Also, Ms. Cunningham for answering any and all questions I had the closer I came to graduation.”

Since completing the program, Blake has really loved working in the dental field and is considering continuing her education to become a dental hygienist.