Campus
Communicator
OCTOBER • 2014
Students Show Support for Breast Cancer Awareness
This Piggy Thinks Pink!
Several students from the WVNCC
class of 2016 Radiography program
(Savannah Jasper, Melissa Graziano,
Gina Granato, Emery Curto, Lacey
Davis, Kristen Yesenczki, Ashley
Hadzima, Zoey Rogerson) and not
pictured, Courtney Miller, as well as
Baydn Waller from the Class of 2015,
volunteered at the second annual
“Pink Warrior 5K Powder Run/Walk”
which was sponsored by Barnesville
Hospital Auxiliary on Oct. 18.
This race was held to raise money for
Breast Health Fund which serves under or un-insured women who have
been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The students volunteered at several
stations throughout the race course
and had an extremely enjoyable and
rewarding day. Barnesville Hospital is
a clinical education site for the Radiography program.
In addition, Misty Kahl, program
director and assistant professor,
radiography, said National Radiologic
Technologist Week will be celebrated
at Northern on Nov. 2-8. In celebration of this week, she said, student
exhibits will be displayed in the hallways of the Education Center on the
Wheeling campus. Everyone is invited
to stop by to appreciate the excellent
work that was put into the exhibits,
she said, adding the exhibits also will
help expand everyone’s knowledge
about the field of radiography.
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Weirton Nursing students are collecting money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by placing piggy banks
at the LRC, Service Center, Tutoring
Center, and Bookstore. The money
collected will benefit Athena’s Closet.
The illustrations on the bank in the
LRC were drawn by Dan Kozdras of
the College’s Maintenance staff.
Stoffel trudges through one of the obstacles in a Tough Mudder competition.
Breastfest
Tammy Aftanas, nursing instructor,
arranged for the second level nursing class on the Weirton campus to
participate in the Weirton Medical
Center’s Breastfest as part of Breast
Cancer Awareness Month in October.
Aftanas explained Weirton Medical
Center has a yearly Breast Cancer
Fundraiser during which decorated
bras are entered into a contest. The
theme for this year’s contest was
“movies.”
Each clinical group of second level
students entered a bra into the contest. In addition they volunteered
their time to stuff bags, serve food,
pick up food, direct people attending,
carry out door prizes and count entry
tickets. The event was held Oct. 2.
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Radiography Travelers
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and alternate Miranda Gill) took fifth
place while “Roentgen’s Homeboyz”
(Brianna Cook, Chelsey Fox, Willis Hill and alternate Jessie Fletcher)
came in eighth place. Also, Miranda
Gill won the grand prize giveaway at
the conference which was an IPad.
The Class of 2015 WVNCC Radiography Students traveled to Charleston
on Oct. 9-11 to attend the annual
West Virginia Society of Radiologic
Technologists Conference. The meeting consisted of educational speakers,
student competitions and the opportunity to interact with other students,
educators, and technologists from
throughout the state.
All of the students participated in the
Exhibit Competition as well as the Essay Competition. One of the students
(Rachael Helms) won third place in
the Essay Competition out of 29 total
entries for her paper titled “ContrastInduced Nephropathy.” WVNCC had
two teams participating in the field
of 17 in the Student Bowl Competition. “The Radiators” (Tim McQuil-
Chef Chris Honored
Foundation, carries a $100 gift.
Nominees for the award are recommended by the vice president of
academic affairs at Northern and a
committee of seven faculty members chooses the winner. Criteria for
selection include teaching excellence,
assessment participation, institutional
service and community service.
Chef Chris Kefauver is congratulated by Dr.
Vicki Riley on his award.
Recipient of this year’s Danford
Faculty Award, Chef Chris Kefauver,
associate professor of culinary arts,
was honored at the College’s annual
recognition luncheon held Oct. 10.
The award, initiated by emeritus faculty member Thomas R. Danford and
administered through the WVNCC
Rachael Helms, third place winner of the
essay contest.
Friendly® provides service members
transparent data-driven ratings about
post-military education and career
opportunities.
Supporting the Troops
The Military Friendly® Schools designation is awarded to the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade
schools in the country that are doing
the most to embrace military students,
and to dedicate resources to ensure
their success in the classroom and
after graduation.
Northern has received the Military
Friendly® Schools designation by
Victory Media for the past several
years. Now in its sixth year, Military
Victory Media said methodology used
for making the Military Friendly®
Schools list has changed the student
veteran landscape to one much more
transparent, and has played a significant role during the past six years in
capturing and advancing best practices to support military students across
the country.
continued next page...
WVNCC once again has been designated a 2015 Military Friendly® School
by Victory Media, considered the
leader in successfully connecting the
military and civilian worlds.
President Olshinsky said higher education in the state of West Virginia
has been aggressively promoting its
services to military veterans for some
time now. “We believe a community
college is the perfect place for veterans
to process into higher education, and
Northern’s staff and faculty are well
suited to help them take on the challenge.”
Pressure Check
unique versatility, she added, medical
assistants are proving to be the allied
health professional of choice for this
decade and beyond. In fact, she said,
according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, medical assisting continues
to be projected as one of the fastest
growing occupations.
The AAMA is the premier organization serving the professional interests
and educational needs of medical assistants. It provides numerous services
that help medical assistants put their
careers on a successful and rewarding
track and keep them there, Watson
said.
Geri Jewell
From left, student Carol Helmick takes the
blood pressure of Natalie Staffileno while student Lauren Seckman takes her pulse. In back
is Michele Watson, director of the Medical
Assistant program.
Medical Assistants Recognition
Week was celebrated at Northern by
students taking free blood pressure
readings. The week of Oct. 20-24 was
designated by the American Association of Medical Assistants so that the
work of medical assistants throughout the country could be noted, with
Medical Assistants Recognition Day
on Oct. 22.
Michele Watson, director of the Medical Assistant program at WVNCC,
said the students helped the community by taking free blood pressure
readings. The readings were taken
Oct. 6 and Oct. 27 in the lobby of the
Wheeling campus B&O Building.
Watson explained that medical assisting is an allied health profession
whose practitioners function as
members of the health care delivery
team and perform administrative
and clinical procedures. With their
Stopping by the Community Relations office
during her tour of the campus, from left,
Kevin Serig, Geri Jewell, Bob DeFrancis and
Anna Brandi talk about the night’s planned
event.
More than a hundred persons were in
the audience when actress-comedienne Geri Jewell appeared at WVNCC
as part of the College’s commemoration of national Disabilities Awareness Month in October. The event was
held Oct. 13 in the auditorium of the
downtown Wheeling campus B&O
Building.
An award winning author, performer
and motivational speaker, Geri has received worldwide recognition for being the first person with a disability to
be cast in a prime-time series, NBC’s
“The Facts of Life.” A role model for
millions of people with disabilities
and LGBT youth, she has had many
television appearances, and earned
Emmy consideration as “Jewel” in
HBO’s “Deadwood.” Geri’s criticallyacclaimed autobiography, “I’m Walking as Straight as I Can,” ​is an honest
and bold account of her life.
Prior to her appearance, during which
she honestly spoke of her challenges
because of cerebral palsy, Geri had
lunch with more than 20 students,
faculty and staff from Northern, and
then Kevin Serig, counselor II, student disabilities, toured the Wheeling campus with her. She spoke with
students in classes as well as with
various staffers in their offices. After
her speech, Geri autographed copies
of her book for a line of customers.
Her appearance was made possible by
a Diversity for Equity grant awarded
to Northern in a competitive process
administered by the Higher Education Policy Commission and the West
Virginia Community and Technical
College System.
Northern Takes Major
WVADE Awards
At the annual statewide fall conference, Northern’s Developmental
Fast-Track program was recognized
by the West Virginia Association of
Developmental Education as the year’s
Innovative Program.
Receiving the award, from left, are Dennis
Bills, Larry DeRosa and Stephanie Smith.
WVADE also recognized Chana Baker
as the Adjunct Educator of the Year.
continued next page...
Student Activities’
Eventful October
Chana, at right, teaches ENG 097 on the
Wheeling campus, receives her award from
Dr. Martin J. Olshinsky, president of WVNCC
The Office of Student Activities has
been busy, ending September with the
start of Flag Football and a trip to the
zip line course on Sept. 26 for its first
ever adventure day at Grand Vue Park
in Marshall County. Students and staff
participated in this high flying adventure on the popular zip line course.
This marks the second consecutive
year that Northern has won these two
prestigious awards.
Also at the fall conference, WVADE
elected its slate of officers for the coming year, and beyond. Larry Tackett,
division chair for developmental education and New Martinsville campus
dean, was elected as president and
Dawn Cable, WVNCC instructor in
developmental reading and writing,
was elected as president-elect. Both
will take part in leadership training at
next year’s NADE conference (National Association of Developmental
Education). Two Northern faculty
members also serve: Mary Marlin was
reelected as vice-president for membership and Mark Goldstein currently
is the treasurer.
The conference was held earlier this
month at the Blennerhassett Hotel in
downtown Parkersburg; hosting the
conference was WVU-P.
From left, Tom Eltringham, Tyger Eltringham, Shannon Payton and Valerie Peterson,
still in their zip lining gear after completing
the course, take a moment for a photo.
Northern’s flag football team currently
plays on Sundays at the new Chambers field complex in East Wheeling.
Our team consists of 22 students from
the Weirton and Wheeling campuses.
This is a record high for student
participation in the sport. The team is
led by former student Josh Clevenger
who has coached the team for the past
three seasons. The College wishes the
team Good Luck for this season!
In October, students, faculty, staff
and their families were treated to the
movie “Maleficent” on each campus as
part of family programming. During
the film everyone was treated to free
popcorn. Watch for upcoming family movie nights during the spring
semester.
As part of our wellness programming
Yoga kicked off on Oct. 1. Instructor Lindsay Schooler uses a variety of
teaching methods to help participants
relax, including soft music and aroma
therapy. The program ended Oct. 29.
Student Activities also sponsored a
self-defense workshop on Oct. 21 with
Wheeling Police Officers John Schultz
and R.J. Faldowski presenting. The
workshop covered basic self-defense
moves to arm those in attendance
with the proper techniques to assist
them in a situation requiring escape
from an assailant. Some 20 students,
faculty and staff participated in the
event.
On Oct. 17 Northern’s tri-campus
student government members listened to a presentation by Officer
R.J. Faldowski on “A.L.I.C.E.” which
stands for Alert Lockdown Inform
Counter Evade. Students watched a
power point presentation about what
to do in an active shooter situation
as well as participated in some hands
on demonstrations. The training will
continue in November with more
hands on training during next month’s
tri-campus meeting.
Registrar Reminders
Classes will be held on Nov. 24 and 25. This is the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.
Early Registration for the Spring and Summer 2015 semesters will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Students fully admitted to the following programs begin registration for classes at 9 a.m.
Nursing, AAS • Respiratory Care, AAS • Health Information Technology, AAS
Surgical Technology, AAS • Radiography, AAS • Clinical Medical Assisting, AAS
All other students begin registration at 1 p.m.
The last day for faculty to administratively withdraw students from full-term courses is Nov. 7. This also is the
last day for students to drop a full-term course. If you have questions regarding these dates for a part of term
course, please contact Margaret DeCola at extension 8854.
The last day for students to totally withdraw from the College is Nov. 21.
New Martinsville Ca mpus
Wild West Success!
The wild west, well, the comedy version of the “wild west,” came to Wetzel County on Oct. 11. This dinnertheatre event began as an idea for the
New Martinsville Campus’ Friends of
the College to raise scholarship funds.
As the idea progressed, businesses,
groups, and agencies in the area were
eager to support the event by becoming sponsors. In all, 45 different sponsors signed on for a total of more than
Movie Night
Students, friends and family enjoy “Malificent” and popcorn.
The smell of popcorn wafting in the
hallway helped remind us all that it
was once again movie time on campus. One of the classrooms was temporarily transformed into a “movie
theater” for a couple hours earlier
this month when Student Activities
showed the Disney movie “Malifi-
$8,000 raised.
The College
even received
calls to reserve
tickets the
morning of
the event and
had several
persons who
came that
night hoping to get in…yes,
they did too! It was fortunate several
extra places were set up because there
were 114 persons in attendance.
than $9,000 will have been raised for
Several of the guests came dressed
in western attire and there was even
a “sheriff ” at one of the tables. The
performers spent some time before
the show to “round up” some extras
from the audience. Although final
totals have not been tabulated, the
College anticipates that with the
proceeds earned the night of the event
and the funds from sponsors more
The Friends and staff of the campus
want to thank everyone involved with
making this event such a huge success. Event planners took a day or two
to celebrate their success but quickly
began thinking about and planning
for next year’s event. A save-the-date
announcement will be sent soon so be
sure to mark your calendar.
cent.” Several students attended and
some even brought members of their
families. There were lots of smiling
faces as they enjoyed a break from
studying and preparing for classes and
simply spent time relaxing, watching
the movie and eating some popcorn.
and other ways they could reduce the
costs of education so they would not
need to borrow the maximum loans
while they were attending college.
Starting Fall 2014, all first-time Direct
Loan borrowers at WVNCC are
required to attend this session before
loan funds are disbursed.
scholarships for New Martinsville
campus students.
Financial Aid Loan
Entrance Counseling
Sarah Griffith, financial aid counselor,
from the financial aid office held
workshops on the campus for all loan
borrowers. These sessions have become part of the College’s plan to lower default rates and to make students
more aware of their responsibilities
as borrowers. Sarah was able to show
students various repayment options
Sarah Griffith shares her financial aid knowledge with first-time loan borrowers.
Recognition Luncheon 2014
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1. From left. Debbie Bennett, Ina Robinson, Vicki Riley,
Rana Spurlock and Stephanie Kappel enjoy the festivities.
2. Retiree Willa Knollinger is greeted by HR’s Peggy Carmichael. 3. Alvin Works is congratulated for years of service by Dr. Olshinsky. 4. Honorees from the day, seated
from left, Ina Robinson, Debbie Bennett, Alvin Works,
Chris Kefauver. Standing, from left, are Pearl Foston,
Nancy Nosko, Debbie Cresap, Linda Dudash,
Rana Spurlock, Marian Grubor, Kim Patterson,
Larry Bukosky, Sara Hupp, Hilary Curto, Jason
Woods and Dennis Roth. 5. The President’s
retired assistant, Linda Dudash, is congratulated
by Dr. Olshinsky. 6. Paul Desmond enjoys
the popcorn bar. 7. Jenna Derrico and Sarah
Griffith take advantage of the appetizers. 8.
Retired faculty member Dennis Roth is
congratulated by Dr. Olshinsky.