BSC News Bits, Bytes, and Teasers–November 2019: A summary of news, achievements, and developments at Bluefield State College

BSC News Bits, Bytes, and Teasers November 2019

11/1       Bluefield State College second year Associate Degree Nursing students from both the Bluefield and Beckley campuses, accompanied by BSC Nursing faculty, attended a daylong Pediatric Symposium sponsored by the Charleston Area Medical Center.  CAMC provided the educational component and the lunch for BSC’s students.

11/4       Sandra Wynn, Director of the Associate Degree Nursing program at Bluefield State College, was a featured speaker at the recent 27th Annual West Virginia Rural Health Association (WVRHA) Conference in Huntington. The theme of the conference was “Country Roads: Moving WV Rural Health Forward.” Professor Wynn’s session was entitled “Decreasing the Nursing Shortage with a Junior Nurse Academy.”

11/5       Bluefield State College Radiologic Technology faculty attended the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology’s (JRCERT) 50th anniversary education conference in Chicago.  JRCERT is the accreditor for the BSC Radiologic Technology Program.

11/6       Dr. Guy Sims, Bluefield State College Dean of Students, was a guest speaker during the Mercer County Schools’ Dictionary Project at Sun Valley Elementary School.   Through the Dictionary Project, every third grade student in Mercer County received a dictionary, compliments of the collaborative efforts of Bluefield State College, Concord University, and the Bluefield and Princeton Rotary Clubs.

11/6       Retired US Army SSgt. And Licensed Practical Nurse William Thompson spoke to Bluefield State College Nursing students in the NURS230L (Patient Centered Care Two) course. Thompson, a former student in the nursing program, was unable to complete his education because he was deployed to the Middle East when he suffered lung damage that resulted in two complete lung transplants.

11/12    Bluefield State College will be the new home of the Community Christmas Tree Party.  For more than a century, the event, sponsored and coordinated by the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, has helped children in need to have a Merry Christmas.  This year, the party needed a new venue.  BSC volunteered to host the event, working closely with the Daily Telegraph and community volunteers to coordinate preparations for the December 19 party at the Harris-Jefferson Student Center.

11/13    A very meaningful Veterans Day Recognition Program at Bluefield State College featured US Air Force Major General Roosevelt Allen, Jr. (Ret.). Several other speakers, presenters–including the American Legion Riley Vest post #9, and musical selections highlighted the event. It attracted an audience of military veterans, community residents and leaders, BSC students and employees, and regional media.

11/15    Bluefield State College President Robin Capehart and BSC Board of Governors chairman Garry Moore delivered a “Message to Campus” on November 15. Approximately 100 BSC employees, students, alumni, and community members attended the program in person or via a YouTube broadcast.

11/15    Bluefield State College student Jeannie Dalton has been awarded a Judith A. Herndon Fellowship with the West Virginia Legislature for the 2020 session. Each year, only 10 students from West Virginia institutions of higher education receive the fellowships that offer the chance to work with elected officials during the upcoming legislative session.

11/19    The Bluefield State College Radiologic Technology program hosted its annual Modality Day for BSC and Southwest Virginia Community College RadTech students on BSC’s campus.  Fifty-six students joined faculty from both programs at the event.

11/20    During a presentation at BSC, Fulbright Visiting Lecturer Dr. Jackob Nimrod Keynan discussed “The effect of stress on the brain and brain-computer interfaces for treatment of stress-related psychopathology.”

11/21    Jason McCown, Director of Human Resources at Warrior Met Coal Company, discussed Warrior Met’s summer internship and career opportunities with students from Bluefield State College’s engineering technology programs.  Bluefield State College engineering technology alumnus Jack Richardson is the Chief Operating Officer at Alabama-based Warrior Met.

11/22    Members of the Bluefield State College baseball and softball teams assisted the Bluefield Union Mission in distributing food to military veterans.

11/22    Students from each of Mercer County’s high schools explored academic and career opportunities during the annual “Career & College Readiness Fair” at the Mercer County Technical Education Center (MCTEC). Bluefield State College and MCTEC have partnered to create eight articulation agreements, whereby qualifying MCTEC students in selected programs of study can earn up to 12 hours of college credit toward specific degrees at BSC.  Representatives from each of the five academic Schools at BSC participated in the event.

11/25    The annual Mercer County Schools’ “Reading Bee” academic competition was held in the Basic Science Auditorium.  Seventy students from 14 Mercer County elementary schools took part in the event.  Athens School won the 2019 Reading Bee, with Mercer School as the first runner-up.