be First

The West Virginia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America honored Fairmont State University with three awards at its 2012 Crystal Awards Gala, which acknowledges the best work of 2011.

Disappointment sometimes leads to a new way to win. From age 12 in Lordstown, Ohio, Meagan Gibson knew she wanted to play college volleyball. Practicing, playing and suffering through injuries paid off through a scholarship from Fairmont State University—but it came with a price.

He might have desk space in the Education Building, but his true office can be found at the peak of Cooper’s Rock, the trails of the Appalachian Mountains and the depths of the Grand Canyon. For Education faculty member and Fairmont native Matt Schmuck, his passion for outdoor adventure has become his career – and students are reaping the benefits.

As the sound of airplane engines roar in the background, Mark Heefner steps out of a single engine plane, fresh from a trip to see his girlfriend, Mariah Roth’11, in Charlotte, N.C. The 2011 Fairmont State University graduate and pilot returns the plane and heads to his desk a hundred yards away at the North Central West Virginia Airport in Bridgeport. This wasn’t Heefner’s first solo trip, but he has experienced many firsts at the airport and is anxious to create more.

Starting her own business was not Lyla Grandstaff’s first leap of faith.

A native of Rivesville, Lyla attended Fairmont State in the fall of 1980. “I wasn’t sure of a major and was working part-time. I was offered a full-time position and quit school,” she says.

Even though she was working, she says she wasn’t able to advance because she didn’t have a college degree.

From his first semester, Jaron Hollida knew the key to his success would be getting involved on campus.

Chelse Hensley isn’t afraid to go after her dream. Self-confidence and ambition are already paying off for the 20-year-old Political Science major, who had the opportunity to live and work in New York City for the first time in the fall of 2011.

As you crest the top step in the Falcon Center and look into the third floor Dining Hall, the first person you are likely to see is 24-year Dining Services veteran Carolyn Straight. With her blond hair and bright smile, she serves students during breakfast, lunch, and dinner and knows most everyone by name.