be First

This fall, Fairmont State University students had an opportunity to be the first student in recent history to have their artwork featured on the University president’s holiday card. Students were asked to submit a drawing, photograph or digital image that they created to appear on the card. 

Tucked away in Colebank Hall, a Fairmont State employee writes programs and maintains applications critical to the operation of the University. The position in the Information Technology Department is the first full-time professional experience for Clarence B. Pearson, III.  And, the 2010 FSU graduate is determined to contribute and succeed from his small corner office.   

Scott Ullom says it was the “be First” attitude that attracted him to Fairmont State University.

The first time Ullom visited Fairmont State’s campus he was attending a workshop as a student representative for another college. As a deaf student, he immediately found the FSU community welcoming and supportive.

When it was time for the first home FSU football game, Black Student Union members wanted to be the first make their mark for the Community Engagement Initiative. In fact, “Make Your Mark” is the theme this year for the student organization.

In today’s wired world fully equipped with high-tech criminals knowing the news first can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Fortunately, the security world has also changed, and the people behind the computers may surprise you.

Deciding to participate in Fairmont State University's Italian Exchange Program (UNICAL) was far easier than actually making the first-time trip 5,000 miles from home in Marion County, WV.  Lindsay Menas, an English major, will spend one year studying at the University of Calabria-Consenza. Through e-mails, blogs and Skype communication, she describes many of her opportunities as first-time-in-her-life experiences.

Cinda Ewing, Payroll Manager for Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College, was awarded the prestigious Ken Fuhrman Memorial EPICS award at the annual West Virginia State Auditor’s Office conference, held at Snowshoe Resort from September 20-23, 2011.  Ewing is the first FSU employee to receive the award.

Fairmont State University senior Alicia Nieman received a $2,500 study abroad scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Nieman is the first Fairmont State University student in recent history to receive the scholarship and spent five weeks this summer in South Africa.

A few years ago, Anup Poudel could not have imagined his higher education journey from Nepal to the United States. Born in Kathmandu, a city of nearly a million people, his familiar surroundings included structures obstructing the views and streets filled with cars. The rolling hills and winding roads of West Virginia were very unfamiliar on his drive from a local airport to his future home, the Fairmont State University campus.

A professor walks by a bench on the main Fairmont State University campus where Jamie Colanero is taking a rare time-out. She says, “This place looks like an estate!” Colanero says that compliments like that keep him and his crew in the Physical Plant and Road and Grounds Department motivated. “We want our visitors’ first impression to be ‘Wow, this is nice,’ ” he says.