BUCKHANNON — Kayla Hinkley Wright ’16 will receive the West Virginia Wesleyan Young Alumni Achievement Award on Friday, Oct. 5 during the college’s annual Founders Day Convocation.
Wright is the director at Try This West Virginia, Building Blocks for Healthy Communities. She has served in this role since July and held the title of Deputy Director from March 2017-June 2018. Under Wright’s leadership, Try This West Virginia has built a network comprised of local leaders from schools, churches, and a wide number of organizations. She has a passion for the Try This mission of “Knocking West Virginia off the top of the worst health lists” through their motto, “It’s up to us.”
Wright was an outstanding student at Wesleyan, where she served as a resident assistant, English as a second language tutor, and senior class president. She co-chaired the tobacco-free initiative on Wesleyan’s campus that went into effect in May 2016. Wright was also an active volunteer at the Upshur County Convention and Business Bureau.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in international business and a master’s degree in business administration with a nonprofit management concentration from Wesleyan in four years. Wright was the first family member to graduate from both high school and college.
After graduating from Wesleyan, Wright worked as a sales floor Executive Team Leader at Target where she managed 35 direct reports and 119 store employees when acting as Leader on Duty.
Alumni Achievement Awards are selected each year by the College’s Alumni Council, which reviews nominations from Wesleyan alumni and friends.