WVWC service scholars invest nearly 10,000 hours into community in 2023-2024 academic year

News Release
July 26, 2024

BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – The Center for Community Engagement & Leadership Development (CCE) students invested 9,760 service hours in the Upshur County and surrounding community last academic year and look to continue supporting that effort in the fall.

The CCE seeks to support West Virginia Wesleyan College’s (WVWC) mission by providing opportunities for transformative learning and community engagement to promote positive social change. Staff members and students constantly communicate with their 37 community partners throughout Buckhannon to ensure a transformative and meaningful experience for everyone involved.

The main goal of the center is to support the needs of the community partners and the clients they serve. Community partners play a large role in a student’s development by providing experiences that further develop their life and professional skills. Each student and partner receives a personalized experience that aligns with their past experiences and future endeavors.

Students spend 4-6 hours a week (75 hours a semester) at their community partner site and, in turn, will be given a $3,000 ($1,500 per semester; $12,000 over four years) scholarship to the College called the Wesleyan Service Scholars (WSS). Based on the hours completed by students and the current WV minimum wage rate of $8.75, the volunteer hours added $85,400 of value back into the community during the 2023-2024 academic year.

“Reflecting on this past year, I think about how we’ve challenged students to dig deeper and find unique ways to measure their impact,” Jessica Vincent ‘12, Director of Community Engagement at WVWC, said. “Of course, we have tremendous support for our events, but we’re pressing forward to make true change through meaningful experiences.” Vincent shares that this requires time, collaboration, and a willingness to go into the trenches alongside their community partners and the people they serve.

The CCE department also advises a peer council on campus. This group of students applies leadership skills gained through the program to organize service events around campus and raise awareness of local, national, and international societal issues. Wesleyan Engaging Leaders through Education Awareness & Development (WE LEAD) comprises six groups: Animal Welfare, High Tunnel, Human Rights, Youth Security, Invisible Illness, and Poverty Reduction. These groups are responsible for hosting events or attending conferences that discuss their topics and the challenges within these social issue teams.

“The most encouraging part of my role in the CCE is seeing students share their passions with others while actively putting them in uncomfortable situations to expand their knowledge and skills,” Vincent said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an event like Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods that has been around for years or a new idea scribbled on a napkin; our students are creative about how they serve our community’s needs.”

Each team directly works with a community partner to support and raise awareness for their needs. The Poverty Reduction team directly works with the Upshur Parish House to supply and make a community dinner every semester. Last year, the Youth Security team put on a School Supply Drive for the Upshur County Board of Education.

The CCE looks forward to the upcoming fall semester as it welcomes 24 new first-year students into its program. The program teaches Kouzes and Posner’s leadership theory, emphasizing that “leadership is everyone’s business. It knows no ethnic or cultural borders, no racial or religious backgrounds, no differences between young and old.”

The incoming group of students highlighted below spans from just down the street to across the world in Ghana. Some have achieved their Eagle Scout status or served in the Army Junior Reserves. Cohort members have dedicated their time to service through the National Honors Society, the Red Cross, and Young Life. One student has served the state as the WV Student Council President and a member of the WV Prevention Research Center’s Youth Advisory Board. Two students have been a central voice of spirit as mascots in their school.