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Wendy Holmes In May, Virginia Western announced its 2021 special awards for faculty and staff. Perhaps you noticed Wendy Holmes, a Financial Aid and Records Specialist, won two awards: (1) Classified Outstanding Achievement Award and (2) the STAR Award (Service, Teamwork, Achievement, and Results). This seemed like a huge accomplishment — and I was struck by the comments that accompanied her awards in the weekly Bulletin: “Wendy’s performance at Western has always been record-breaking in terms of the volume of positive interactions she has had with current and prospective students, parents, faculty, staff, and the general public. … She goes beyond the call of duty in ensuring that whether it is an individual’s first or last encounter with Virginia Western, when they come to Chapman Hall or utilize the 24/7 Student Support Center, that the support services provided will be of the highest quality. Their response will be accurate, equitably, timely and conveyed in a way that is easily understood.” I didn’t know Wendy, who has worked at Virginia Western for almost nine years. But I could tell from these comments that she is cultivating a culture of care through all of her positive interactions. I wanted to know more… Continue Reading Q&A with Wendy Holmes, award-winning financial aid specialist who ‘always greets everyone with a smile and a heart to serve’Read More
I’ve long joked that we could connect current, past, and prospective students through bowling nights organized by college focus area. The idea was sparked as I was analogizing Guided Pathways with bumper bowling, which blocks the gutters and provides an almost effortless path to higher scores. I was reminded of my bowling night idea as I was reading a June 2021 report from the Community College Research Center (CCRC), entitled, “How Ohio Community Colleges Are Using Guided Pathways to Personalize Student Support.” In the realm of academic reports, this one is pretty short — only 20 pages total — so I encourage you to read the whole thing. Image from West Chester University’s Career Development Center For me, the top takeaway was the concept of creating “career communities.” This is the term Washington State Community College uses instead of “meta-majors.” Virginia Western calls them “focus areas.” What I love about this wording is that I can see relationship-driven support for students at almost every stage: From middle schoolers attending camps themed by “career community,” to my wacky bowling nights designed to connect alumni, employers, and prospective students. The report focuses on how these Ohio community colleges organize their orientations, onboarding,… Continue Reading Would cultivating ‘career communities’ change how we see ourselves?Read More
We’re approaching July 1, that time of year when our Finance office is humming and new VCCS initiatives officially begin, such as the G3 program and the Opportunity 2027 Strategic Plan. Virginia Western is working hard to finish our own strategic “bridge” plan, aligning our energy and assorted initiatives like Indiana Jones: This is also the time of year when many grant projects are just beginning or ending. Unfortunately, the New Fiscal Year does NOT involve a giant ball drop … and in fact, any talk of ball-dropping would make the fiscally focused among us very nervous. At least there are some fireworks popping around town? I will celebrate this underappreciated milestone with some overdue thank-yous. First, a huge thank-you to the entire Financial and Administrative Services team at Virginia Western, led by Lisa Ridpath. They have some pretty tedious work in the best of times, but they have really gone into overdrive with the millions of dollars in federal HEERF funds awarded to the college during the COVID pandemic. You’ve heard all of the acronyms: CARES … CRRSAA … ARP. Our Finance office — in collaboration with Financial Aid — is managing them all. This process is unprecedented and… Continue Reading Happy New Fiscal Year! And thanks to these grant championsRead More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023