West Virginia Northern Community College will celebrate the success of its students during the 46th commencement at 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, at WesBanco Arena. Three hundred and seventy-one students are eligible to graduate and will be receiving certificates or associate degrees. Jenniffer Weber, a former WVNCC graduate, will deliver the commencement speech. Stephanie Fike is WVNCC’s 2018 Valedictorian.
In addition to speaking at commencement, Weber will be presented the Distinguished Alumni Award by WVNCC President Dr. Vicki Riley. Weber, a native of Martins Ferry, graduated from WVNCC with an associate of science degree in business administration and a certificate in Microsoft applications. Following her time at Northern, she graduated from West Liberty with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Weber then took a life-changing trip to Israel. While there, she visited many sites of significance including Yad Vashem, a Holocaust museum. This inspired Weber to become a volunteer for Classrooms Without Borders, a non-profit Holocaust educational organization in Pittsburgh. Weber has been sharing the message of the Holocaust throughout the local area and has published an inspirational photo book of Holocaust survivor Magada Herzberger’s quotes called A True Inspiration. In 2015, Weber graduated from Seton Hill University with a graduate certificate in genocide and Holocaust studies. She is pursuing a master’s degree of art in education from West Liberty University and working as a quality manager at Steele Insurance Associates.
Fike, WVNCC’s valedictorian, is a student on the Wheeling Campus and is graduating with a Board of Governors associate in applied science degree. She started at WVNCC after graduating from Wheeling Central Catholic High School in 2016. In high school, she was in the top 10 of her graduating class and graduated with distinguished honors. She was a West Virginia Promise scholar and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and was named to Who’s Who and the WVNCC President’s List last year. This year, she received a Wheeling Campus Leadership Award. She transferred from West Virginia Northern to Ohio University Eastern where she is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. At Ohio University, she is a member of two honor societies: the National Society of Leadership and Success and the Society for Collegiate Leadership and Achievement. She was named to the dean’s list at Ohio University, and she was invited to become a member of the Ohio University Mortar Board which represents the top five percent of all students at Ohio University including the branch campuses.
During the ceremony, Riley will welcome the graduating class, and then WVNCC’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jill Loveless will serve as the mistress of ceremonies. WVNCC’s Division Chair for Business and Public Services David Stoffel will deliver the invocation and introduce the valedictorian. Jeremy Doolin, a faculty member at WVNCC, will perform the music during the ceremony.
West Virginia Northern Community College is a two-year comprehensive community college offering transfer degrees and programs in the liberal arts, career-technical, and community and continuing education on three campuses in the northern panhandle.