“I left Germany and came to West Virginia with big plans and dreams in December 2023. I never had the opportunity growing up to attend high school, and being a young mother, I never had the chance to go to college. No matter how old I got and how much my life evolved, I never stopped wondering about what it would have been like if I had gone to college. So, one day I decided to stop wondering about it and to finally do what I had always wanted to do.  

Upon arriving to West Virginia, I began looking for a place I could attend college. I knew a four-year college would be out of the question. I needed a way to not only be able to afford to pursue my dreams, but to allow me to be a single, full-time mom as well. I came across Pierpont while searching online, and after I went on a tour with Nancy Parks [Interim Associate Vice President of Student Services], I was excited about the possibilities I could already feel just walking up and down the hallways.

I went home and did more research and set my mind to it and started taking the steps to apply for grants and classes. Through this experience I was introduced to the WV WORKS Program and Jama Marshall Roy [DHHR Student Services Coordinator] who has also been a key person, wonderful help, and sincere support, not only before the process, but even now as a student.

Once I decided I would commit and start the process to attend Pierpont, I received support and help in every aspect. Any questions I had, no matter how big or small, were all taken seriously with patient explanations on the details and steps that were more difficult. No matter what problem arose, even the ones where it seemed as though we had hit a dead end, no one gave up on helping. Every possibility was thought out and every action taken until it finally got resolved and I was able to fulfill my dream of going to college!

At Pierpont, it feels like everyone is involved when it comes to getting you on the right track. You have the feeling that you are not just one in the hundreds of students that are also applying. You are an individual, and the team at Pierpont is there to get you enrolled and make sure you are taken care of and supported.

I am very excited about the upcoming year! The instructors, both online and in person, have been very caring and wonderful as well. Every one of them truly advocates for each individual student to get the most out of their experience while attending Pierpont.  I feel very privileged to be a part of something as special as this.”

WV WORKS is West Virginia’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. This is a federally funded program through the Department of Human Services (DoHS, formerly known as DHHR) that allows qualifying families to receive funding, benefits, and other support to go through job training. For more information, click here.