Southern Appalachian Region Students Visit A.P. White Campus

Students and their family members from Lindsey Wilson College's Southern Appalachian Region community campuses are joined by LWC faculty and staff Saturday morning in front of the John B. Begley Chapel.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- A total of 55 students from Lindsey Wilson College's Southern Appalachian Region community campuses visited the A.P. White Campus on Saturday. The students, many of whom were accompanied by family members and friends, met with faculty and administrators from the School of Professional Counseling, visited with LWC President William T. Luckey Jr. during lunch, and toured the John B. Begley Chapel.

LWC's Southern Appalachian Region includes the college's community campuses in Big Stone Gap, Va., Cumberland, Ky., Hazard, Ky., and Richlands, Va. Students at those community campuses can earn a bachelor's degree in human services and counseling or a master's degree in counseling and human development, thanks to an innovative partnership with Hazard Community and Technical College, Mountain Empire Community College, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, and Southwest Community College.

"The students and their families were truly overwhelmed with excitement and appreciation," said Tommie Ann Saragas, Southern Appalachian Region regional enrollment director. "For many of them, the day solidified the importance of the journey they chose to embark upon with LWC -- toward becoming their best selves. ... The opportunity to grow and provide an example to future generations, the realization that they are agents of change in their respective communities, and the honest appreciation for the quality education they are receiving was evident on their faces and through the words they shared throughout the day.

"Lindsey Wilson's buildings are beautiful, and they provided the backdrop for hundreds of photos. But the Lindsey Wilson College I am so proud of is a compilation of the people inside the brick and mortar."

The students also raised money for the Mary Kloth Memorial Scholarship, a special scholarship named in memory of the late Mary A. Kloth, a counseling professor who served in the college's Southern Appalachian Region until her death in early 2008. Through sales of a commemorative t-shirt, the students raised more than $300 that will be added to the scholarship's endowment. LWC's Mary A. Kloth Center for Professional Counseling Services in Hazard is also named in her memory.

The students who made the visit to the A.P. White Campus were: