WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN THE PATRON OF EDUCATION BONDY SHAY GIBSON, CHARLES TOWN Superintendent of Jefferson County Schools who made the news with her letter to students about the importance of enjoying their snow day during the pandemic A TRUE PASSION “School was a place that made me successful, where I felt accomplished, and it was also a way out of poverty. At the end of the day, education was a way for me to turn around and give a hand up to other kids who were in similar situations. I ended up in a place where being a school teacher was really the best way for me to help people and support them while they figured out who they were and what they wanted to do with their lives—because that’s the big question we all have. It got a lot more real when I had my own son. Everything is going to fall onto this whole next generation, and they’re going to take care of this world.” SWITCHING THINGS UP “People tend to ask kids, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and that’s not the right question—it’s, ‘Who do you want to be when you grow up?’ Your job doesn’t define you, and I think we’re probably getting better at it; we spend more time on who somebody wants to be and not just what they want to be.” STAYING THE COURSE “I love being a superintendent. But if I saw myself ever doing anything else, I would be teaching teachers, because you’re always a teacher first and foremost, even when you become an administrator.”MM THE HEALER OF THE HILLS DR. JENNIFER KNIGHT DAVIS, MORGANTOWN Associate professor in the WVU Department of Surgery and director of the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center BIG DREAM, BIG DEDICATION “As a small kid, I always said that I wanted to be a doctor. I remember my grandmother said to her primary care doctor that she had a granddaughter who wanted to be a doctor,
and his response was, ‘Yeah, yeah. Every- body says that, but nobody finishes.’ So when I graduated from medical school, my grandmother was like, ‘Nyah, nyah, nyah. Told you so!’” HEALING LEADERSHIP “My work really on a day-to-day basis is not only as an individual providing care, but overseeing the care of all injured patients who come to WVU, to make sure that we have systems in place and providers in place. I’m also a member of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and specifically, I’m on a rural trauma committee.This committee is trying to provide a toolkit for easy access to research that pertains to the patients that they’re taking care of.” COMMUNITY COMMITMENT “I specifically, and very intentionally, do what I do here in West Virginia. I grew up here. Really, my mission in life is to take care of the people of West Virginia.There’s nowhere else I want to be.”MY THE COMMUNITY CAREGIVER DR. HANNAH HAZARD-JENKINS, MORGANTOWN Director of the WVU Cancer Institute, associate professor in the WVU Department of Surgery, and chief of staff at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital CLOSE TO HOME “What inspires me, in a global sense, is the state of West Virginia and being part of its growth. We have developed a network of Cancer Institute regional sites across the state with the intent of providing cancer care closer to home. We know that the best support systems for most people are those that are around them. In this model, we are taking care to the patient rather than having them come to us.” CARE PACKAGE “It’s interesting: Everybody focuses on the patient, but it’s also about those who are wrapped around them. A diagnosis of cancer is emotional and physically and financially challenging. For example, most people can’t drive themselves to chemotherapy and there are lost wages for the patient and those accompanying them. You have to not only support the patient—which is very
important, don’t get me wrong—but you have to almost care for the family and the community from which the person comes. Because that’s what makes it sustainable.” INSPIRATION “I am inspired by, and honored to be part of, care for women across the state who are facing a substantial challenge with a diagnosis of breast cancer. I am perpetually humbled by their strength, their fortitude, their resilience, and their kindness.”MY THE BUSINESS BUILDER JINA BELCHER, BECKLEY Executive director of business development at the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority who is instrumental in changes to the region after the new national park designation MAKING BUSINESS “I grew up in Welch and was the first in my family to graduate from college. Part of that was thanks to an entrepreneur scholarship from a business I started at sixteen.Then, in order to get a car, we had to help support the down payment, but there weren’t a lot of job opportunities for young females near us at the time. So, I started a sewing business. I made purses, sewed embroidery, and completed alterations.” COMMUNITY RESILIENCE “Being from southern West Virginia poses so many challenges compared to the rest of the state.The level of resilience that comes from community members helps me look at issues in a solutions way as opposed to a complaint way.They help me to see things in a whole new perspective.There is just so much strength in our communities when it comes to facing challenges, and connecting with that helps me move our work forward.” WORKING TOGETHER “I’ve been so fortunate in my short time as director. I’ve been surrounded by creative, supportive individuals—such as the staff, board of directors, and people from previous roles— and I rely on those individuals to help me get to where I’m going. I don’t work alone.”DL
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