For Immediate Release: January 29, 2008
Contact: Annette Barnette
Public Relations & Marketing Director
Glenville State College
Glenville, West Virginia
(304) 462-4115
Glenville, WV – Two Clay County residents are making the dream of studying Land Surveying at Glenville State College a reality for area students. Marshall and DeVona Robinson of Widen have announced the formation of a new scholarship program. The money will assist in the education of young men and women from Braxton, Clay, Nicholas, and Webster Counties in the Land Surveying Program at Glenville State College. The scholarship will provide complete tuition and fees assistance to the recipients throughout their education at GSC.
The Robinsons are owners and officers of Allegheny Surveys, Inc. in Birch River. Mr. Robinson attended Glenville State College in the early 1980s graduating with an Associate of Science Degree in Land Surveying and a Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree. He then started his own business in Nicholas County. Allegheny Surveys has become the largest surveying company in West Virginia serving the boundary needs of the public as well as the timber, coal, construction, development, and oil and gas industries. Allegheny Surveys employs more than a dozen Glenville State College graduates representing over a third of its work force. Robinson said, “The respect for the knowledge and work ethic shown by these GSC graduates has reinforced my desire to give more students the opportunity to gain the degree that will help assure them of a successful career.”
Dennis Pounds, Vice President for College Advancement at Glenville State College, notes a trend is developing where more and more GSC graduates who have become successful in their careers are giving back to the institution. “So many of our graduates came from similar economic and social backgrounds as those facing graduating high school students in central West Virginia today. These alumni have strong connections to the hopes and dreams of these young men and women, and they are showing their support through scholarship programs such as this exemplary program that Marshall and DeVona have initiated.”
Mr. Robinson is a strong believer in the quality of the Glenville State College Land Resources Department. He praises Department Chair Rick Sypolt’s efforts and dedication as being instrumental in motivating not only himself but hundreds of others throughout the years and continuing a stream of highly qualified Land Resources graduates for the industries in the state.
“Rick Sypolt and the Land Resources Department have provided me and my employees with an opportunity to practice and prosper in our chosen profession, and, in doing so, to help this great state to achieve its potential and retain its young people. The Land Resources Division is remarkable and unique, and I know of none like it in this part of our nation. This scholarship is a means of expressing my gratitude to Rick and the division for all they have contributed to my life, my family, my employees, and my profession, and to allow the program to do for many others what it has done for me,” said Robinson.
Any interested high school students from Braxton, Clay, Nicholas, and Webster Counties should note on the application for enrollment to Glenville State College that they are interested in being considered for the Samuel Elliot Robinson Scholarship Fund. Applications may be obtained from the high schools’ guidance counselors or online at www.glenville.edu. For more information, call the Glenville State College Admissions Department at 800-924-2010 or the GSC Foundation at 304-462-4125.
