Clay native James ‘Ryan’ Hubbard was recognized as a graduate of the Glenville State College Hidden Promise program at a ceremony held at the end of April. He was among eight others who also graduated from the program.
At the ceremony GSC President Dr. Peter Barr welcomed the students and congratulated them on their accomplishments. “These graduates represent a critical step toward fulfilled potential; they will soon hold a Glenville State College diploma. With that sign of documented perseverance, they are joining an exclusive society, and with that membership comes broad recognition of their energy, commitment, stamina, focus, and ambition. I salute them on earning this high distinction,” said Barr. Hubbard and the other students became official GSC graduates on Saturday, May 9 after GSC’s 141st Commencement Ceremony.
Following a special dinner in their honor, the students gave brief remarks recalling their times at GSC and in the Hidden Promise program.
Hubbard graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree. While at GSC he was an active member of the Army ROTC Program. After graduation he plans to enlist as active duty in the United States Army as a Chaplin.
“I express my sincere gratitude to the HPS program. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how scary going to college can be. The people at GSC do their best to ease that process,” said Hubbard.
He graduated from Clay County High School in 2011 and is the son of Johnny and Rena Hubbard.
In addition to accepting a plaque and commemorative class ring, the new graduates also inscribed the Hidden Promise Book. In signing the volume, graduates commit to ‘always accepting the obligations and the challenges of guiding the young to education, knowledge, and love of the human spirit; to demonstrate respect for all people, and cultivate the trained, yet free, minds appropriate to sustaining and advancing a democratic way of life; and to striving to become knowledgeable, ethical, caring citizens who embody the qualities that the Hidden Promise program fosters.’
The Hidden Promise Scholars program is a component of GSC’s Hidden Promise Consortium. The program is an alliance between Glenville State College and county school districts throughout West Virginia and in Ohio and Connecticut aimed at improving communication between higher education and teachers, staff, and students in grades eight through 12. Other goals include increasing the number of high school and college graduates as well as aligning the curricula of K-12 and higher education.
Students are often inducted into the program while still in high school after being chosen by their school counselors, teachers, and principals. The scholars mentor with current college students and take part in campus visits and annual summer camps. Upon high school graduation, HPS students who opt to attend GSC receive a $1,000 scholarship which is renewable annually throughout their enrollment as a full-time student.
For more information on the GSC Hidden Promise Scholars Program, contact Program Director Teresa Sterns at Teresa.Sterns@glenville.edu or (304) 462-6100.
