In August of 2002, 183 West Virginia PROMISE Scholars enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College in the inaugural year of the program.  Sunday, April 31, 2006, 117 scholarship recipients received their diplomas at commencement exercises at the College. Wesleyan’s group was the first group of PROMISE Scholars to graduate this spring. Thirteen additional scholarship recipients will complete their studies at Wesleyan in December.  The graduation rate of the initial group was 71 percent, 15 percent higher than the college average, which is among the best in the state.

“Obviously we are extremely pleased with the success of our PROMISE scholars,” says William R. Haden, president of Wesleyan and a member of the PROMISE Board of Control.  “They have made significant contributions to our campus community and many will graduate with honors.  From our perspective, this program has been a resounding success.”

Wesleyan students cite a sharp decrease in loan debt after graduation as one of the major benefits of the scholarship program.  “One of my major goals was to graduate from college without any debt,” says Josh Thompson of New Haven.  “The PROMISE helped make that goal a reality.”  Thompson, who earned both a bachelor of science degree in management and a master of business administration degree in four years, will begin working as a pharmaceutical sales person for Eli Lilly and Company in Parkersburg this summer. “The PROMISE also helped significantly lower my loan debt,” notes mathematics major Jessica Riffle of Weston. Riffle plans to enter the work force after graduation.

Other Wesleyan students believe the 3.0 grade point average renewal requirement served as a great motivator to stay on track for graduation. “The GPA requirement was an absolute motivator for me because if I did not meet the standard, I knew I would lose the scholarship,” says Brenton Stone of Buckhannon.  “I am really grateful to this program because it allowed me to attend a well-rounded liberal arts college. I received a great education in my major field of study and I also learned about global and domestic cultures.”  Stone will pursue a civil engineering graduate degree at the University of Virginia.

Cowen native Cary Leslie also believes the 3.0 requirement is a great motivator for PROMISE recipients.  “I would have attained a high GPA anyway, but I know it kept many of my classmates on track.”  Leslie, who majored in business administration and English, will attend law school at West Virginia University.

Steven Holdsworth from Morgantown, a management major and computer science minor, will pursue graduate studies in industrial relations at WVU next fall.  “The PROMISE scholarship lessened the financial burden for my family and it served as a tool to guide and prompted me to work hard in the classroom.”

Wesleyan PROMISE graduates will also attend medical school at WVU, pursue graduate and professional degrees at both Marshall and WVU, attend such graduate schools as Vanderbilt University and James Madison University, and seek employment in both West Virginia and surrounding states.

Wesleyan annually enrolls more PROMISE scholars than any other private college and many of the public colleges in the state.  Students who attend Wesleyan next year will receive $3,758 through the scholarship program.