Winter Commencement Set for Dec. 15

About 200 students will participate in the Winter Commencement for Fairmont State University, including Pierpont Community & Technical College, which begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Feaster Center. A reception in the Falcon Center will immediately follow the ceremony.

Charlotte A. Meade, a retired educator and active member of the Fairmont community, will be the speaker. Adam Jefferson, a graduate of Musselman High School, will be the student speaker representing the graduating class. He will be graduating with Bachelor of Art degrees in Political Science and Intelligence, Research and Analysis with a minor in Criminal Justice.

"When looking for a Commencement speaker, we try to select someone who understands the value of lifelong learning and community service. Charlotte Meade is such a person. We are honored that she has accepted our invitation to speak," said FSU President Dan Bradley.

Charlotte Meade was born in Fairmont and is a graduate of Dunbar High School, West Virginia State College (now University) and the University of Toledo. She has done post-graduate work at West Virginia University.

Before retiring in 2003, she taught reading/language arts at Robinson Junior High School in Toledo, Ohio, and at Monongah Middle School in Marion County. She also taught at the former Fairmont Business College. Her teaching career spanned a period of 45 years.

She is an "aunt" to many. She is active in the United Methodist Church and is pianist-choir director at Trinity UMC. She is a member of the Fairmont Arts & Humanities Commission, of the WVSU Alumni Club, of the WVARSE, of the NAACP, of NBMCR, of Church Women United and of FSU's Hunt/Arnold Scholarship Committee. She is a board member of OIC.

Awards she has received include the Distinguished Citizen of Fairmont, Marion County Teacher of the Year, Mountain State Bar Association Citizenship Award, The Soroptomist Woman of Distinction Award, Fairmont Arts & Humanities Teacher Award, The Milken Foundation's Educator's Award and the FSU Women of Color Service and Achievement Award.

Since her retirement, Meade has self-published a collection of her poetry and other written expressions in a book titled "In My Time." Her writings have also been featured in "Traditions," a journal published by FSU's Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center. She is also a Citizen Columnist for "Good Morning" in the Times West Virginian. Other activities that capture her interest include crafts, music, writing, reading, listening to good discussions, nurturing, motivating and spending time with family and friends.

Adam Jefferson hopes to pursue a career in law enforcement upon graduation. At FSU, he has served as a Freshman Orientation Counselor for four consecutive years. He has also been active outside the campus. During the summer of 2005, Jefferson studied abroad in China at the Southwest Normal School. In the summer of 2006, he participated in internships at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and served as an intern in the Office of Operations and Coordination at the Department of Homeland Security in 2007. He graduated from Musselman High School, which is located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. However, he originally hails from Mansfield, Ohio, where he was born and spent his early years.