WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Feb. 1, 2019 — Political Science major Heather McIntyre enjoyed the chance to visit the state capitol this past Monday as part of West Liberty University’s contingent attending Higher Education Day at the West Virginia Legislature.
Though the weather was cold and the drive from Wheeling to Charleston long, the ambitious senior described the Jan. 28 experience as “awesome.”
“I loved it. I’ve always been interested in the legislative process so it seemed like a great opportunity for me. I am grateful that I was asked to attend,” she said.
Others attending included President Stephen Greiner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Jason Koegler, Executive Director of Alumni and Community Engagement Ron Witt and Executive Director of WLU Foundation Angela Zambito Hill.
A commuter student, McIntyre resides in Moundsville and is the daughter of Seth and Michele McIntyre.
Since she plans on becoming a lawyer, seeing the legislative process in action offered a hands-on educational experience.
“I decided I wanted to be a lawyer in high school, at John Marshall and I just took the LSAT last weekend in Morgantown. This was a perfect educational experience for me,” she added.
Her next career step will be to apply to law schools.
While at the state capitol, McIntyre and WLU officials attended a welcoming ceremony in the chambers and met with Northern Panhandle legislators, including Sen. Ryan Weld, Del. Phillip W. Diserio, Sen. William Ihlenfeld and Del. Randy Swartzmiller.
“It was interesting to see the offices and capitol. One thing that stood out to me was the way our president, Dr. Greiner is good friends with them and several asked President Greiner for his thoughts on bills,” she said.
This was McIntyre’s second time at capitol since she toured it before with her high school class.
McIntyre is a busy student and works at the a local department store in her spare time. She looks forward to commencement this spring and to her future.
“I’m having a great year and I really like this program. What I like most about Political Science at WLU is it includes activities like this visit to the legislature,” she said. “And in the spring we’re going to North Carolina to model the United Nations.”
For more information, please visit the College of Liberal Arts or call Brian Fitzpatrick, PhD, Instructor of Political Science at 304-336-8353.