WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Dec. 17, 2014 — West Liberty University signed an agreement with Belmont College today to offer internships to students enrolled in the Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) technology program at Belmont College.
“This is a great example of Higher Education working together to assist the Wheeling community in retraining its workforce,” said WLU President Robin C. Capehart. “We are pleased to welcome these interns to the Hilltop and are happy to offer them experience that will help them build their future.”
Dirk DeCoy, director of industrial trades and contract training at Belmont College partnered with WLU’s Keith Kaczor, who has worked in maintenance at WLU for 30 years, to work out the details of the internship and set up the agreement between the two schools.
Belmont College President, Dr. Paul Gasparro, stated that he feels very positive about the agreement with WLU.
“This agreement with West Liberty University feels like a very natural fit,” he said. “These internships will give our students the opportunity to acquire real life experience and firsthand knowledge of HVAC, as well as a better understanding of the issues they may potentially face in the workforce.”
The student interns are Ted Babcock, Woodsfield, Ohio and Brad Fisher, Jerusalem, Ohio.
“Both Ted and Brad are non-traditional students and are displaced workers from Ormet, so landing an internship with WLU is a great start to a new career for them,” said DeCoy.
The unpaid internships consist of 160 hours of work, per intern, and offer a chance to use skills that they studied at Belmont College. Students will earn two college credit hours for their efforts.
“We’re happy to have the extra manpower and the interns are getting hands-on experience in what they are learning in the classroom,” Kaczor said.
“Their number one duty will be in assisting WLU with its maintenance and repair of equipment. They also will assist us in gathering data from the equipment as we work on our utility usage plan and predictive analysis to improve reliability and create better use of facilities,” he added.
West Liberty University is a forward-looking, four-year public university steeped in a rich heritage as West Virginia’s oldest institution of higher education. Five colleges and a School of Professional Studies offer more than 60 majors and 30 programs that are nationally recognized or accredited. Graduate programs include the Master of Arts in Education, the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies and the new Master of Professional Studies degrees.
For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB.