Carissa Massey has proven that someone can become successful in spite of difficult circumstances.
Massey, a 1996 graduate of Parkersburg South High School, received a doctorate in philosophy from Ohio University on June 12. She studied art history and aesthetics and earned a certificate of women's studies.
Massey has been teaching art history full time at Adrian College in Michigan since 2007. She also is director of women's studies at Adrian, a private liberal arts college with 1,300 students.
Massey has overcome obstacles to reach her goals.
She came from an abusive background. Massey said she was a ward of the state of West Virginia from the time she was 10 years old until she turned 21. She spent two years in the foster care system.
Massey credits Parkersburg attorneys Walt Auvil and Michele Rusen, who were her foster parents for two years, with providing the support and safe environment she needed. "I think 'normal' families don't understand or underestimate the importance of a safe environment for children. Without a place to feel safe, without the stalwart examples that Walt and Shelly presented as parents and professionals, my academic efforts these past years may not have been possible," Massey wrote me in an e-mail.
At Parkersburg South, Massey participated in Wood Whispers and Air Force Junior ROTC and was on the crew team. She graduated with a 3.89 grade point average and attended Bethany College, where she received academic scholarships.
After graduating from Bethany in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in visual art, she earned a master's in art history from Marshall University in 2003. From there, she studied at Ohio University in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts.
Massey obtained her first full-time position as a college professor at Ohio University in 2005, where she taught art history. In 2006, she worked in a one-year position at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where she taught art history and aesthetics and became the director of women's studies.
Auvil said he was proud of Massey's accomplishments, which he attributed to her internal drive and motivation. "She was fiercely determined to reach a goal and nothing was going to stop her," he said.
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This month has been a marrying time for the Sandy family. Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy wed Renee Sellers, formerly of Akron, July 4 at Parkersburg Country Club. Sandy's campaign manager Dale Lowther and Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks served as ring bearers. About 37 people from both families, including the sheriff's mother, Nina Sandy of Vienna, attended the "simple, nice" wedding, Jeff said. The reception moved outside where the country club was celebrating the Fourth with a picnic for members. Jeff and Renee took their children, Matt and Brittany, respectively, on a golf outing to Myrtle Beach after the wedding. Renee retired July 1 after spending 25 years at FirstMerit Bank in Akron and took a job Monday with United Bank in Parkersburg as a risk specialist. On July 11, Sandy's son, Ben, married Jessica Preece of Kenova in an outdoor ceremony at Parkersburg Country Club. Ben Sandy is a 2003 graduate of Wirt County High School, a 2007 graduate of Marshall University and is working on his master's degree in business administration at Marshall while employed at Fyffe Jones Group, CPAs, in Huntington. His mother is Brenda Hargett of Davisville. Jessica, a graduate of Marshall, is a first-grade teacher.
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After Donna Wayne of Vienna died of lung cancer in February, her family decided to honor her memory by helping others. Wayne's daughters, Sally Wright and Stacia Alqabandi, came up with the idea of having a garage sale with the proceeds going to the American Lung Association. The sale last Thursday and Friday at the Wayne home on 20th Street raised $550 and left Donna's husband, Clay, very appreciative. "The people of this area are super friendly," Clay said. "With the economy, we didn't expect people to donate as much money as they did." Items leftover from the garage sale were given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church's New Start thrift store in Vienna. Clay said he was glad to share Donna's medical records with a cancer specialist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., who asked for them, to help Georgetown treat other cancer patients.
Contact Paul LaPann at plapann@newsandsentinel.com
