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College-bound senior gets surprise visit from West Virginia University president

By Douglass Huxley 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- West Virginia University President Michael Benson made a stop in Parkersburg Monday with a small group from the university to surprise Parkersburg High School senior Jay Bowling with his acceptance letter.

"This is great. I didn't expect this many guests," Bowling said.

Bowling was accepted into the John Chambers College of Business and Economics and said he has plans to pursue a double major in business and English, then enter law school.

"I love reading, I love writing, and both of those will help me get to law school after my undergrad," he said. "If that's not what I end up wanting to do, I still have two degrees to do whatever I want. So I'm going to see where it goes."

Bowling said the first thing he's going to do when he arrives in Morgantown is get his dorm room ready for the year.

"My roommate is letting me decorate so I'm just trying to start off strong," he said.

When asked by Benson how his senior year is going, Bowling said while some classmates opted for an easier final year, he leaned heavily into his academic studies.

"I took some pretty hard classes this year compared to some of my other classmates taking a more chilled senior year. But I think it'll help me next year,"

Benson praised Bowling for his choice to stay strong academically.

Bowling will follow his parents, Jason and Michelle Bowling, who are both dentists and WVU dental school alumni.

"I graduated '05 and she graduated a year later," Jason Bowling said. "We met in dental school ... they started a program that year where the sophomore students were placed with one of the incoming freshmen ... and we just kind of randomly got connected that way."

Michelle Bowling also talked about their upcoming 20-year alumni reunion and plans to return to campus.

"This year is my big 20-year alumni reunion," Michelle Bowling said. "I think next month they're having some (continuing education) courses at the Health Science Center. So if the schedule allows, we'll probably come down in a few weeks and see the campus."

Benson is in the middle of his Welcome Home Tour. He said the tour was launched in August with an ambitious goal of visiting all 55 counties by the end of May, and is nearing its final stretch after logging more than 4,000 miles on the road. He said today's tour began early in Doddridge County before heading to Ritchie County and then crossing over to Wood County to meet with Bowling.

"It's been absolutely lovely," Benson said about the tour. "I've been in higher ed for 30 years, and never have I enjoyed an activity more than getting out and seeing the state, and meeting people."

At each stop, he said his team listens to local residents about how they connect with the university -- whether through traditional enrollment, extension programs, or 4-H and online offerings -- and learns how the university can do better.

He said one of the most memorable parts of the tour has been its surprise visits to students who have been admitted but may not yet have received their acceptance letters.

"We do this every once in a while where we find admitted students that maybe have not made an official commitment, so we surprise them with the visit," Benson said. "And we have obviously told mom and dad, so they're more prepared. But it's always fun to see the reaction of the students when they open the door."

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com.

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