Michelle Wingard returned home in July, when she accepted the position of Annual Funds Officer for the Clarion University Foundation Inc.
In this position, she is in charge of the employee appeals at both Clarion and Venango campuses; runs the phone-a-thon, which raises money for scholarships by contacting alumni; and deals with scholarship issues.
"I was looking for work a little closer to home, when I saw in an advertisement in the newspaper for this position," said Wingard. "I am happy to be coming back to Clarion University."
Wingard is a 2000 Clarion University graduate with a degree in French and marketing.
"I decided to go to Clarion because it was close to home in DuBois, and my friends, who were my roommates, were enrolled," she recalled. "I started out in business management. I switched to French and because of my business credits was able to add the marketing major. I believe marketing to be the more creative aspect of business."
Following graduation she worked for a year before deciding to return to Clarion where she earned a bachelor's degree in art in 2003.
"It was a period of my life when I was seeking creativity," she said. "I had always been into crafts, so the decision fit."
She used all of her degree skills in positions at Fashion Bug and later at Wal-Mart in Titusville, where she rose to the position of assistant store manager.
During her undergraduate years at Clarion, Wingard was involved in the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and the Honorary French Club, Alpha Mu Gamma. She was a member of the VizArt Club as an art student.
In her current position, Wingard plans to give back to the University and shape current and future students' road to success.
"I would like to get the alumni more involved with the university," she said. "They were part of the college life here in Clarion and I would like to rekindle that relationship. I want to make alumni aware of what is going on at Clarion University and the progress we are making that they may have been unaware of, such as reaching an enrollment of over 7,000 and having graduate degree recipients increase 31 percent."
Wingard lives with her husband, Douglas, in Clarion. Her parents Kirby and Cathy Nupp and a sister, Cortney Williams, reside in DuBois.
Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.
