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Alumni Diary
Entrepreneurs in Education and Human Services
Working in the education and human service fields is often a selfless act. It takes passion, hard work and an exceptional amount of patience. These careers are highly personally rewarding, though they don't always offer the same financial rewards as other occupations. But what if they could?
Take a look at five CEHS alumni who took their work in education and human services to the next level by becoming entrepreneurs, while continuing to stay focused on their passion for people.
Joanie Davis
Dr. Joanie Davis is an audiologist with a passion for making a difference. After graduating with her doctorate in audiology from CEHS, Davis moved to Florida to complete her residency with Dan Gardner, M.S. Just five years later, she decided she wanted to open her own practice. In 2013, Davis purchased two of Gardner’s offices in Brooksville, Fla. and New Port Richey, Fla.
Today, Davis owns three audiology practices, known collectively as Davis Family Hearing, and has found a balance between business and giving back. According to Davis, her success has been a direct result of her time at WVU and the life skills she was taught by her professors.
“I’ve learned that if you set out to help people, everything else falls into place. If you’re not passionate about what you do, you will not be nearly as successful.”
Bobbi McClelland
Bobbi McClelland is a two-time graduate and current doctoral student at CEHS. After completing her master’s program in 2013, she knew she wanted to be a director at a daycare center. Her challenge, though, was her lack of experience. With support from her professors at WVU, McClelland decided to open her own center.
In 2014, Storybook Daycare opened in Star City, W.Va. Today, the center is licensed to provide care for children from six weeks to 12 years of age, and is focused on creating an environment that encourages learning and creativity for infants to school-aged children.
“It is surreal most days because I never expected to be owning my own business at 25. There are a lot of challenges, but I absolutely love coming here every day. Though I am still figuring out what it is like to be a business owner, I really love working with kids and am glad I took the leap.”
Mary Lou McCullough
Mary Lou McCullough obtained her teaching degree in secondary education from CEHS before pursuing a master’s in counseling. After graduating, McCullough started on a path of helping others at a time of transition. With diverse career experience in higher education, military and school settings, McCullough eventually began helping others who were transitioning between jobs. Her work led her into business ownership, and she opened Career Dimensions in 1989.
Today, Career Dimensions provides outplacement, relocation and career counseling services to businesses in Corning and Elmira, N.Y., and surrounding areas.
“My background in counseling has been extremely valuable to my business. Clients who have lost their jobs often feel they have lost a large part of their existence and have self-esteem issues. I have to be able to get to the heart and soul of where they are in order to help them move forward.”
Caroline Musselwhite
Dr. Caroline Musselwhite started tutoring kids with disabilities in high school. Though she grew up with a father who was blinded during World War II, Musselwhite didn’t develop a true understanding and appreciation for individuals with multiple disabilities until college.
Early in her career, Musselwhite co-authored a 30-page paper on communication for people who do not speak. This drew so much attention that she began publishing additional works to provide resources to individuals with significant disabilities and for those working with these individuals.
Today, Musselwhite owns AAC Intervention, serving as an assistive technology specialist for children and adolescents with severe disabilities.
“At only 19, I was working with a student who had severe disabilities, and it was as if she were trapped in her body. This experience really got me thinking differently about disabilities and what resources were available for those individuals and the people surrounding them.”
Lydotta Taylor
Dr. Lydotta Taylor is a three-time graduate of CEHS. Taylor began her career as a classroom mathematics teacher at Morgantown High School. Three years into teaching, new opportunities allowed Taylor to transition into computer science and technology roles. These opportunities led her to work for IBM as an educational instructional specialist and then for the High-Tech Consortium in Morgantown, where her work focused on K-12 education initiatives.
In 2001, Taylor found herself in a position to do more to impact education and started The EdVenture Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to driving innovation in education. Since its founding 16 years ago, the group has impacted over 20,000 students and implemented more than 5,000 workshops for students, teachers and the community.
“I loved being a teacher and I enjoyed making a difference in my classroom day to day. But I thought — if you have the opportunity to make the impact on your classroom even bigger, you should do it.”