West Virginia University at Parkersburg AlumniSuccessful Alumnus Shows Promise as Entrepreneur

Brienne Roush - Alumnus, Mother, Entrepreneur

The smell of baked goods greets cus-tomers as they take in the pink walls and ze-bra-striped curtains of the Tasty Cupcakery in Ripley, W.Va. Owner Brienne Roush, 25, of Evans, opened the business Sept. 10 and is happy with her success so far. An alumnus of West Virginia Univer-sity at Parkersburg, Brienne never saw her-self owning her own business. Opening a restaurant was something that she had al-ways talked about doing but never really thought that it would become reality. Brienne first began selling her cup-cakes at the farmer’s market outside of Tractor Supply in Ripley. With big tupper-ware containers of baked goods, she would generally sell out by noon. The opportunity arose for her to open a business location debt-free, and she took it. Brienne never thought she would be so successful. “It’s gone way better than I thought. I tried to get a three-month lease because I thought that we would not be here at the end of three months, and now we are looking for a bigger place.” A full-time mother of two, wife, stu-dent and business owner, Brienne is busy, but she gets to go to work every day doing something she loves. “I have grown up in the kitchen. My mom is a fantastic cook. My grandma is a great cook. I love it!” Brienne is working towards a business

degree at WVU Parkersburg and hopes to minor in journalism. She has experience in graphic design and really enjoys it. She even created her own logo. She also enjoys the writing side of jour-nalism. Finding time to read can often be difficult, but Brienne finds the time everyday. She writes a book review blog called “The Book Brieview” that rates books on writing style, characters and storyline. At The Tasty Cupcakery, cupcakes are not the only item on the menu. They also offer daily specials as well as other baked goods and catering. Brienne’s favorite cup-cake is the cookies and cream cupcake, and her favorite special is Friday’s homemade chicken and noodles. The recipe was her grandmother’s, and Brienne remembers her making them as a child. Brienne does not work at the business herself most days. Her mom is there daily, and her brother helps when he can. “I pretty much had everyone in my family get a food handler’s card so I could have some free help.” From family help to family recipes, The Tasty Cupcakery has a homey feel, but it is far from old-fashioned. Brienne embraces technology and uses it in all aspects of her business. She has all of her recipes on her Kindle and she takes orders on a tablet. A successful alumnus of WVU Park-

ersburg and a new member of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, Brienne Roush sets a great example for young entre-preneurs in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

October 24 marks this year’s fall ca-reer fair at West Virginia University Park-ersburg. Each year the college holds two career fairs on campus in the multi-purpose room, one in the fall and one in the spring. These allow employers to reach out to the students and alumni of the college that may fittheirneedsaspotentialemployees. Many employers from different fieldswill be present. While they may not all be hiring at this time, they will have informa-tion about what positions they normally to fillandwhattheircompaniescanofferem-ployees. Employers from industries such as banking,finance,lawenforcementandthe

military will be in attendance. Also agen-cies such as Mancan and Manpower will be present. Many see these agencies as only fillingtemporarypositions,andwhiletheydo that, they also fill full-time positionswith many of the larger companies in the area. Enterprise Rent-a-Car and Jackson Hewitt are two companies that will attend the career fair. Both of these companies offer internships to students and Jackson Hewitt is looking for interns during tax sea-son. Director of Career and Cooperative Education Services Sandy Swisher is excit-ed about the skills that students could gain

from such an opportunity. “That would be awonderfulexperienceforfinanceandes-pecially accounting majors.” For those looking for a job in the health carefield,besuretostopbytheMulti-Pur-pose Room on October 26. From 10 a.m. until noon. WVU Parkersburg will host a health expo including a blood mobile, health related vendors and local health care employers. The next career fair is tentatively set for March 2012, but in the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on the career services web-site at www.wvup.edu/student_services/ca-reer_services.shtml for current job listings and career fairs in this area and others.

Career Fair offers opportunities to Students and Alumni

Michele Coleman, a 2005 graduate from West Virginia University at Parkers-burg, took a photography class at the col-lege and fell in love with the art. She now

Journalism Graduate Captures a Love of Photographyowns her own studio in downtown Parkers-burg and is hoping to expand soon. Michele received her A.A.S. in journal-ism,aswellasanundergraduatecertificatein graphic design while attending WVU Parkersburg. Originally from Fayetteville, W. Va., Michele initially wanted to work in televi-sion. She went on to work in other aspects ofthejournalismfield,includingapositionin Charleston as creative director for an at-torney related magazine. While working there she saved enough money to open her firststudioataRavenswoodlocation. In 2009, Michele moved her studio to a Vienna location before moving to her current space last August. Her new stu-dio offers a central location in downtown Parkersburg on Market Street. It boasts exposed brickwalls and hardwood floors,and Michele enjoys being a part of that area. “I’m really happy about the studio and I re-ally like being a part of the rejuvenation of downtown Parkersburg.” Michele specializes in photograph-ing people and most of her work consists of weddings, high school seniors and chil-dren. “I love to capture the personality of people.” She has done work for many magazines

including IN Wheeling, WV Living, WV Weddings, and Ohio Magazine. Michele is also a member of several photography orga-nizations, including Senior Photographers International, Professional Photographers of America, and Professional Photographers of West Virginia. In 2010, Michele won the James H. Hall Award from the Professional Photographers of West Virginia. In 2011, Michele placed firstintheUniversityofKentucky’sRe-Im-aging Appalachia Photo Contest. Her win-ning photo was of Marietta Senior Valerie George holding her cello on a West Virginia hillside near Parkersburg. The contest was created to shine a different light on Appa-lachia and get away from the stereotypical images associated with the area. Michele enjoyed the opportunity and was excited to be a part of it. “I really en-joyed the experience and to have the oppor-tunity to portray West Virginia in a different light was really cool.” Michele has come a long way from her Cannon AE1 that she purchased from eBay for photography class, but it did inspire her. She now owns a successful business where she loves what she is doing every day. Mi-chele sets a great example for all WVU Parkersburg students and alumni.

Michele Coleman - A WVU Parkersburg Grad and owner of Michele Coleman Photography.

Business Major Utilizes Skills For Her Own Business Sheri Bond is a graduate of Everest Institute. Originally from Parkersburg, She moved to the Charleston area to at-tend the institute and received her degree in massage therapy before returning to the Parkersburg area. Sheri never thought of owning her own business. She rented space at salons whenshefirststartedout,butin2009shecame upon the opportunity to open her ownsalon.Shefirstopenedinthespacebelow Island View Tanning. Sheri set up shop and Euphoria Salon was created. During this same time, Sheri had just started taking classes at West Virginia University Parkersburg. She was taking business courses to gain skills. Before long, she was applying much of what she was learning to making her business more successful. In 2010, Sheri moved the salon to its current location on Market Street in downtown Parkersburg. The salon offers massage therapy, hair services, waxing, facials and pedicures. When Sheri was considering names

for the salon many things came to her, but the thought of euphoria kept coming back.“Ithoughtaboutthedefinition,tobe in a euphoric state. That is how you are supposed to feel when you leave a sa-lon.” Sheri is a mother of one son, as well as a Thirty One senior consultant. She started with the company last October and will soon be a director. She enjoys working for the company and the oppor-tunities it gives her. “With Thirty One, I was able to pay off debt, go to Disney, get free products, and meet so many wonder-ful people, both within the company and with clients. It is as important to me as the salon.” Sheri applies the skills that she learns at WVU Parkersburg and her business continue to grow. With both of her busi-nesses, she gets to do what she enjoys, be her own boss and supply quality services to her clients. “I like to be my own boss. I like to be able to set my own hours and I like what I do. I love my job, I love who I work with, and I love my clients.”

Sheri Bond - Euphoria Salon owner and Thirty One consultant, Sheri loves what she does everyday.