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It's hard to travel through downtown Wheeling without marveling at the beauty of West Virginia Northern Community College's downtown campus -- the sunlight reflecting off Northern's roof remains one of our most treasured sights on a nice spring day.
West Virginia Northern is now in its 50th year of existence. Since its founding on May 9, 1972, the college has helped educate countless students -- both traditional and non-traditional -- for jobs in the private and public sector.
The college has done an admirable job in fulfilling one of its primary missions -- creating programs to serve the business community's needs. From starting a program to teach students how to be a table gambling dealer, to teaching young men and women how to weld for pipeline jobs and also teaching others to become roustabouts on drilling rigs, Northern has worked to fill that need when it's arisen.
As part of the half-century celebration, Northern has created a history room to mark its time in existence. The room showcases photos, accounts from this newspaper and memorabilia relating to the school, ranging from sports jerseys to mascot heads.
"Northern has a rich and proud history of touching many lives in the Upper Ohio Valley between our three campuses," Northern President Daniel Mosser said of locations in Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville. "During our 50th anniversary celebration, we wanted a place where alumni, employees and community members could come and relive memories of their days at the college."
There's more planned in the coming weeks leading up to the actual founding date. One thing's for certain: West Virginia Northern has had a positive impact on our community since its founding.