Christina (Tina) DeWitt, has recently begun her first year as an instructor of finance and general business at West Liberty University. She is a graduate of West Liberty herself.
DeWitt has had the unique ability to experience West Liberty from two perspectives: the student and the instructor. She started her academic career for the first time in the 90s, and then returned to the hilltop to graduate alongside her daughter in 2017. She took a job as an adjunct professor in the West Liberty University Gary E. West College of Business, and then transitioned to a full-time position this fall semester.
West Liberty has always been special for DeWitt. “For being a smaller college, you have a lot of diversity here.” When she returned to complete her degree, she was a non-traditional student, meaning she did not fit the standard 20-something, fresh-out-of-high-school image that many people associate with a college student. Despite this, she never felt unwelcome on campus.
“The students I had in my classes accepted me. I wasn’t an outsider.” During her time as a student, DeWitt tutored and helped her classmates with the more difficult course material. Hayden Blazer, one of her classmates, stated that Tina was “willing to help with anything no matter what.” Another classmate, Brandon Galici, echoed this sentiment, saying that “she was also the study guide and notes’ queen.”
DeWitt decided to return to West Liberty University after graduation because she missed the atmosphere created in her study sessions. “I missed the classroom, believe it or not.”
To her, the students are a crucial part of the West Liberty experience, specifically being able to watch them learn something new. “Seeing them connect the dots as the course progresses… shows that you’re making that impact.” Despite the challenges that this semester has brought along, DeWitt has been making the best of a difficult situation and is happy to be back on the hilltop.