Thursday, May 19, 2011

Professor Profile-by Susan Moore 3-29-2011

LPN Changes Career to Professor


 by Susan Moore

Kim Korcsmaros lending a hand.
 Kim Korcsmaros (pronounced course-marROWS) is a new professor to the WVU Parkersburg campus. She is a woman who has worn many hats in her past before deciding to make the Mid-Ohio Valley her permanent home.
    Kim was not always in the teaching profession.  She received her LPN from the Raleigh County Vocational Technical    Center in Beckley,      W. Va.  She spent the next 16 years as an LPN before discovering her love of teaching.
    “I wanted to be a nurse and I loved it,” Korcsmaros said. Kim worked at WVU hospitals in Morgantown in the orthopedic surgery department. 
    It was there where she discovered that teaching was her real passion.
    “I was working with families, creating worksheets and lessons,” recalled Korcsmaros.
    Kim was at a point in her career when she was asked to make a choice, go on to get her RN and take an administrative position or take a different path. 
    Kim went on to get her Regents B.A in communication studies from Fairmont State University and later her M.A in teaching and oral communications from Marshall University. 
    Prior to coming to the college, Kim was working at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va. when one day her daughter called with a request.  She wanted to start a family with her husband and wanted Kim to move to Parkersburg so her future children would grow up knowing their grandmother. 
    It was spring break at Bridgewater when this out-of-the blue request came to her.  Kim thought long about the best choice for her. This request was given to her at a time when her contract was about to expire with the college.
    Once break was over at Bridgewater, Kim advised the dean that she was not going to renew her contract and was moving to West Virginia.  When the dean asked her if she had another job offer, Kim responded with a simple, “No, I do not.”
    She left that position at Bridgewater knowing that being in West Virginia with her family was where she needed to be.          
    As luck would have it, she was correct.  The very next day WVU Parkersburg called her requesting an interview and an offer to teach at the college.
    Outside of teaching, Kim enjoys working in her garden and harvesting everything from flowers to vegetables.  She is also very interested in woodworking and plans to reclaim her tools and get back into creating decorative items.                                             
    Kim is also a self-proclaimed HGTV addict and remodeling work on her house has become a current passion of hers.
    But none of this compares to her decision to move to be near her daughter.
  Three weeks ago, she welcomed her first grandson, Jack James, the apple of this professor's eye.
    At the end of the day, Kim makes said it is her passion to inspire her students. She wants for them to find that something to make their life meaningful.
    She strives to bring a positive and joyous outlook to all her classes.
    “It has been a pleasure to meet a new group of wonderful students,” Korcsmaros said.
     Once an old friend sent her a great quote. It became her life’s motto and she wants everyone to question what his or her passion may be:
     “Life may not be the party we wanted, but while we are here we should dance.”

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