Gina Carney, Class of 2007
When Gina Carney began her college search, the “must-be” criteria included a strong academic reputation, small, and close, but not-too-close, to home.
“When I first came on campus, I knew I belonged,” she said.
Carney worked to balance her academic life with a love of sports. She has played on the women’s basketball team for four years, assisted with the lacrosse team and served as a lifeguard. She has also assisted at summer basketball camps for youth.
As a management major, Carney worked on three teams and provided leadership in the applied management program. Two of the teams assisted local entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams – one in starting a restaurant and another in producing a child-safety product. She also contributed research to the Hospital Downtown Coalition effort to keep the merged Community-Mercy hospital within the Springfield city limits.
“Professor Schindler keeps us focused,” Carney said, emphasizing the importance of learning and using time management skills.
Currently, Carney serves as a mentor to a younger student, a position that affords her an opportunity to provide peer leadership, which she hopes will help make the experience at Wittenberg as positive for someone else as it has been for her.
A spur-of-the-moment decision to accompany a mission trip to Southern Africa Kingdom of Lesotho last summer was life-changing for Carney.
“It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Carney said. She recently worked on a fundraiser for the country (Survivor-Wittenberg).
Although she has not decided what she wants to do next, she feels prepared for anything.
“Wittenberg has prepared me holistically for whatever I choose to do – all the intangibles, including personal skills, that I will take into the workplace.”