The Life of "Wild and Wonderful" Brittany
It’s not often you hear of young people or families moving to West Virginia to start a career. According to the Census Bureau, the state experiences a net outflow of migrants totaling nearly 4,600 residents. Economic and Development director, Jim Spencer, often says that “our number one export has not been coal, gas or timber…It’s been children. And we’ve educated our children and sent them off.” Brittany Blankenship spent the majority of her childhood in Rocky Gap, VA as the oldest out of five siblings. Halfway through Brittany’s senior year at Rocky Gap High she made a pivotal move to stay with her grandparents, due to familial issues. For Brittany, the hardest part of this transition was not being able to play basketball and cheer her senior year with her peers.
Perhaps the silver lining for Brittany was being closer to the Lambert family; her best friend’s household provided the strong support system she never received in a traditional home. In hindsight, all those days in Bluewell seeing her grandmother work tirelessly as a LPN for Bluefield Regional Hospital was a blessing in disguise. “My grandparents were the inspiration for earning my bachelors in Health Service Management,” says Brittany. She is now a clinic office coordinator for Bluefield Regional Hospital in West Virginia.
Brittany has transcended her environment by becoming the first person out of her mom and dad’s side to graduate from college. The US Dept. of Education refers to these unique students as “1st generation”, which makes her story even more compelling. Especially for young girls in West Virginia who imagine they can go beyond the limitations of their environment but need a little inspiration. Not only that, she was the first dedicated female to be a part of our brand and its vision of showing the best of West Virginia in a fashionable way –from modeling numerous times, to traveling to the capitol to be in our promotional 3 Up 2 Up video showcasing the essence of our brand.
Aside from being a 3 Up 2 Up ambassador, Brittany is infatuated with everything gold and blue. You may catch her tailgating at WVU football games with college friends, hiking trails throughout our beautiful “Mountain State” or even hopping rocks at Pinnacle State Park to reach what they call the devil's seat (see photo above!). Brittany loves a state where the license plate tells tales of being “Wild” and “Wonderful,” the same traits she embodies.