About WVLC
West Virginia Leadership Corps
West Virginia Leadership Corps is a nonpartisan civic leadership initiative preparing high school students for informed citizenship, responsible leadership, and serious public problem-solving.
WVLC begins with a simple conviction: leadership should be prepared before it is required.
01
Who We Are
WVLC is a nonpartisan, educational civic leadership initiative for young West Virginians.
It is designed to give students years — rather than moments — to develop the knowledge, judgment, communication, character, and civic responsibility serious public leadership requires.
Students are not taught what political conclusions to reach. They are taught how to investigate problems, understand constitutional and governmental authority, evaluate evidence, develop responsible solutions, withstand scrutiny, communicate clearly, and serve their communities.
Nonpartisan by Design
WVLC does not endorse political parties, candidates, platforms, or required policy conclusions.
02
What We Are Building
WVLC is building a long-term civic leadership development system in which students have repeated opportunities to learn, practice, apply, and demonstrate serious public leadership.
The Four Parts of WVLC
01The Journey
The four-year student progression from Foundation to Candidate Ready.
Explore The Journey02The Model
The disciplined process students use to move from a real community problem toward a serious County Legislative Proposal.
Explore The Model03The Leadership Academy
The practice environment where students repeatedly develop VOICE, STUDY, and SERVICE.
Explore The Leadership Academy04Candidate Ready
The culminating educational standard earned through demonstrated preparation — not simply by reaching the end of the program.
Understand Candidate Ready03
What We Believe
Leadership should be prepared before it is required.
Citizenship comes before partisanship.
Evidence should come before conclusions.
Constitutional authority matters.
Public problems deserve serious study.
Service should come before status.
Students should learn to defend their reasoning under scrutiny.
Technology, including artificial intelligence, should assist human judgment — never replace responsibility for it.
Public leadership requires knowledge, character, judgment, and service.
Knowledge. Character. Service.
04
Where It Began
West Virginia
Our institutional home.
The Eastern Panhandle
Where the founding effort begins.
Founding Counties
Berkeley · Jefferson · Morgan
Statewide Vision
55 Counties.
55 Problems.
Limitless Solutions.
The Eastern Panhandle is where the founding effort begins. All 55 counties represent the statewide vision.
05
The Founder
WVLC was founded by Michael W. May from the conviction that a society that deliberately develops excellence in athletics, academics, the arts, and professional disciplines can also deliberately prepare young people for the responsibilities of citizenship and public leadership.
The goal is not to manufacture politicians. It is to give young people the preparation, discipline, and opportunity to become capable citizens and responsible leaders before the stakes are real.
Michael W. May
Founder · West Virginia Leadership Corps
06 · The Founding Charter
The principles on which WVLC stands.
The Founding Charter records the principles on which WVLC was established — its mission, educational philosophy, nonpartisan identity, institutional commitments, expectations of leadership, responsible use of technology, and responsibility to future generations.
Read The Founding CharterContinue