Longest serving staff member honored by dental school alumni association
Karen Soccorsi has worked in oral surgery since 1972
It’s with great pride and pleasure that Alumni Assocation president Dr. Kerri Simpson introduced Mrs. Karen Soccorsi as the recipient of the 2023 WVU School of Dentistry Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award. This is the highest award that can be presented to a staff member at the WVU School of Dentistry.
Karen was born at St. Vincent Pallotta’s Hospital in Morgantown, WV, graduated from Valley High School in 1969, and from West Virginia Junior College in 1970.
Karen began working in the dental school in December of 1970 in the Physicians Fee Office, and in 1971 she transferred to the Department of Radiology. In 1972 Karen began working in the Department of Oral Surgery where she continues to work today as the longest serving staff member in the history of the WVU School of Dentistry. Karen over her illustrious career has worked for all the Chairs of Oral Surgery including Dr. Scotty Campbell, Dr. John Welch, Dr. Bob Graves, and for the last 15 years, Dr. Bryan Weaver.
It would be nearly impossible to mention all the assignments that she has done over those 53 years, but she has coordinated CPR, ACLS, and PALS activities. She has been involved in scheduling trauma patients, coordinated activities in the OR and has been involved in making sure all pre- authorization has been completed with hospital patients. If a patient needed a CE scan or MRI, Karen was the individual that made all those arrangements.
Karen has also been extremely involved in her church where she has served on the church council, been a lector and a Eucharistic Minister. Karen has even attended meetings in place of the Priest at her church when he had been unable to attend.
Among the awards that Karen has received over the years has been the staff employee of the year in 2009 also named the Mike Billie Award.
Karen has been married to her husband Rich for over 50 years and they have a daughter Julie.
It is for these reasons and many others that Karen Soccorsi is so deserving of the WVU SOD Alumni Achievement Award.