2009 WVU grad finalist in Glamour Magazine award

A West Virginia University graduate is a finalist for Glamour Magazine's, "Women of the Year: Reader's Choice Award 2010."

Kyria Henry, a 2009 multidisciplinary studies graduate, was nominated for the nonprofit dog training program she founded.

Although voting ended last Tuesday, Glamour has not announced the winner at press time. Henry is among four nominees that were featured within the magazine.

"As a nonprofit I apply for so many grants. I didn't think I would ever hear back," Henry said. "Then they called me."

Henry's longtime friend, Katelyn Casten, who also graduated with a multidisciplinary studies degree in 2009, wrote an essay to Glamour Magazine nominating Henry.

Her program, Paws4people, lets female prison inmates train dogs to become service workers.

The dogs provide living assistance for those who require special needs, such as the elderly or the handicap.

The program serves as rehabilitation work for the inmates. It also helps the work of animal rescuers because some of the dogs are from shelters.

"I'm very excited for her, and I'm very proud of what she's doing," said Jane Donovan, a religious studies professor who taught Henry at WVU. "She's helping to change the lives of the inmates who receive the dogs."

Henry started the program with her father when she was 12 by bringing dogs to local nursing homes and special-needs classes.

When she came to WVU in 2005, she put the program on hiatus until she thought of a new direction for the service.

Henry asked the Hazleton Penitentiary, a women's federal prison in Bruceton Mills, W.Va., if she could partner Paws4people with its inmate rehabilitation program.

Paws4people now operates in nine states, according to Henry's Glamour Magazine profile. Five more federal inmate prisons are on a waiting list for the program, Henry said.

Henry has also branched out the rehabilitation service for veterans. Paws4vets offers veterans the opportunity to train dogs as well.

Throughout Henry's time at WVU, she had a different college experience than most students with pets.

"I had special permission with my apartment to keep my dog with me," Henry said. "At any given time I had four dogs or puppies I was training."