FSU Honors Program students stuck in London set to return home this week
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Students with Fairmont State University's (FSU) Honors Program who took a trip to London over spring break are still there following the electrical fire that caused a shutdown of Heathrow Airport last week. However, the group remains in good spirits and is set to return home this week.
Classes officially resumed at FSU on Monday, despite the fact that this group of students is still out of the country. When the group first found out about the disruption at Heathrow, Program Director Robin Payne said that their initial response was to reach out to university administration so that all professors on campus could be notified of the situation.
'Across the board, we've received so much support. Many, many emails and texts and phone calls from faculty members telling students don't worry about due dates,' said Payne. 'They're there to help make sure everyone's caught up as soon as we're home.'
Payne told 12 News she received official confirmation Monday that 13 members of the group will return home on Wednesday, with the remainder coming back to the Mountain State on Friday.
Payne added that FSU President Mike Davis, among other administrators, has been providing support throughout this situation, which has especially been a help since students are currently missing classes. She first learned the news in the early morning hours on the day they were supposed to leave from Sophomore Student Jayden Sharps.
'To be perfectly honest when I got that call from Jayden in the middle of the night, this was the last thing that I thought was going to be the situation,' said Payne. 'Ultimately, I was just really relieved when I found out all of the students were safe.'
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Sharps told 12 News that he learned of the situation when he was sitting with the group at around 3-3:30 a.m. and received a notification on his phone about the situation from the New York Times.
'I couldn't believe it,' said Sharps. 'I didn't think that it would ever amount to the situation we're in now, but once I learned of the complexities regarding the situation, I had a feeling it was not gonna be good.'
Sharps was initially nervous about calling Payne to break the news, but he feels that it's been handled well. He added that he's glad he let her know of the situation when he did because it could've been more difficult to navigate when they woke up in the morning.
'I've had no concerns at all,' Sharps told 12 News, regarding the delayed departure from London. 'I knew from the beginning we have a great group of faculty: at the honors level, at the university, at the top of the university level. […] I've seen them navigate some very complex situations before and I knew this wouldn't be any different.'
Sharps traveled with the Honors Program to Berlin, Germany last year and he said he joined the Honors Program because he felt it was a good opportunity to add enrichment to his education and meet like-minded individuals. He is a triple major at FSU, studying national security intelligence, history, and political science.
Since being in London, Sharps said that the university's administration has been very generous and giving regarding almost anything they've asked for. 'From my perspective, it's been amazing,' he added. 'I enjoyed the first week and the second week has been just as great as well. They've taken a lot of the stress off our shoulders, especially for me […], we really appreciate it.'
Payne told 12 News that one of the great things that the group has discovered about London during the extended trip is that there are plenty of museums and attractions that have free admission. 'So we've really been taking advantage of that,' she stated. 'It's given us the opportunity to tour some of the things that we didn't get to tour during our originally planned week but because of the support we've received from the university administration, we've also been able to go on a couple of extra tours.'
Payne said that the main goal for the time being is to focus on educational opportunities and activities that'll help keep people's spirits up as they wait to go back home.
On Monday afternoon, the FSU group got to tour with a local guide who they met last week during a Jack the Ripper tour. Payne said that the tour from Monday was about two hours long, and it was focused on the medieval streets of London.
Monday also marked Sharps' 20th birthday, which he got to celebrate in London with his peers. Payne told 12 News that the group threw a birthday dinner for Sharps with cheesecake, his favorite dessert.
'Of course this is a disruption none of us had anticipated and there's certainly things about it that have been very stressful,' said Payne. 'But one of the things that we've all really been focusing on is what a wonderful group of students we have on board for this trip and it's just been really heartwarming to see the ways that they've supported each other, the ways that they've just kind of rallied and continued to soldier on–even with some of the uncertainty.'
Sharps stated that he and his peers have been trying to use this unexpected event as an opportunity to reflect on the things that they're grateful for. 'There's a lot of people who are facing a lot worse situations,' he told 12 News. 'So I think when you think about it from that perspective and consider the things that you do have in life, it becomes a lot better when you think about it like that.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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