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Julio Nakasato, Lima, Peru, was overseeing sports marketing for Adidas Peru. After four and a half years, he knew he wanted to do more with his career. That is when he enrolled in the WVU master’s degree program in sports management.

“I found a new place to call my second home, discovered a passion in the NFL and fantasy football and met amazing forever friends. I learned from the best and found out that the Mountaineer Nation is a family,” Nakasato said.

Kristoph Cain, Physical Education Teacher Education junior, grew up in Berlin, Germany. Family ties to Morgantown and a passion for teaching and sports inspired Cain to return to West Virginia and pursue a degree at WVU.   

Cain was born in Morgantown in 1995; however, he grew up in Berlin. He made the decision to return to Morgantown for his college career following a year off to work and decide on a field of study.

West Virginia University Coaches Club will hold the first Backyard Olympics on April 23, 2017 from 1-4 p.m. in the upper courts of the Student Rec Center.

Teams of two will play several sports-based activities and earn points based on participation, single wins and series wins. Games will include volleyball, tug of war, human bowling, cornhole, hacky sack, washers and more.

Steven Ware, 28-year-old physical education teacher education student, won the 132 lb. division at the Midwestern Regionals for the National Collegiate Boxing Association in March. He has participated in several state and national tournaments, giving him the chance to challenge himself against fighters from across the United States.

During the championship, Ware fought against a skilled opponent from the US Naval Academy. “It was a great opportunity to test myself against someone of his caliber and I am very happy that I was able to successfully represent WVU Boxing,” he said.

WVU sport and exercise psychology students embarked on an international adventure during their spring break. The bi-annual spring break study abroad trip to Halmstad and Halmstad University in Sweden offered 11 sport and exercise psychology students the opportunity to attend academic sessions and interact with Swedish students studying the same subject.

However, it was the exposure to a new culture and traditions that really stuck with each student.

Zenzi Huysmans, sport and exercise psychology doctoral student, has received the American Psychological Association Division 47 Thesis award for her thesis titled ‘A preliminary exploration of the application of self-compassion within the context of sports injury.’

Huysmans is a third-year international student from Swaziland, a small country in Southern Africa.  She received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and completed her masters in SEP at WVU in May 2016.

West Virginia University is hosting a National Eating Disorder Awareness walk for the first time in the state of West Virginia. The NEDA walk, which will help raise funds and awareness for individuals struggling with eating disorders, will kick off national eating disorder awareness week on Sunday, February 26 at the Student Recreation Center. Check in time is at 11 a.m.; the event is free and open to the public.

Audrey Gunther, walk coordinator, works with the student organization WVU Project Heal to focus on fighting the stigma on eating disorders across campus and the state of West Virginia. “Project Heal is an international non-profit organization that has similar goals with NEDA. Like NEDA, Project Heal works to destigmatize eating disorders, raise awareness and fundraise for treatment,” Gunther said.

The College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences Dean’s Student Advisory Board has recently recognized Nick Davidson, sport management graduate student, as the most valuable board member for the month of January. Davidson currently serves as the programming chair for the board.

The programming committee seeks to increase cross-disciplinary communications and events within the college. As head of this committee, Davidson’s current focus is finding ways to get CPASS students involved with the college beyond the classroom.

Sport and Exercise Psychology students have chalked up an impressive set of accomplishments during the past six months. Students have submitted, and some successfully published, manuscripts, chapters and articles in a variety of publications, including the Oxford University Press, Routledge/Psychology Press,  Kinesiology Review and The Sport Psychologist.  

Featured SEP grad students include:  RobertHilliard,  Tammy Sheehy,  Leigh Bryant Skvarla,  Megan Byrd,  Stefanee Van Horn,  Erika Van Dyke,  Zenzi Huysmans,  Jonathan Stewart and  William Way.

Matt Strober, physical education and teacher education major, is serving as the captain of WVU’s D3 Ice Hockey Team for the 2016-2017 season.

Strober, who has been captain twice before, is eager to once again take the helm. He is in the midst of his senior season with WVU Ice Hockey.