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As part of West Virginia University’s May 2026 Commencement celebration, Rachel Rapose, an elementary education major from the College of Applied Human Sciences, shares a personal letter to her high school self—reflecting on the growth, challenges, and moments that shaped her WVU experience.

Madison Zink was a Navy veteran before she was a Mountaineer. After her service, she took stock of what she wanted to do next and landed on elementary education, drawn to WVU in part by her sister's experience there. The program delivered what she was looking for: real time in classrooms, practical preparation, and professors who stayed engaged. Off campus, Zink found her footing through the WVU Veterans Club, where she served as vice president and built the confidence she'd need heading into a teaching career.

With teacher shortages mounting and a wave of principal retirements on the horizon, the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences is meeting the demand for school leaders through its online M.A. in Leadership Studies in Education program. Built around a place-based leadership model, the program prepares working educators to strengthen schools by drawing on community assets, including local partnerships and deeply rooted relationships. Erin McHenry-Sorber, a nationally recognized rural education scholar, shapes the program's approach with a particular focus on rural West Virginia schools. A new summer 2026 start term is now available.

Sam Zizzi, the Dr. Pat Fehl Endowed Professor in the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, was one of five finalists for the 2025 West Virginia Professor of the Year award, presented by the Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia.

The award was presented on April 9 at a banquet in the Great Hall of the West Virginia State Capitol Culture Center in Charleston. Peggy Fink, Associate Professor of Nursing at WVU Tech, was named the 2025 Professor of the Year. The other finalists recognized at the banquet were Rico Gazal, Glenville State University; Rebecca Giorcelli, Fairmont State University; and Barbara Ladner, West Virginia State University.

Nic Menarchek came to WVU with his sights set on NASA. One Sport Management class later, he had a new direction. Now a graduating senior, he works as a student manager and data analyst for WVU Baseball, gets hands-on time with some of the most advanced sport science technology in the country, and is interviewing with Major League teams.

The Center for Active WV is hosting two Mountaineer Mile Walk events this spring, and students and Morgantown community members are invited to lace up and join in.

Miss Morgantown Lizzie Romanak will lead participants through a 1-mile walk at the Evansdale Turf Fields adjacent to the WVU Rec Center on April 18 at 10 a.m. and again on May 8 at 4 p.m. The events are free and open to all with no registration required. Promotional items and giveaways will be available while supplies last.

JoAnn Outten-Kenton earned her master's degree in athletic training from WVU and spent years working the sidelines as a sports medicine professional. In 2008, a helmet to the shin during a Friday night football game set off 14 years of failed surgeries, chronic pain and a life on crutches. An above-the-knee amputation and a pioneering osseointegration procedure finally gave her back what the injury took. In April 2025, at 54, she won the Boston Marathon Handcycle Division.

Nate Whiting spent decades writing poems for fun, for his students, and for his family, never thinking much would come of it. The WVU education alum and former physical education teacher finally had someone convince him otherwise. Now he's the author of the "Whimsies of an Accidental Poet" series, rhyme-driven children's books built around big imagination and the belief that kids deserve to laugh.

Gonzalo Bravo and Cindy Lee, professors in the sport management program at West Virginia University, recently delivered a one-day continuing education workshop for sport administrators, teachers, and coaches in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The workshop, hosted by the Sport Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (SLIZ) in partnership with the WVU School of Sport Sciences, brought together 35 sport professionals. Led by SLIZ President Maradza Mhiribidi, the event focused on how sport can be leveraged as a driver of economic and community development.

Growing up 20 minutes from Morgantown, Dominic Viani always imagined himself as a Mountaineer. Now a senior in the Physical Education and Kinesiology program, he's preparing for a career in education inspired by a former coach and his grandfather, a longtime physical education teacher. At the same time, Viani is building his own reputation by logging up to seven nights a week as a basketball official while completing his student teaching residency at the very elementary school he once attended as a kid.

Hannah Decanio, a master’s student in the school counseling program at West Virginia University, was named the 2026 Graduate Student of the Year by the West Virginia School Counselor Association and received the award at the organization’s annual conference Feb. 26–27 at the Waterfront Hotel in Morgantown.

The award recognizes a master’s student in school counseling for scholarship, advocacy, and leadership potential.

West Virginia University alumna Kelly Ross has built a career in professional sports communications, now serving as manager of internal communications for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In this PRSA feature, she shares insight into how she approaches messaging, audience awareness, and storytelling at the highest level of sport.

Shauna Riggs came to WVU seeking independence without losing the sense of community she values as a West Virginian. As an elementary education major, she has found both, building her confidence in the classroom while also performing as a member of the "Pride of West Virginia" marching band. Between full days at school and evenings on the practice field, Riggs has learned to manage the demands of teaching and music while becoming the educator she set out to be.

Gary Lhotsky, a Bridgeport native who serves as a teaching associate professor for the  School of Sport Sciences in the College of Applied Human Sciences, has been selected for the February Faculty Feature. 

Ian Finegan had never been to West Virginia when he applied to WVU. From just north of Baltimore, he was looking for a college that felt like the right fit, both personally and academically. He found that in Morgantown at WVU, where an initial interest in one major eventually turned into two. With guidance from academic advisors, Finegan chose to pursue degrees in Mental Health and Addiction Studies and Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, a decision that still has him on track to graduate a semester early and continue on to graduate school.