Latest News

Abbey Clark, a senior health and well-being student from Clarksburg, W.Va., recently visited the West Virginia capitol to present her findings on the availability of automated external defibrillator in classroom buildings at WVU.

Clark’s father, who was in the family’s driveway after returning home by bus in June 2021, had gone into cardiac arrest two years ago, and largely survived due to her sister promptly performing CPR and emergency services administering the AED. Since her father had nearly gone into cardiac arrest on the bus, she and her family led a successful effort to make AEDs standard in all new state public vehicles in West Virginia.

Sport management senior Rocco Agostino became the most recent student from West Virginia University to get real-world experience working at the Super Bowl in Phoenix on Feb. 12. Follow his nine-day trip through the journal below that starts with boarding the flight in Pittsburgh and ends with confetti on the ground at State Farm Stadium to get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s largest sporting events.

Like Patrick Mahomes, West Virginia University sport management students are making going to the Super Bowl a bit of a habit.

Last year, Arielle Friedman made her way to Los Angeles to help execute fan events and hospitality for Super Bowl LVI, and this year, Rocco Agostino is headed to Phoenix to work the big game in a similar capacity.

John Gay, EdD, loved students with drive. He could recognize those who had potential and ambition, and then poured encouragement into them to help them believe that they could achieve and do more. He was the kind of professor, dean, scholar and man whom a student would stop in an airport years later to thank him for the nudge he gave them to be better.

He would have loved Chloe Simpson.

The West Virginia University commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 17 marks the first time degrees will be conferred from the College of Applied Human Sciences. While the name is new, the rich experiences and thorough education is the same as it ever has been.

This group of graduates dealt with the challenges of COVID during their collegiate careers along with the challenge of resuming learning in a new way. Several students cited a personal connection between their professors that helped them to succeed during that time.

Numerous School of Sport Sciences faculty and students were honored at the Society of Health and Physical Educators conference, held in-person this past October in Charleston, W.Va. The 2022 SHAPEWV award recipients are highlighted below:

Physical Education and Kinesiology major, junior, Bentleyville, Pa.

Matthew Kasopsky, counseling and clinical mental health track first-year graduate student, says that there is much to appreciate about the field of counseling. “One thing I really love about the program is that while we are all passionate about counseling, we have different interests, which lead to some great conversations,” he said. “Even though we have broad areas of interest, faculty members foster a positive environment and support us in our different clinical and research interests.”

Kasopsky, from Norristown, Pa., explains that as students, they started practicing counseling on the first day of classes. “There is something to be said about counseling being both an art and a science. You can learn the science part, but you must practice the art side of it to get good,” he added.

As Alexandra Snyder entered West Virginia University, she had visions of becoming a physical or occupational therapist. “After a few months I wasn’t positive if that was the correct path for me, so I began looking into other majors. The health and well-being program began accepting students my sophomore year. I switched to this major because of the many professional opportunities this program offers,” she said. Snyder, from Hollidaysburg, Pa., added a minor in health promotion to her portfolio.

“This major has taught me about people's overall health and how to be effective as a worker in the healthcare setting. Those two things were essential since I have always been interested in health and helping others through community service.”

Two sport management students received first-hand sports business knowledge through the 2022 Presidents Cup, a nationally televised PGA event. Andrew Walker, graduate student, and Justin Violette, undergraduate, traveled to Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C. for the September 22-25 competition. The pair worked for Show Pros Entertainment, Inc., a crowd management and event-oriented staffing company.

Patrick Hairston, sport management teaching assistant professor, says he attempts to associate students with business practitioners and events so they can gain field learning skills and network within the sports industry. “Andrew and Justin both love the game of golf. As I connect with students throughout the semester, I discover their passions. I learned that Andrew and Justin played golf by getting to know them and their interests,” Hairston said.

Braelyn Young, senior in the elementary education program, is serving as a 4th grade student teacher at Big Elm Elementary School in Harrison County, W.Va. for the 2022-2023 school year.

During senior year, student teachers are placed with a mentor teacher and class. This arrangement allows student teachers to move from theory to practice. They experience having their own classroom with guidance from their mentor.