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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.

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.

John Terry is the Vice President of Events at US Soccer - and a WVU alum. Together with his team, he helps the US men's and women's soccer teams hold their games at stadiums throughout the country - bringing excitement, joy, and pride to the communities they visit. Learn how his involvement at WVU through both his sport management major and extracurriculars helped him figure out what he wanted to do, and get a head start to do it.

The West Virginia Reading Association honored one faculty member and two alumni of West Virginia University’s Literacy Education program at its most recent annual conference.

Aimee Morewood, professor and program coordinator of literacy education in the WVU School of Education and Counseling, received the Madge McDaniel Award, which recognizes educators who have made an outstanding contribution to helping students become proficient, lifelong readers.

Keenan Coley threw all of his basketball gear into the closet and slammed the door shut. He couldn't stand the sight of it. The 19-year-old had just returned from California, where his college basketball career at Warren Wilson College ended on a court in Santa Cruz. His final play was fitting: a contested shot and another injury. The injury served as yet another reminder that his desire to continue in the sport he’d loved since he was five far exceeded what his body could endure.

"I was like, it'll be forever if you're waiting for me to coach," Coley told his mother, who suggested he might find his way back to basketball someday. "It's never going to happen."

Allan Johnson, a graduate of West Virginia University’s sport management master's program, received one of the highest honors in the profession by being inducted into the Legends in the Field Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame at the 2025 CSCCa National Conference in Indianapolis.

A native of Parkersburg, W.Va., Johnson has spent more than 35 years advancing strength and conditioning practices across high school, collegiate, and professional sports. His career includes influential roles with WVU, Ohio State, Northwestern, East Tennessee State, and the Baltimore Orioles. He has coached more than 150 professional draft picks and contributed to multiple national championships and undefeated seasons.

WVU Sport Management alumna Hailey Barrett (BS ’16, MS ’21) has turned her passion for tennis and leadership into a rising collegiate coaching career. Now in her third year as an assistant tennis coach at Rutgers, Barrett first made her mark at WVU as a student-athlete during a time of transition by helping to hold the team together during a coaching change and stepping into leadership roles on and off the court. Her coaching journey has taken her from The Greenbrier to UConn, Washington and Lee, Colorado, and now the Big Ten. This WVU Magazine feature traces her path—from battling adversity as a player to mentoring the next generation.

Dr. Arreta Jaranko was not one to loudly challenge convention, but her life spoke volumes. Born in 1922 in Clarksburg, W.Va., during the Great Depression, she faced formidable challenges. Yet, she quietly but firmly pursued a path of learning, innovation, and service that defied the limitations of her time.

As a teenager, she dreamed of becoming a doctor, inspired by her grandfather, a horse-and-buggy physician. But when she shared her ambitions with her father, he dismissed her aspirations outright. “Girls don’t need an education,” he told her. “They get married and have babies.”

The  West Virginia University  Alumni Association will celebrate recipients of the 2024  Homecoming and Alumni Service Awards during  Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 18-20, recognizing the accomplishments of alumni around the world and honoring their service, commitment and loyalty to their alma mater.

College of Applied Human Sciences alumnae Tracy Schoenadel (‘87, ‘89, ‘92) and Laura Boyd (‘89, ‘91) will be honored with the distinctive title of Outstanding Alumni. 

Kelsey Kinnamon, a 2019 graduate of West Virginia University, is being recognized at the upcoming 2024 Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Kinnamon has been awarded the prestigious AASP Student Abstract Award, which is presented to outstanding student researchers. The award is part of the AASP Foundation’s initiative to support students attending the conference, providing Kinnamon with the opportunity to present her research in front of leading professionals in her field.

Kinnamon’s research, titled “Disrupting the Norm: Planned Disruption Use Among Elite Olympic Weightlifting Coaches,” explores an innovative approach to pressure training in Olympic weightlifting. Alongside co-researcher Billy Bean, Kinnamon conducted interviews with elite-level weightlifting coaches to understand their use of planned disruptions as a training technique. These planned disruptions simulate the high-pressure environments athletes face when competing internationally. Weightlifters often train in familiar settings but must perform at their peak in unpredictable environments, sometimes with little time to adjust. Kinnamon’s research offers valuable insights into how coaches can better prepare athletes for these challenges, ensuring they are mentally equipped to excel under pressure.

Emily Faddis initially came to West Virginia University with the thought of going to medical school but soon discovered her passion for physical education. She then hopped on the fast track to a bachelor's and master's degree in physical education and earned both in 2020. She credits the supportive faculty as key to her success in school at WVU. Emily got her first teaching job right out of school in Marion County and moved to Brookhaven Elementary in Morgantown in 2022.

She integrates technology into her classroom to engage her students and believes in the critical role of physical education in developing well-rounded, physically literate individuals. She advises recent graduates to be proactive and confident in their teaching opportunities and emphasizes the importance of self-care to avoid burnout. Professional development and collaboration with fellow physical education teachers have been key to her continued growth.

Matthew Gonzalez’s journey into the field of sport psychology began serendipitously with an encouraging push from a mentor at San Jose State University. This initial nudge sparked a passion for applied mental performance work and led him to one of the premiere programs in the country at West Virginia University. While WVU's reputation attracted him to Morgantown, he soon found that it was the supportive community, faculty and staff that made the difference. 

After career stops as an instructor at San Jose State and an Assistant Athletic Director of Sport Psychology and Counseling, Gonzalez now leverages his enthusiasm for the field and his training from WVU in his role as a performance psychology instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he provides comprehensive performance psychology support to cadets.

Nolan Harvath had already bet on himself – and won, no less – before getting a call in April 2024 that led him to an opportunity that he had never even dreamed of.

Harvath grew up in Fairmont loving sports and excelling in soccer. His playing career led him to the University of Southern Indiana where he was a two-time team captain and played in over 50 games during his career. The plan at USI was to pursue pre-med and eventually become a physician, but he was not in love with the idea of eight years of med school. However, he couldn’t resist his love of sports and performance. Further, while dealing with his own injuries and recovery, he got a deeper appreciation for coaching while on the sidelines and also found the process and training necessary to get back to action fascinating.

Zabrya Robson, a behavior health counselor at Community Care of West Virginia, came to West Virginia University knowing she wanted to help others. She earned her undergraduate degree at WVU, and then when looking for a master’s program to pursue counseling, she once again chose WVU largely because of the flexibility of the clinical rehabilitation and mental health counseling program.