College is the best time of your life.

That’s what everyone says, anyway. For four, and maybe more, years, this most recent graduating class at West Virginia University roamed campus like it was a second home.

In mid-May, those students will receive their certificate of graduation at Commencement and become WVU alumni.

These graduates have now learned why we always say “Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.”

Was college the best time in their lives, though? Does the saying ring true to these graduates?

You bet.

So why was make this year’s students’ journey at WVU so special? We’ll give you a chance to find out by getting to know six of WVU’s newest graduates.

There’s Ahna, a WVU three-sport athlete who was considered a childhood phenomenon in middle school.

Amadou is a Mali native who moved to France early in his life who came to WVU and found a third home.

Samantha came to WVU as a shy freshman and now influences middle and high school girls to become engineers.

Sultan, a Saudi Arabia native, came to WVU through a program with a local oil company and earned a real-world education he can take back home.

Laura combined her passions of painting and genealogy through the help of her professors at WVU.

L.G. started at WVU back in 1998, dropped out and went into the Army before coming back and getting a law degree.

Take some time out each day over the next two weeks to get to know some of the newest WVU graduates. Whether you’re graduating now, did so 30 years before or will do so in a few years, we can all connect with these students who will head out into the real world.

We hope these stories remind you of why you are a Mountaineer – and why you will always be one.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: University Relations/News
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