WVUToday on the Radio

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. University alumni and friends have an opportunity to fuel advancement for future generations during the 9th. WVU Day of Giving on March 25th, an annual 24-hour fundraising effort organized by the WVU Foundation. Will Green is the foundation's senior vice president and chief development officer.

Will Green: Day of Giving is really important because it allows us to do what we have to do for the communities who we serve. When you make a gift on that day, it's not about what it does for WVU, it's about what it does for the people who we serve.

Shauna Johnson: Day of Giving comes at a time of momentum for WVU, following a fall that saw the retention rate from freshmen to sophomore years set a new record at more than 85%.

Will Green: Having Day of Giving be one specific day where we're able to rally our stakeholders internally and externally is really important because it helps us create a sense of urgency around what we're doing. Going throughout the year, we're always raising money for these priorities. This is the one day of year where we really ask all of our communities throughout WVU to come together to support things that they care about throughout the university.

Shauna Johnson: Fundraising for scholarships is among the priorities.

Will Green: Prioritizing scholarship and particularly unrestricted scholarships that allow us to help deserving students get an education at WVU is really our highest priority. A gift to our unrestricted scholarship fund, which is the WVU Success Fund, is really what we would like people to look to support if they don't have another area that they're passionate about. It helps us grow our enrollment, which is key to us being able to help more students, more people in our community.

Shauna Johnson: Nearly a year into Michael T. Benson's presidency, Green says the university is now at an inflection point.

Will Green: We have enormous opportunities and we have really ambitious goals and priorities.

Shauna Johnson: Find out more about ways to support those goals and priorities at dayofgiving.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Mike Florio, the founder of ProFootballTalk, a digital news outlet that has evolved into one of the most trusted and widely read sources for NFL news and analysis is one of this year's Academy of Distinguished Alumni inductees.

Mike Florio: It's one of those unexpected things that falls out of the sky and you ask yourself, why did they pick me? When I first became aware of it, I was hesitant just because my thought was, there's got to be somebody else who's more deserving than I am, but my son said, "You have to do this."

Shauna Johnson: A Wheeling native who now lives in Bridgeport, Florio says he found purpose and direction at the college of law.

Mike Florio: When it was time to start looking for law schools, this was one of the places I applied and I didn't have a whole lot of money at the time and it just worked out that this is the place where I chose to come. And it just, from the moment that I got here in 1988, it just clicked. And it was a great experience from start to finish. And I met my wife at law school, which helps the overall experience. But it was just one of those periods of your life where you kind of go through a few years where you're not really sure where you're going to go and how life is going to unfold and what you're going to do. And then when everything kind of falls together for that first time, it's very enjoyable and rewarding and you appreciate it more because through my four years of college, I really didn't know.

Shauna Johnson: Florio went on to a career in law, but eventually closed his practice to focus full-time on sports media after entering a partnership with NBC. That partnership led to 16 seasons of weekly appearances on Sunday Night Football and the launch of PFT Live, a weekday show airing on NBCSN, Peacock, SiriusXM, and Sky Sports. Throughout his career, Florio has interviewed some of the most influential figures in professional football, but he still feels connected to Morgantown.

Mike Florio: Everything about it is just unique to anywhere I've ever been. And I've been to plenty of different campuses, plenty of different schools, plenty of different places, and there's just something that is special and rare and unique.

Shauna Johnson: And Florio says no matter where he goes, he's always a Mountaineer.

Mike Florio: There's so many great stories and so many great people who have been through the university over the years. And to be acknowledged in this group, it means everything to me.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Let's meet the new Mountaineer mascot.

Reese Allen: Hi, my name is Reese Allen and I am thrilled to be your 72nd Mountaineer mascot.

Shauna Johnson: A Bridgeport native, Allen is a senior dual mechanical engineering and data science major in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Reese Allen: This was my vision of college. Growing up, Statler WVU was what college meant to me and I applied everywhere else, but I chose to come here because this is home.

Shauna Johnson: A Buckley scholar, Eberly scholar and member of the Honors College, Allen has served as a presidential student ambassador and is the founding president of the Microgravity Research Club. And his new role?

Reese Allen: I want to connect with people around the state, spend time with them and really give myself back to the university because it's given me so much. As the Mountaineer mascot, I hope to celebrate West Virginia's success. I want to go spend time in every county. I want to hear your stories. I want people to stop and take photos. I want to hit a quick high five while I'm on my way down the road. I want to reconnect with all that it is West Virginia, share my stories with people, hear from them.

Shauna Johnson: Allen sees the Mountaineer mascot as a bridge builder.

Reese Allen: Mountaineer is a symbol, but it connects people within the state, ties us all together, and connects us to the larger world. The song Country Roads, everybody knows it by heart. You sing about West Virginia, but you don't really know what it means. Being the Mountaineer is your chance to tell somebody what it means, to really give them that sense of country roads, what does it mean to me to come home, and this is my home.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Each semester, select cohorts of first and second-year students are chosen to learn and serve as Presidential Student Ambassadors, student leaders who exemplify Mountaineer values. Among those in a recent cohort.

Liam McCarthy: Hi, I'm Liam McCarthy, and I'm a sophomore at West Virginia University studying chemistry and music. I'm from Inwood, West Virginia, which is in the Eastern Panhandle. I heard about the program first from my brother, who was Presidential Student Ambassador three years prior and spoke very highly of Dr. Carolyn Atkins.

Shauna Johnson: Atkins oversees the program which brings together students who are nominated and apply from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines for coursework and service work. The goal is to foster a spirit of service and leadership among students who share Mountaineer passion and pride with others in many ways, including public speaking.

Liam McCarthy: We would do these heavy peer critiques where we would talk about what we did right and wrong, which was really interesting because we got to build each other up, but we also got to see where we need to improve.

Shauna Johnson: McCarthy, a foundation scholar, took those lessons to roles with the Student Government Association and the university's planetarium and observatory.

Liam McCarthy: The biggest takeaway from the Presidential Student Ambassadors Program was encouraging me to branch out. I still work at the planetarium now, and I use the skills that I learned from Presidential Student Ambassadors to educate about an audience of 60 every other Friday night.

Shauna Johnson: For McCarthy, all the experiences enrich his overall university education.

Liam McCarthy: I think communication is a crucial part of any career path. As a chemistry major, communicating in the science field is incredibly important, whether that's with your colleagues or through academic papers, and music is a type of communication. I will directly use what I've learned to speak to my music colleagues, but also I've used what I've learned to be a better musician. Learning about syntax and phrasing and diction and speaking clearly has made me a better improviser in jazz.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Morris Morrison, a bestselling author and internationally recognized speaker from Fairmont, is one of this year's Academy of Distinguished Alumni inductees.

Morris Morrison: What this means for me, it makes me think back at everyone who got me into this chair right here, right now. I just cry thinking about all of them because it's not about me, it's about them.

Shauna Johnson: A 2004 graduate of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. Morrison's professional career has spanned banking, human resources, sales, and global brand development.

Morris Morrison: I know there's kids around the world who may be dreamed of Harvard and Yale, but I knew that if I could make it to this campus one day, my life would be transformed. I knew if I could just make it here, everything would be okay.

Shauna Johnson: Morrison began his career with BB&T Bank and Pfizer before launching his own firm, speaking to audiences that range from corporate executives and professional athletes to students, educators, and public sector leaders.

Morris Morrison: There's just this thing throughout the world that people know that when you're dealing with a West Virginia University graduate, you're not dealing with a perfect individual. You're dealing with a proven individual. We all inherently downloaded two specific things that I preach about throughout the world now. Number one, love God. Number two, work hard. But the third one would be, you're not better than anybody else. You respect everybody. You can build a marriage off of that, a business off of that. You can do anything in the world with those three principles. That's what I learned in West Virginia, but that's what was reinforced here at West Virginia University.

Shauna Johnson: For those looking for purpose, Morrison says, turn to service.

Morris Morrison: It's the moment you start to use your gifts and your passions and your abilities, no matter what they are. If you like baking, bake, give the cupcakes away. Watch what happens. If you like speaking like I did, speak for free for 15 years like I did, watch what happens. You build a brand that way. Our world is suffering from people who are selfish thinking about ourselves. We need to think about others all over again. We need to go back to the drawing board and be a community again, and be a society. And if we do that, more people will feel respected, more people will feel valued, more people will feel honored.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. Each school day, university school counseling interns are taking their training into more than 18 public schools in nine counties and districts in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, serving close to 10,000 students. Alaina Schrader, a lecturer with the School of Education and Counseling in the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences says those interns are doing important work.

Alaina Schrader: I think a lot of people are familiar with the idea of individual counseling. Yes, school counselors do that, but they also do things for all students. They provide school-wide initiatives. They do small group counseling. They're a part of collaboration with teachers and staff and deciding about what supports come into play when students are needing different things.

Shauna Johnson: What makes an effective school counselor?

Alaina Schrader: I think good school counselors are, of course, passionate, compassionate, caring individuals, very creative, ambitious, self-starters, not afraid to hop in there and do something. Not afraid to be themselves, being authentic and aligned with who they are.

Shauna Johnson: Brynn Benson, a first year Master's of School Counseling student from Scranton, Pennsylvania will be working in schools starting next year.

Brynn Benson: I am just so excited to help all kinds of students with all kinds of things, whether that be social emotional skills up until what they might want to do with their own futures. At the end of the day, students need support and school counselors are there to grant that support. Having administrations that invest in school counselors increase the support of students overall.

Shauna Johnson: Schrader says research shows when school counselors are appropriately staffed in schools, students do better.

Alaina Schrader: Our national organization recommends that there be one school counselor for every 250 students, and the national average is sitting at like 464. So, school counselors are responsible for way more students than is really possible to provide good care for. And so, people advocating in their local districts for more school counselors and more funding really make a huge difference.

Shauna Johnson: Recognized in February, National School Counseling Week highlights the critical roles school counselors play in supporting students' academic success, mental health, career development, and overall wellbeing. The main message, according to Benson.

Brynn Benson: We are all out here doing the best we can with what we have, and there needs to be more of us.

Shauna Johnson: So, let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. After years of traveling to and through West Virginia, the incoming provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Beverly Wendland is already a fan of the home of West Virginia University.

Beverly Wendland It's just such a beautiful state and a beautiful place and the people are wonderful and warm and what's not to love.

Shauna Johnson: Hired by President Michael T. Benson to serve as the university's Chief Academic Officer. Wendland, a cell biologist with experience as a faculty member, department chair, dean and provost says there are a couple of reasons why she wanted the job.

Beverly Wendland: First, just the university itself and the amazing foundations of strength that it has to build from. As I engaged with the search process, I was amazed at all of the incredible things that are happening here at WVU, and I wanted to be a part of that. And then the second thing was President Benson. He is an amazing leader. I have heard wonderful things about him and I couldn't be more excited to join his leadership team.

Shauna Johnson:: Her position is a key one.

Beverly Wendland: The academics are the heart of a university. It's the faculty, it's the students, it's the programs that are offered. To be responsible for all of that is a huge honor and a big responsibility that I'm excited to take on.

Shauna Johnson: After most recently serving as provost and a senior advisor at Washington University in St. Louis, Wendland's already engaging with members of the WVU community ahead of her official start date on July 1st.

Beverly Wendland: I want them to know that I am an approachable person. I want to know what they think and what they're worried about and how I can help them. I am so looking forward to becoming a part of this community.

Shauna Johnson: So let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.

Shauna Johnson: This is West Virginia University. To mark National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, we'd like to introduce you to two officers with the WVU Police Department, starting with Sgt. Mark Vero.

Mark Vero: Well, not only do we have to enforce state and local laws, we have our own campus policies that we have to enforce to the students as well.

Shauna Johnson: First hired in 2020, Sgt. Vero left university police in 2022 before returning two years later. He was recently promoted to a supervisory role. What does he like best about being a police officer?

Mark Vero: It's the camaraderie with people you work with and being able to hopefully make a positive impact in someone's life.

Jaden Leftwich: Hi, I'm Officer Jaden Leftwich, and I'm from Huntington, West Virginia.

Shauna Johnson: A WVU graduate with a degree in criminology, Officer Leftwich first saw positive interactions between UPD officers and students during his time as a student, when he originally started out wanting to be an athletic trainer.

Jaden Leftwich: Went and did schooling for that and realized it wasn't the field I was meant to be in. I'm more of a people person. With this job, I have the ability to help people when they're in need, and I feel like that was a calling I've always had within me. So I gave it a shot and here we are.

Shauna Johnson: Officer Leftwich says he likes UPD's community-oriented approach.

Jaden Leftwich: Best part of my job is being able to be there for people when they need somebody to be there. Having been a former student, I understand that college is overwhelming sometimes, especially when you're away from home. I get that aspect. And being able to relate with some of the students on that level is pretty cool.

Shauna Johnson: His advice to members of the university community?

Jaden Leftwich: You don't have to always call us when you're having a bad day. We're always available. Being able to be human behind the badge is one of the biggest things that I preach, and being able to show that is pretty important to me.

Shauna Johnson: Sgt. Vero agrees.

Mark Vero: We're here to help the students in the best ways possible. We're not here to get them in trouble. We're just here to hope... hopefully they have a nice, safe four years here at school.

Shauna Johnson: Overseeing the department is Chief Sherry St. Clair. To Chief St. Clair, Sgt. Vero, Officer Leftwich, and everyone with the WVU Police Department, the university community says thank you. So, let's go. Follow our stories at wvutoday.wvu.edu.