WVU Hub director reflects on 10 years of helping students succeed
WVU Hub Director George Yanchak says the Hub, celebrating its 10-year anniversary this month, provides a one-stop shop for Mountaineers navigating college life. (Submitted Photo)
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When the West Virginia University Hub opened its doors in November 2015, George Yanchak was already there — probably with a to-do list in hand — waiting to welcome students.
He’d started just 15 days earlier and has never really stopped moving since then.
“It was the right time and the right place,” Yanchak said. “I’d worked with our director before, and I knew this centralized service model would help students.”
He’d seen too many students bounce from one office to another seeking simple answers.
At the time, he counted just how many stairs and steps between different WVU offices and departments average students would have to traverse to take care of simple business.
Pre-WVU Hub — on average — more than 100 stairs and nearly 2,000 steps lay between the Registrar, Student Accounts and Financial Aid offices.
WVU Hub Director George Yanchak, shown here with his wife, Nikki, and young son Knox, enjoys cheering on the Mountaineers at sporting events. (Submitted Photo)
Today, Yanchak serves as director of the WVU Hub, the one-stop location that helps Mountaineers navigate financial aid, scholarships, federal work-study, transcripts, student accounts and all the other pieces that make up a student bill. Since the Hub opened, employees have served more than 100,000 walk-ins, answered more than 840,000 phone calls and replied to more than 200,000 emails from students, parents and campus partners.
The Hub also collaborates with Housing and Residence Life, Dining and other offices across campus because, as Yanchak will tell you, none of it lives in a vacuum. One change in one office can ripple through a student’s whole semester.
“We try to put students in the best position to succeed,” he said. “And sometimes that means slowing things down, explaining the why and giving them all the options.”
Yanchak’s path to Morgantown wasn’t a straight line. A Brooke County native, he started out at West Liberty University, then moved to Miami University in Ohio. His wife, Nikki, later accepted a job at Mylan, and that was the nudge he needed.
Family ties pulled and Morgantown answered.
“I thought, I’d really love to go back home,” he said.
Yankchak worked in operations for WVU Baseball when he and his wife, Nikki, first arrived in Morgantown. His oldest son, Joseph, shown here with the family, followed in his father’s footsteps, gaining experience with WVU Baseball as a manager before landing his current position with the Boston Red Sox. (Submitted Photo)
When he arrived at WVU, he jumped in wherever he was needed — first as a graduate assistant in the Financial Aid office and, at the same time, as a volunteer director of WVU Baseball operations. He earned his master’s degree in sport coaching and spent a few more years with the baseball program while continuing to work in financial aid. It wasn’t glamorous, but it built muscles he still uses, he said.
That pairing — coaching and financial aid — turned out to be the perfect training for the Hub.
“When you’re coaching, you’re trying to manage stress and keep your players focused,” he said. “When you’re working with someone on their financial aid and their bill, that can be stressful for them, too. It’s the same skill set: help them breathe, lay out the plan, show them what comes next.”
Yanchak has been in financial aid for 30 years. He remembers the days of paper FAFSAs, waiting for forms to come back in the mail and hand-delivering documents to campus offices. Today’s students can complete the FAFSA in mere minutes.
“It’s come full circle,” he said. “There’s still some uncertainty — programs that will end or get modified — but the good news is there are still options. The WVU Guarantee, for example, is going to be really helpful for a lot of students who complete the FAFSA every year.”
Yanchak’s middle son, Thomas, shown here with his dad, is a senior in criminology and a mellophone player with the “Pride of West Virginia.” (Submitted Photo)
He’s also noticed students are coming in more informed.
“When I was in college, I had no idea about the FAFSA,” he said, laughing. “Students now are more educated and involved. They have the phone in their hand, and they’re not afraid to ask questions. We love that. Ask. That’s what we’re here for.”
That student-first mindset isn’t just professional for Yanchak — it’s personal. He and his wife are raising four Mountaineers.
His oldest son, Joseph, graduated in 2024 after working with the WVU Baseball program as a manager. He now works for the Boston Red Sox. Another son, Thomas, will graduate a semester early in December with a degree in criminology; he marches with the “Pride of West Virginia” as a mellophone player. Their daughter, Mary Jane, is a freshman studying psychology and neuroscience. And the newest addition, 16-month-old Knox, keeps everyone on their toes.
Yanchak with his only daughter, Mary Jane, a freshman studying psychology and neuroscience at WVU. (Submitted Photo)
“They’re all the apple of my eye,” Yanchak said. “Now that I’m out of baseball, I try to spend as much time with them as I can.”
Through it all, his message to students — and their families — stays the same.
“If you have questions, we are here to help,” he said. “Don’t ever be afraid to ask. A lot of students think they’re limited to the scholarships they were awarded coming in, but there are so many more opportunities out there. Keep checking, keep applying, keep looking for those free dollars.”
A first-generation college graduate himself — the first in his family, with brothers who also went on to earn degrees — Yanchak understands what a single conversation can unlock.
“Always keep growing and trying to learn and ask questions,” he said. “That’s how you move forward. And that’s what the Hub is here to do — help you move forward.”
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