The 2017 WVU Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer candidates. Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer will be announced during halftime ceremonies Saturday (Oct. 28) when WVU takes on Oklahoma State at Milan Puskar Stadium.
West Virginia University has announced the finalists for Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer 2017, an award that recognizes students’ exemplary academic achievement and extracurricular involvement.
A Mountaineer Week tradition, Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer will be named at the Saturday (Oct. 28) WVU football game vs. Oklahoma State at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Applicants must be eligible for graduation by May 2018, and will be selected by a committee following the application and interview processes.
The 2017 Mr. Mountaineer finalists are:
Garrett Burgess, a political science and Russian studies major from Elkview, has been endorsed by WVU for the prestigious Rhodes and British Marshall scholarships. Burgess is the president of the WVU Model United Nations team and Russian Club, a wing commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment, is also in the Honors College, and serves as a student ambassador for the Eberly College. He is sponsored by the WVU Aspire Office.
Tanner Filben, a biomedical engineering major minoring in computer science from Glen Dale, is a Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship recipient. He serves as an undergraduate researcher with the WVU Neural Engineering Laboratory and as an assistant executive director of the Mountaineer Maniacs. Filben, who is also in the Honors College, is a member of the engineering honorary Tau Beta Pi and the Biomedical Engineering Society. He is sponsored by the Mountaineer Maniacs.
Ahmed Abdul Haque, a chemical engineering major minoring in French from Bridgeport, has received an undergraduate certificate in biomedical engineering and is a Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship recipient. He serves as the president of WVU Engineers Without Borders and a tutor in testWELL Learning Center, a program he helped the Honors College create. Haque is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Mortar Board Honorary, and has been accepted into the WVU School of Medicine Class of 2022. He is sponsored by the WVU Engineers Without Borders.
Trevor Kiess, an accounting major from Elkins, is a member of the Honors College and Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary. He is the current alternate Mountaineer Mascot and serves as the director of community service of the Mountaineer Maniacs. Kiess served as the 2016-17 SGA chief of staff and named the 2015-16 SGA Governor of the Year. He is sponsored by the Mountaineer Maniacs.
Hunter White, a biology major with an emphasis in genomics from Clendenin, is a WVU Eberly Scholar. He is a member of Mortar Board National Senior Honorary and serves as a tutor in the Honors College. White has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Genome Biology and Evolution and a Jury Award winner of Campus Movie Fest, the world’s largest student film festival. He is sponsored by the Honors College.
The 2017 Ms. Mountaineer finalists are:
Megan Barthelmess, an industrial engineering major minoring in event planning from Hurricane, is a member of the Honors College. She serves as the president of Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor Society, the 2017 co-director of WVU Relay for Life and a member of the WVU Hip Hop Dance team. Barthelmess was also awarded the 2016 Outstanding Sophomore and the 2017 Outstanding Junior for the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering (IMSE) Department. She is sponsored by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.
Morgan King, a civil and environmental engineering major from Charleston, is a member of WVU Engineers without Borders. She serves as the secretary for the Model United Nations, the 2015-2017 president of the Residence Hall Association and a member of Our Children, Our Future WVU Student Chapter. A member of the Honors College, she is sponsored by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and Engineers Without Borders.
Brenna Leasor, a psychology major from Morgantown, serves on the SGA student senate and as the president of the WVU Food Recovery Network. She is an undergraduate research assistant in Department of Psychology, and an intern with the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students and WVUp All Night. Leasor is sponsored by the WVU Food Recovery Network.
Savannah Lusk, an exercise physiology major from Covel, is a member of the Honors College and the first Foundation Scholar from Wyoming East High School. She is the president of Helping Hands WVU and served as the 2016 alternate Mountaineer Mascot. Lusk is also a member of the West Virginia School of Medicine Class of 2022. She is sponsored by the WVU Honors College.
Rachel Lynn Sager, a secondary social studies education major from Irwin, Pennsylvania, is four-year member of the Mountaineer Marching Band color guard and has served as rank and assistant section leaders. She is a member and vice president of membership of Kappa Lambda Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international music fraternity. She works as a student teacher at Morgantown High School and is the recipient of the WVU Leadership Scholarship. Sager is sponsored by Kappa Lambda Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.
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CONTACT: Sonja Wilson, Mountaineer Week advisor
Sonja.wilson@mail.wvu.edu;
304.293.2702