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From the Utah Valley to the mountains of West Virginia, Hayley Trotter is a non-traditional undergraduate student at West Virginia University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies in the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She's also a mom working to be a living example for her children that education is an important part of life, no matter what stage you decide to pursue it.

The four West Virginia University students — Daniel Campa, of Morgantown; Colin Krisulevicz, of Salisbury, Maryland; Rebecca Ozbolt, of Akron, Ohio; and Samuel Stalnaker, of Atwater, California and Cowen — have joined the ranks of the nation’s top emerging researchers after earning National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

West Virginia University Foundation Scholar Laya Chennuru will graduate May 17 with dual bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience and psychology, leaving campus as a “Mountaineer for life.” She said her time in Morgantown was rich with opportunities to learn, to serve others, to lead and to make countless memories.

Graduating May 17, members of the West Virginia University Literacy Fellows cohort are earning their master’s degrees in literacy education at the WVU College of Applied Human Sciences and completing a new approach to professional learning. Many have called the experience “transformational” for how their students are learning to read and write.

During a May 5 event in Charleston with West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced the launch of Ascend Heroes, a new initiative aimed at attracting veterans to West Virginia by building on the success of the Ascend WV program and extending its reach to those who have served the nation in uniform.

Six members of the West Virginia University Class of 2026 and two December 2025 graduates have earned the Order of Augusta, the University’s most prestigious honor for academic excellence, leadership and service. The eight inductees were selected from the 52 WVU Foundation Outstanding Seniors.

Paige Bradley, a senior graduating from the West Virginia University School of Nursing during Commencement on May 15, said a combination of things drew her to nursing including a heart for serving others, deep faith, and her “Nana” who was her best friend growing up and who she helped care for when she was sick.

Syd Peng, a retired faculty leader at the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, is honoring his family’s academic legacy with a pledged $3 million in his will to establish endowed chair and professor positions at the WVU Statler College.

Carl Smith is a man who believes in starting what he finishes. He never finished college. It’s the one project he never completed. And it didn’t sit well with the now-83-year-old. After 65 years, all that will change as he earns his degree and attends the 2026 Commencement ceremony at West Virginia University Potomac State College.

West Virginia University senior Grace Terlion is pairing her supply chain management studies with applied artificial intelligence and data analytics training to prepare for a career at the forefront of modern business. Through hands-on coursework, machine learning projects and faculty mentorship in the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Terlion is building the technical skills she said she believes will be essential in the AI-driven future.