During the West Virginia University Potomac State College annual Recognition Day Awards Ceremony, Hartley VanGilder was announced as the 2025 Outstanding Student of the Year, earning her the distinction of serving as the student speaker during this year’s Commencement ceremony.
For Nottingham, New Hampshire, native Kathryn Hocevar, West Virginia University wasn’t just another college option when she was considering where to go after high school. Becoming a Mountaineer represented an opportunity to continue a family legacy that she can trace back five generations.
There will be a significant West Virginia University presence at this year’s U.S. Open taking place at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh June 12-15. Joe Martin, a University graduate, is now the lead golf director for NBC Sports, and he is turning the University’s athletics video production unit into one of the network’s farm teams.
While most students know West Virginia University Libraries to be a place to fuel their academic success, only a few understand it offers many opportunities to grow their professional careers. From coding to writing or researching to cataloging, graduate assistants — like these five featured students — take the skills, make them their own and hone a path toward their passion and career.
When Dr. Jonathan Gore and Dr. Anna Hayton-Gore walked into their first class at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry, they were strangers. That quickly changed. What began as a shared passion for helping others and studying side by side grew into something deeper — a bond that carried them through dental school and into their wedding the day after Commencement.
Thousands of graduates will cross the Commencement stage through Sunday (May 18) receiving degrees from all West Virginia University schools and colleges across nine ceremonies. Meet some of the newest University alumni.
To mark the end of another successful academic year, the West Virginia University Division of Student Life is celebrating excellence across campus with spring awards honoring students, faculty and staff who have helped improve the University.
There is no “right” path to take to get to college, and this rings true for West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources senior Jay Rossell who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries resources.
West Virginia Institute of Technology grad Sam Miller started out in chemical engineering, but segued to forensic investigation after realizing he could apply his love for chemistry in a practical setting. Then, in his junior year, a few criminal justice classes and an internship with the Public Defender’s Office helped him find his purpose. Miller will be attending the WVU College of Law this fall.
Tim South, a student in the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy, has swam all the Class V rapids and most of the Class IV rapids, on the Lower Gauley River. That kind of courage and determination helped him in his pursuit of a doctoral degree.