Tyler Hickey came to West Virginia University from Indiana to pursue a graduate degree in geology on the advice of a professor who was a University graduate. He was one of 24 students chosen for a prestigious internship sponsored by the Geothermal Technologies Office and the National Science Foundation, which aims to support graduate students going into the geothermal workforce.
Mason Solliday, a sophomore in the West Virginia University School of Nursing, recently provided life-saving assistance for his friend who unexpectedly collapsed on campus. He credits his strong faith and his University studies with helping him to keep calm and intervene in a critical situation.
Fanta-Marie Toure, an alumna of the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics, has created opportunities for herself since completing her Master of Science in Business Cybersecurity Management, quickly becoming one of the leading social media influencers in the cybersecurity field while working as an analyst for a national security company.
Zunaira Malik, a recent West Virginia University Fashion Design and Merchandising graduate, premiered two collections at the 2025 New York Fashion Week with current students and faculty on hand to cheer for her.
Originally from the Indian city of Ahmedabad, West Virginia University doctoral student Shannay Rawal is part of a team of WVU engineers partnering with poultry farmers in the state’s Eastern Panhandle to find practical solutions for dealing with poultry manure and other forms of livestock litter in a way that’s environmentally friendly and economically viable.
For Cody Goforth, a behavioral health therapist at the West Virginia University Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, being one of the first people on campus to connect with students is something he said he loves most about his job.
For much of her athletic career, West Virginia University College of Applied Human Sciences graduate student Hannah Swartz was a standout soccer player — driven, competitive and committed to improving. But as she progressed in the game, the emotional and mental toll of coaching styles around her began to wear her down, which ultimately led her to the Coaching and Teaching Studies doctoral program at WVU.
Raafay Uqaily, a 2023 graduate of the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, has made history as the first University student to receive the prestigious Tau Beta Pi Laureate Award from the nation’s oldest engineering society.
Well before Kathryn Gazal came to the United States, she was interested in forest economics in the Philippines, where she grew up as the daughter of an environmental forester. The West Virginia University associate professor of forest resources management now focuses on the economic contributions of the forest products industry.
When Molly Hughes, assistant professor in the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics, looks at supply chains — those vast webs of factories, transportation networks, warehouses and retailers that connect the raw source materials of any product to its eventual end user — she sees human beings. She studies risks to supply chains, as well as risks posed by supply chains, with a perspective informed by seven years in the pharmaceuticals industry.