Five outstanding West Virginia high school seniors were named today (May 15) as West Virginia University Foundation Scholars.


Winners of WVU ’s top academic award, valued at more than $45,000 over a four-year period, receive all educational and living expenses, plus a stipend for study abroad, internships or other enriching educational experiences.


The members of the 2001-02 Class of WVU Foundation Scholars are:


  • Zoya Arora of Morgantown

  • Heather Burford of Elkview

  • Cathy Goffreda of Spencer

  • David Sella of Wheeling

  • Rachel Wiechman of Wheeling


The new scholars were introduced this morning by Gov. Bob Wise and WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. at a special ceremony in the Governor’s Reception Room at the State Capitol.


“WVU is proud to welcome five of the states best and brightest high school students as members of our Class of 2005,”Hardesty said.”I am certain WVU will benefit greatly from their exceptional academic and leadership skills, as their communities and high schools already have. We are honored that they highly value our flagship university and our state. We appreciate the opportunity to play a role in advancing their lifelong education and career paths.”


At the ceremony, Wise commended the students for their accomplishments as high school students and wished them similar success in college and their chosen careers.


“Students like these �€who work hard and achieve great things �€will be the key to our success as a state in the 21st century,”Wise said.”I want to commend them �€and to salute WVU and the WVU Foundation for supporting top students and making these kinds of opportunities available to them.”


Seventy-five state high school students have received WVU ’s most selective scholarship since the program began in 1987.


The Foundation Scholar award, the keystone of the WVU Scholars Program, is restricted to West Virginia resident high school seniors who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance and exhibited unique leadership skills. Fifteen students were awarded the Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship several weeks ago (another four-year award valued at more than $20,000) and interviewed on the Morgantown campus in March. From those 15, these five were awarded the Foundation Scholarship.


Here are brief glimpses of activities and achievements of WVU ’s newest award recipients:

  • Uttara Zoya Arora is the daughter of Rajeev and Usha Arora of Morgantown, MonongaliaCounty.


The idea of staying close to home to attend college doesnt bother Zoya Arora. In fact, thats one of several reasons she chose WVU .


“I love Morgantown �€the size, the scenery. Its the perfect size town for me. I will be close to my family and thats really important to me,”she said.


As a resident of Morgantown since she was in sixth grade, and as the daughter of two WVU employees, Arora has had a chance to see WVU first-hand. Her father, Rajeev, is a professor in the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Science; her mother, Usha, recently began working as a secretary at the HealthSciencesCenter.


Arora said her parents have been the most influential factors in her life.”Ive always admired my dads determination, and I admire both of my parents, who are Indian immigrants, for traveling half-way across the globe to make a better life for themselves,”she explained.


She will major in chemical engineering at WVU and hopes to research alternative and environment-friendly energy sources that will help ease the United Statesdependency on foreign fuel. Last summer, she was chosen for WVU s highly selective High School Summer Research Apprenticeship Program, during which she conducted experiments in an in-vivo microscopy laboratory in the WVU Department of Anatomy.


Arora doesnt limit herself to laboratory work, however. She is the State Youth Leader and a Youth Arts Counselor for the Cumberland Valley India Association and volunteers at Ruby Memorial Hospital and the Rosenbaum Family House. At Morgantown High School, she is president of the Spanish Honor Society.


The National Merit Finalist also spends much of her spare time pursuing creative endeavors, such as writing poetry, singing and playing piano. A two-time member of the West Virginia All-State Chorus, Arora sings soprano in the Chamber Choir and is a piano and vocal student in WVU s Community Music Program. Her poetry has been published in In-between Days and A Celebration of Young Poets and has earned accolades from the International Library of Poetry.


She is the fifth student from MHS to receive the Foundation Scholarship.

  • Heather Lynn Burford is the daughter of Charles and Linda Burford of Elkview, Kanawha County.


Heather Burford says she looks forward to becoming a Mountaineer and foresees herself getting involved in student activities on the WVU campus, from cheering on the Mountaineer football team to joining in community service activities.


“I have always wanted to go to WVU ,”said Burford, whose computer screen name is”IloveWVU.”


“I know I can get a quality education at WVU . At Governors Honors Academy last summer I got to meet some WVU faculty and they were impressive,”she said.


Like all of her fellow Foundation Scholars, the Herbert High School senior has a long list of accolades and achievements, but one of the things that sets her apart is her commitment to community service and public health issues.


Since 1997, Burford has performed over 430 hours of community service, which includes volunteer work at Charleston Area Medical Center and serving as a Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) presenter. She also helped organize canned food drives and the Capital City Serve-A-Thon, as well as volunteering for the Coonskin Park Beautification Project and serving as a United Way spokesperson.


In addition to attending the Governors Honors Academy, Burford received the Harvard Book Award and the Optimist Club Youth Appreciation Award last year. She has been a member of National Honor Society, the marching, concert and jazz bands, the math and science quiz bowl team, the Student Health Advisory Board, the Kanawha Youth Advisory Council and the Bible Club.


Burfordthe first Foundation Scholar from Herbert Hoover High Schoolenvisions a future career in pharmacy, preferably at a Charleston hospital. She wants to specialize in oncology and acute care pharmacy.


She will major in pre-pharmacy at WVU .

  • Catherine Turner Goffreda is the daughter of Stephen and Margaret Goffreda of Spencer, Roane County.


“Im honored to get the Foundation Scholarship,”said Roane County High School senior Cathy Goffreda.”Anything WVU offers me in financial aid I will give back tenfold in leadership and activities.”


At Roane County High, Goffreda is a class officer, a member of Hi-Y and National Honor Society, and president of the Symphonic Choir, among other activities. Ranked first in her class, she has received a Rotary Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She represented her high school as a Hugh OBrian Youth Foundation ambassador and was a finalist for the HOBY World Leadership Congress.


In addition to tutoring at local schools, she has volunteered for the past four years at Miletree Health Care Center and for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program and the Roane Arts and Humanities Council. Goffreda received a STARS 2000 Community Service Achievement Award in recognition of her volunteer work.


Of all her honors and awards, Goffreda said she is most proud of being elected by her peers to the Governors Advisory Council while she was at the Governors Honors Academy last summer at WVU .


“I was really proud because I came from a small town, and I didnt think I would be much competition with kids from larger schools,”she said. Goffreda was also asked to help choose this years GHA participants and to address the West Virginia State Senate as part of her Governors Advisory Council duties.


In her spare time, she enjoys acting in community plays and running.


She will major in English and psychology at WVU . She hopes to earn a doctorate in psychology and work with abused children or troubled adolescents as a clinical psychologist.


“I also want to serve in the West Virginia State Senate,”she added.


Goffreda is the second student from Roane County to win a Foundation Scholarship.

  • David Edmond Sella is the son of Gabriel and Nicoletta Sella of Wheeling, Ohio County.


A senior at The Linsly School, David Sella describes receiving the Foundation Scholarship as a great honor.”To me, its the biggest recognition I could get,”he said.”My parents didnt have the chance to �€~study for free,so I really appreciate this opportunity.”


Sella is well on his way to a career in international business. He has consistently scored in the top 10 in West Virginia in the French National Exams, including ranking first in the state and 7th nationally as a freshman on the Level IA Exam. As a sophomore, he studied at LInstitute de Tourraine as part of a language immersion program in Tours, France. At Linsly, he is member of the French National Honor Society and the French and German Clubs and helped organize the State Latin Convention as a member of the Classics Club.


Although he is uncertain of his undergraduate major, Sella hopes to one day work as an international businessman or an international lawyer. He said he was attracted to WVU by its quality Honors Program and because”its close to home and offers a lot of opportunities.”


He credits his parents, Gabriel and Nicoletta Sella, with being major positive influences in his life.”They have given me a sense of the value of work,”he said,”and they have always pulled me back in line and helped me become more mature.”


Sella has earned numerous awards for his excellence in forensics, Model United Nations and poetry recitation. A four-year letterman on the cross country team, Sella served as varsity co-captain during his senior season. He is a Discover Card Tribute Award State Bronze Prize Winner and a Coca-Cola Scholarship semifinalist.


At the end of his junior year, Sella was chosen by The Linsly School to serve as Head Prefect, an honor and responsibility bestowed upon the student judged to have the best total achievement in the class.


In addition to his academic and extracurricular activities, Sella is a U.S. Soccer Federation certified soccer referee and is a newspaper carrier for the Wheeling News-Register .


One of two Ohio County students to receive Foundation Scholarships this year, Sella is the third student from The Linsly School to receive a Foundation Scholarship.

  • Rachel Jo Wiechman is the daughter of Ralph and Debbie Wiechman of Wheeling, Ohio County.


Think twice before using antibacterial hand lotion, cautions Wheeling Park High School senior Rachel Wiechman.


For several years, Rachel Wiechman has been getting a jump on her plans to become a biochemist. Since 1998 she has worked on a microbiology independent research project to study the effectiveness of antibacterial hand lotions, as well as their ability to produce antibiotic resistance in certain organisms.


This research is just a precursor to what Wiechman hopes will be a career devoted to research.”I can easily picture myself working with a team of scientists to discover new drugs or treatments for diseases,”Wiechman said.


A National Merit Finalist, Wiechman placed first this year in the Regional National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC) competition and first in the West Virginia science bowl competition. She went on to a sixth place finish in the National NEDC competition in February.


Wiechman said her involvement in numerous extracurricular activities has honed her time management skills, which will help her adapt to a rigorous college schedule as a biochemistry.


Wiechman served as captain of Wheeling Parks varsity diving team and is active in numerous school organizations, including National Honor Society, Student Council, Math Club and the Technology Students Association. She is a member of the Principals Leadership


Forum and the Judicial Scholars Program and works as a student athletic trainer and as a REAP counselor for special education.


Wiechman is one of two OhioCounty high school seniors in this years class of Foundation Scholars. She first became attracted to WVU last summer during her time at the Governors Honors Academy.”I really liked how involved the professors were with the students,”Wiechman said.


She also noted that winning a Foundation Scholarship is not only a wonderful honor, but also will give her family peace of mind.”I have two younger brothers, and it is nice that my parents wont have to worry about paying for my education,”she said.


In her spare time, Wiechman likes to read and play volleyball. She also teaches lifeguard and CPR classes for the American Red Cross and works as a lifeguard for the Wheeling Park Commission.


Wiechman is the second Wheeling Park High School senior to receive a Foundation Scholarship. *

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