A West Virginia University student has once again caught the attention of USA TODAY . For the fifth time in the 13-year life of the college awards program, a WVU student has made the All-USA top academic team.
Mike Wood, a senior dual-degree candidate in political science and human resource management from Cool Ridge (Raleigh County), is one of 20 college students nationwide recognized in todays (Feb. 27) edition as a member of the 2002 All-USA College Academic First Team.
The group, chosen from a field of almost 600, represents some of the best and brightest undergraduates from various academic fields who excel not only in scholarship but also in leadership roles on and off campus. Each receives a trophy and a $2,500 cash prize.
“Ive been impressed with Mike Wood ever since I met him as a freshman interviewing for one of our top scholarships,”said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.”He is a first-generation college student from the coalfields of Appalachia, and its been rewarding to watch his thinking expand in his four years with us. Hes a talented writer, so I first thought journalism would be his bent. But hes developed a keen interest in politicsparticularly as it relates to effecting change at the grassroots leveland combines that with solid communication skills, strategic thinking and an interest in business. Now, Im convinced we might see him as a leading public servant someday.”
Wood hopes so, too.
“I knew I wanted to be involved in public service as early as 16,”he said. Witnessing Bob Dole address the Republican National Convention in 1996 about”being involved in a cause greater than oneself”showed him for the first time that politics could be noble. Now that he is older and has worked on various environmental projects at the local level, he says he sees what can happen when community groups take ownership in something and work together.
Wood cites a private-public partnership project he is involved with in nearby Somerset County, Pa., as an example.
Called the Dark Shade (Creek) Brownfields Project, the watershed is heavily polluted with acid mine drainage from an abandoned coal mine. Through various community groups and a mix of non-profit and government-funded grants, the community hopes to clean up the site.
While skeptical at first, Wood said many in the area now realize that clean water could be channeled back into the creek, making it possible to someday fish and swim there. With the Bush administrations support of clean-coal technology, Wood said prospects for improvements are”more realistic than ever.”
“Modern coal plants that use old refuse for energy while cleaning up AMD discharges and using them for industrial water will not only improve the environment, but also provide hundreds of jobs to these economically depressed regions,”he said.
“One of the problems prevalent in Appalachia is the mindset that `things are the way they are and they arent going to change.I want to be an agent for change. There is so much potential out there to make the economy and our way of life better, especially now,”Wood noted.
Dean Duane Nellis of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences lauded Woods work in local communities.
“Mike is an outstanding political science major who is strongly committed to local communities, and sees the key to public service as a decentralized partnership, involving government at all levels, but directed primarily at the local community.”
Wood credits WVU political science professor Allan Hammock for piquing his interest in politics and, while they are from different political parties and opposite ends of most issues,”Professor Hammock helped me realize that involvement in the American political process, while it may not be the most lucrative career, is really where my passion lies.”
He also is quick to credit WVU s rich mix of academic opportunities and challenging curriculum and research experiences.
“Ive had the best of all worlds at WVU . Everything has fit together nicely,”Wood said.”Ive pulled together my interests in government, journalism through my work at The Daily Athenaeum student newspaper, business and human resources to prepare me for the future.”
College of Business and Economics Dean Jay Coats said Wood’s dual degree in economics and political science is a”potent blend.”
“The world of politics and economics is what headlines in our newspapers and TV news are made of,”Dr. Coats said.”These are the forces that make history and shape our lives, and we are proud that Mike is venturing forth in these waters to improve the world in which we live.”
The recipient of a 2001 Truman Scholarship for select students dedicated to a career in public service, the WVU senior plans to pursue a masters degree in political managementand possibly lawfollowing graduation in May. Eventually, Wood said he will return to southern West Virginia where he would like to work with political hopefuls.
“A major problem in rural areas is that often the potential candidates with the best ideas have problems effectively communicating those ideas,”he said.”I want to work with these people to being their message home to the voters in a very personal, very real way. Its time to change how politics operate in West Virginia for the better.”
In addition to the summer watershed internship, Wood has also collaborated with federal employees to write a 40-page government document on non-profit watershed group success stories. At the U.S. Office of Surface Mining in D.C., Woods wrote grants and helped administer the summer internship watershed program involving 22 interns in eight states.
Honors and awards include the 2000 Kelsey L. Wilkins Memorial Scholarship from the College of Business and Economics; 2000 Irvin Stewart Summer Internship Scholarship for work in the U.S. Office of Surface Mining; 2000 West Virginia Press Association Award for Best Page One Design; and 1999 Rookie of the Year Award from The Daily Athenaeum.
He is also a WVU Foundation Scholar, the Universitys highest academic and financial award.
Campus activities have ranged from his campus newspaper work as a reporter, columnist
and editor to historical research for the 75th anniversary of St. John University Parishs Newman Hall.
Community involvement runs the gamut from sharing his interest in old-time mountain dancing with schoolchildren and senior citizens as part of the Appalachian Country Cloggers to talking to youth about the importance of attending college and being good environmental stewards on behalf of the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.
Wood is the son of Robert and Mary Wood of Cool Ridge and the grandson of Louis and Jessie Maiuri of Summersville.
He is the fifth WVU student to make the first team, joining Peter Love of Charleston (2001); Carmella Evans of Kopperston (1997); John Unger of Martinsburg (1992); and Brian Caveney of Wheeling (1991).
For more information on the winners, log on to http://www.usatoday.com/life/llead.htm .