West Virginia Universitys Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences has named its outstanding seniors for the 2001-02 academic year. They are: Roger Hanshaw, Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences; Brittany Dickie, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences; Karen Cox, Division of Forestry; Matthew Williard, Division of Plant and Soil Sciences; and Renee Gough, Division of Resource Management.
Hanshaw, of Valley Fork, a 2001 Rhodes Scholar state finalist and Barry M. Goldwater Scholar finalist, carries a 3.9 grade point average and will graduate with a bachelors degree in biochemistry. Beginning in August, he plans to pursue a graduate degree in organic chemistry. He is also one of 30 WVU Foundation Outstanding Seniors and was conferred the Order of Augusta, WVU s highest academic honor. Hanshaw is a member of Mountain Honorary, Phi Kappa Phi Honorary, Gamma Sigma Delta Honorary and president of the WVU Collegiate Future Farmers of America Chapter. He is a WVU Presidential Scholar, a four-time recipient of the WVU Veterinary Medicine Scholarship and received the Davis College Student Service and Leadership Award. He also earned an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education research grant. His many activities include serving as chairman of the West Virginia Technology Student Association Foundation, state chairman of the West Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Committee, chief parliamentarian of the National Technology Student Association and state vice president of the West Virginia Pork Producers Association.
Dickie, of Morgantown, will graduate with a bachelors degree in child development and family studies and plans to pursue a masters degree in that field at WVU . She worked as student teacher at WVU s Child Development Laboratory under Bobbie Warash, who credits Dickie with planning and leading an outstanding unit in art appreciation. Dickie gave children the opportunity to critique art works of famous artists. The childrens responses to the art were then printed along the artwork. In the program, children also got to try the methods that the artists used. Dickie is also a trained evaluator of early childhood centers in West Virginia, was active in the WVU Association for Young Children, and will graduate cum laude as a forest resources management major.
Cox, of Westover, says her driving goal was to learn how to improve her and others’understanding of the environment. She built her goals upon the experiences she received from a self-funded cross-country trip. She adds that after seeing the splendors this country has to offer, she fell in love with West Virginia and moved to her parentshome in Florida just long enough to save money to move”home”and attend college at WVU . Cox, another WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior who carries a 3.86 grade point average, will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in forest resource management. She is member of the Forestry Club, the WVU Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, the National Student Assembly for the Society of American Foresters, Xi Sigma Pi Forestry Honorary and Gamma Sigma Delta Agricultural Honorary. She is a volunteer for Allegheny Conservation Association and is a research fellow for the Regional Research Institute. Cox is also the recipient of the W. Clement Percival Scholarship, the Wyant Scholarship and Vegetation Management Award.
Williard, of Lykens, Pa., an environmental protection major, spent much of his time at WVU as a valued laboratory worker for John Balasko, who describes Williard as”a fine young man and excellent student and worker.”Williard was active with the Plant and Soil Sciences Club and the Wildlife Society. He also coached a Youth Hunter Education Challenge Team that taught young hunters about ethical practices and hunting safety. He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Gamma Sigma Delta, and the Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences Council. He received the West Virginia Garden Club Scholarship, Newton F. Baughman Scholarship, and Safari Club International Scholarship. While at WVU , he was also a member of the Archery Club.
An agribusiness management and rural development major, Gough, of Keyser, didnt confine her activities to the Division of Resource Management during her time as an undergraduate. She was a member of the Division of Forestrys Woodsmen Team, Forestry Club and Wood Products Society. Gough also worked as a student laboratory assistant in the Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Rumen Fermentation Profiling Laboratory, which conducts feed effectiveness studies for livestock producers, feed manufacturers, product developers and researchers across the nation. She was also active with Collegiate FFA and was recognized by the National Society for Collegiate Scholars and Gamma Sigma Delta.
Davis College outstanding seniors are selected by faculty in each of the five academic divisions. The students were honored at the Davis Colleges Honors Convocation held in April.