Five women and five men are vying for the annual Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer titles at West Virginia University. The winners will be announced at halftime of the WVU -Pitt football game Saturday, Nov. 15, at Mountaineer Field.

Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer candidates, all WVU seniors/professional students, must be nominated by a student organization and complete an application and 600-word essay about why they are proud to be a Mountaineer.

This year’s finalists for Ms. Mountaineer are: Azadeh Afshari, Morgantown; Lindsey”Amber”Brugnoli, Beckley; Shannon L. Glaspell, Grafton; Jennifer Martin, Kingwood; and Elizabeth Nutter, Bridgeport.

The finalists for Mr. Mountaineer are Charlie Battleson, Buffalo, N.Y.; Michael Campanelli, Rahway, N.J.; Chad N. Proudfoot, Grafton; Brian Eugene Sayre, Winfield; and Richard Edward Tyre, Elkins.

Contestants for Ms. Mountaineer:

Azadeh Afshari , an exercise physiology major from Morgantown, is sponsored by the Student Health Advisory Board (SHAB). She is president of SHAB and holds an executive position with Student Government Association as the executive director of Student Health Service. She has also been a member of the Exercise Physiology Club, WVU Emerging Women Leaders, Vice President’s Nutrition and Wellness Committee, Student Health Access Committee and served as a governor for WVU Student Board of Governors last year. Afshari is also active in the community. She is a WVU football hostess, WVU new student orientation speaker and has been a volunteer at WVU Hospitals. She is currently a personal training intern at Mylan Wellness Center and Stansbury Loft, and plans on attending dental school. Among her academic achievements, Afshari made the 2002 and 2003 National Dean’s List, WVU Honor Roll and was a finalist for the Kenneth D. Gray Leadership Award. She is the daughter of Shahla Azadi and Dr. AliAkbar Afshari.

Lindsey”Amber”Brugnoli , a third-year College of Law student from Beckley, is sponsored by the Student Bar Association (SBA) and the Marilyn E. Lugar Trial Association. She is chairman of the Student Government Association Judicial Board of Appeals, trial coordinator for Lugar Trial Association, chair of the SBA social committee, mentor for the Law School Peer Group and secretary of the Mountain Centennial Planning Committee. Brugnoli is an officer in the U.S. Air Force and was named Air Force ROTC Distinguished Graduate. She has received the USAA Spirit Award and was recognized by Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities. Brugnoli is a graduate assistant for WVU ’s Residential Education program and has been an undergraduate adviser. She has volunteered with Adopt-A-Highway, SHOP , Red Cross and United Way. She is the daughter of Tom and Lisa Brugnoli.

Shannon L. Glaspell , a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Grafton, is the daughter of Lou Ann and Richard Glaspell. Her grandparents are Howard and Willa Glaspell of Fairmont and the late Carl and Rita Dunham. She is president of the WVU Collegiate 4-H Club, treasurer of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, public relations officer of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the WVU Microgravity Research Team/NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, Sigma Gamma Tau and Pi Tau Sigma. In the community, she volunteers as a 4-H camping assistant and 4-H leader in Taylor and Monongalia Counties. In addition, Glaspell has participated in Americorps and the Relay for Life. She also received a NASA certificate of training, made the WVU President’s List and Dean’s List and received the WVU Mountaineer Scholarship, Americorps Education Award and West Virginia Aerospace Award. She is sponsored by the WVU Collegiate 4-H Club.

Jennifer Martin , a pharmacy major from Kingwood, is sponsored by the WVU School of Pharmacy. With a 3.95 GPA , she has been honored by several organizations including the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. Martin was the 2002-2003 recipient of the Frank W. Vigneault Memorial Scholarship. She was also named Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Freshman and has been on the Dean’s List and Presidential List. Her campus involvement has included being the vice president of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Students of Pharmacy, president of Lambda Kappa Sigma and a national delegate and vice president of the Rho Chi-Pharmacy Honorary Society. Through the School of Pharmacy, she participates in career fairs, orientation and intramural football. Martin is also involved in the local community as part of the West Virginia Weapons of Mass Destruction Task Force, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, Valley Elementary School poison prevention program and Ronald McDonald House. She is the daughter of Darrell and Barbara Martin.

Elizabeth Nutter is a social work major from Bridgeport and the daughter of Barbara and John Nutter. Sponsored by Sigma Kappa Sorority, she has served as a delegate to her sorority’s national convention and vice president of scholarship. Because of her interest in Greek organizations, she served as vice president of public relations for Panhellenic. She is president of the Bachelor’s Social Work Organization and attended the National Association of Social Workers West Virginia chapter as a student representative. Since she began college, Nutter has volunteered at numerous agencies such as the Harrison County United Way, WVU Center on Aging, West Virginia Senior Legal Aid and Central West Virginia Community Action, just to name a few. She has made the Dean’s List and received the WVU Alumni Scholarship (University Chapter). A fun fact: she placed first in the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival Pasta Cook-off.

Contestants for Mr. Mountaineer:

Charlie Battleson , an aerospace and mechanical engineering major from Buffalo, N.Y., is the son of Chuck and Peg Battleson. He is WVU ’s student body president and part of WVU ’s Microgravity Research: NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. With an interest in aerospace, Battleson is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and former president of Sigma Gamma Tau, the national honor society of Aerospace Engineers. He is also a member of the Mountaineer Maniacs, National Residence Hall Honorary and is a former resident assistant in Braxton Tower. One of Student Government Association’s (SGA) accomplishments under his leadership is the creation of the Community Relations Committee to increase student involvement and representation within the community. Battleson is sponsored by SGA .

Michael Campanelli is from Rahway, N.J. He is a mechanical and aerospace engineering major and the son of Frank and JoAnne Campanelli. As a member of the Student Government Association, he was elected chief of staff. He is also a design team member for the WVU Microgravity Research Team as well as a participant in the NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. In addition, Campanelli is a teaching assistant for University 101, vice president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. On the weekends, he regularly attends sporting events as part of the Mountaineer Maniacs. He also volunteers in the community, giving presentations to 7th and 8th graders about engineering and helping with the Special Olympics Summer Games. He is sponsored by the Italian American Organization.

Chad N. Proudfoot is a political science major from Grafton and the son of Charles and Winifred Proudfoot. Among his academic achievements, the WVU Eberly college of Arts and Sciences has presented him with the Certificate of Achievement. Proudfoot has received several awards including the Andrea Smith Memorial Scholarship given to an outstanding freshman in the WVU Band. Proudfoot is treasurer of Gamma Beta Phi, regional treasurer of the West Virginia Region of Gamma Beta Phi, a member of the Student Government Association Judicial Board and a commissioner on Gov. Bob Wise’s West Virginia Capitol Building Commission. To give back to the community, he serves on the West Virginia Memorial Day Committee, International Mother’s Day Shrine Board of Trustees and Trades Preservation Council of West Virginia Inc. Proudfoot is sponsored by the Gamma Beta Phi Society.

Brian E. Sayre is a pharmacy major from Winfield. His parents are William and Diana Sayre. At WVU , he has served as president of both Rho Chi and the School of Pharmacy Class of 2004. As an active student in the School of Pharmacy, he has been involved with the career fair and self-study committee and was a co-moderator for the Merck Pharmacy Student Research Conference. Sayre has been active in the community as a volunteer for Malden Elementary and Cedar Grove Community Schools, Habitat for Humanity, the West Virginia Rural Health Education Program and the WVU Weapons of Mass Destruction Task Force. For his academic achievement, he has been recognized by the American Institute of History of Pharmacy. He also has received the Ray Ridgway Memorial and Ralph S. Johnson Scholarships. Sayre is sponsored by the WVU School of Pharmacy.

Richard Edward Tyre , the son of Barbra and Edward Tyre, is sponsored by the WVU chapter of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He is a geology major from Elkins and is a tuba player in the”Pride of West Virginia,”the Mountaineer Marching Band. He also plays the trombone for the WVU Pep Band and chaired fundraisers to raise money for marching band scholarships while a member of WVU ’s chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national marching band honorary. Tyre served as president of the Delta Chi International Fraternity and is a member of the West Virginia Wham! coaching staff, WVU – Juggling Club and College Republicans. He was also a member of the Homecoming Court. He has worked as a WVU campus recreation referee and as a WVU Athletic Department tutor for geology, geography and mathematics. Tyre is active in the community as well. He has been an American Legion Mountaineer Boys’State Senior counselor and Kaleidoscope Community Learning Centers volunteer.