Hes been active in the Honors College. Shes helped lead student government initiatives. Jesse Potts and Erica Rogers are West Virginia Universitys 2008 Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer.
The winnersalong with Most Loyal Mountaineers were announced during Mountaineer Week halftime festivities of Saturdays (Nov. 8) WVU -Cincinnati football game at Milan Puskar Stadium.
The competition honors students with a record of academic achievement and extracurricular involvement,said Molly Wilson, Mr./Ms. Mountaineer competition co-chair.
All of the candidates epitomize the Mountaineer spirit and show a strong commitment to service and learning, she said.
Potts , an English major from Berkeley Springs, was sponsored by WVU s McNair Scholars Program.
His campus activities have included being a resident assistant from 2006-08 at Summit Hall. As an RA, he was a liaison between residents and staff. He organized extracurricular programs and helped ensure a great living and learning experience for students.
Potts is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society and Modern Language Association.
The McNair Scholar has also found time to work as a McNair research intern and volunteer at WVU Childrens Hospital, where he reads to patients.
In recognition of his academic achievement, the Honors College student was named to the Presidents List. Potts is a PROMISE Scholar and Bucklew Scholar, and hes been recognized as an Outstanding English Major.
Rogers , a political science major from Weirton, was sponsored by the Student Government Association.
She has been involved with the Student Government Association, WVU Dance Marathon, Debate Team, Stalnaker Hall Council and Habitat for Humanity.
Giving back to her community is key to Rogers WVU experience. Besides her work with the SGA Community Partners Initiative, she volunteers with Sunnyside Up and Kaleidoscope and mentors kids at the Boys and Girls Club.
In addition, Rogers has interned at the Morgantown Code Enforcement Department and worked at Aramark Corp. and WVU New Student Orientation.
The PROMISE Scholar has collected many honors: a WVU Presidential Scholarship, Sunnyside Up Sunshine Award, Student Government Association Governor of the Year and Presidents and Deans lists. She is also a member of the WVU Honors College.
Mr. and Ms. Mountaineer candidates, all WVU seniors or professional students, completed an application and essay. Each was sponsored by a campus group.
Other Mr. Mountaineer finalists:
James Bailey , a public relations major from South Charleston, was sponsored by the Mountaineer Maniacs.
He is executive director of the Mountaineer Maniacs, a WVU Publications Board member, School of Journalism mentor, Student Government, Mountaineer Week Photo Contest chair and Delta Tau Delta Fraternity member.
Bailey has received numerous honors, including the WVU Loyalty Permanent Endowment Scholarship and Greater Alleghenies American Red Cross Scholarship. He made the WVU Deans List and was named the 2008 WVU representative to the National Conference of Ethics in America at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Baileys community service ranges from the annual Students Helping Other People program to serving as the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee cadre chief liaison.
He works for WVU Student Organizations Services in Morgantown and interns at the West Virginia Center for Professional Development in Charleston.
George Gerbo , a broadcast news major from Weirton, was sponsored by U92 , WVUs campus radio station.
He has been involved with U92 s sports department since 2006 and is currently the sports director.
Gerbo is a tour leader at the WVU Visitors Resource Center, and he works at WVU Sports Communications as a public address announcer for men and womens soccer. He recently completed a summer internship at the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
Active in the Weirton community, Gerbo has volunteered at the Family of God Christian Center church camp and an event focused on children with special needs.
His academic honors include being named to the Presidents and Deans lists.
Alvin Hathaway Jr., a student in the Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration program, hails from Baltimore. He was sponsored by the WVU College of Law Student Bar Association.
Hathaway received bachelors degrees in both computer engineering and electrical engineering from WVU .
He is currently president of the Student Bar Association, and he was first and second-year class president of the College of Law Class of 2009. He has also been a member of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, Black Law Student Association, Democratic Law Caucus and Mountain Honorary.
Hathaway helped found a student organization called Institute for Human Dignity, and he has served as president of the WVU chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, a member of the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Student Advisory Council and treasurer of the Alpha Omega Omega co-ed fraternity.
Hathaway has done volunteer work for the Bartlett House, Ronald McDonald House and local schools.
His awards include the W.E.B. DuBois Graduate Fellowship, Frederick Douglass Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service, Kaiser Aluminum&Chemical Company Academic Scholarship and a handful of law scholarships.
Robby Queen , an international studies major from Logan, was sponsored by the Student Government Association.
His campus activities consist of the SGA , Gold and Blue Student Ambassadors, Model United Nations and Mountain Honorary.
Queen has participated in the Students Helping Other People program and volunteered at the Rosenbaum House. Hes a donor for the Red Cross and Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
Among his many awards are the Ken Gray Student Leadership Award, Deans List, PROMISE Scholarship and Mountaineer Week Distinguished Service Award.
Queen has worked in the offices of the West Virginia Senate president-lieutenant governor, governor of the state of West Virginia and Congressman Nick Rahall.
Ms. Mountaineer finalists:
Natalie Committee , a public relations major from Wheeling, was sponsored by the Newman Club.
She has been president and social chair of the Newman Club, treasurer for the Public Relations Student Society of America, vice president of Diversity in Media Association, advertising chair for Mountaineer Week and a news reporter for U92 .
Committees also taken part in the Latin American Student Organization, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Fraternity, and she was president of the Stalnaker Hall Council and a School of Journalism mentor.
Her community activities include being a Dominion Post freelance writer, Salvation Army volunteer and Safe Kids Buckle Up Child Safety Program coordinator.
Among her honors are the Presidents Award for Service; Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honorary; Presidents List; Honors College; Chimes and Helvetia honoraries; and PROMISE and Ogden Newspapers scholarships.
Her work experience includes community assistant for Stalnaker and Dadisman halls and GMC marketing brand ambassador. She interned at PACE TEC and GolinHarris.
Carrie James , an exercise physiology major from New Manchester, was sponsored by the Collegiate 4-H Club.
James is heavily involved in the 4-H Club, co-chairing the promotions committee. She has also been active in the Mountaineer Maniacs, Honors College, Exercise Physiology Club, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Juggling Club, Adventure WV and Swing Dance Club.
James has made a difference in the community through the 4-H Club, Jackson Mill Service Days and Christian Student Fellowship in Morgantown. In addition, shes been a physical therapy volunteer, and shes worked with the American Cancer Society.
An Honors College member, shes been on the Presidents and Deans lists and was named a 4-H All-Star. She received the C.H. Hartley 4-H Award, Mildred Pfizer 4-H Scholarship, PROMISE Scholarship and First Choice America Leadership Scholarship.
Her work experience includes being a resident assistant and WVU Extension camp instructor.
Kara Martin , a doctoral student in audiology from Kingwood, was sponsored by the WVU chapter of the National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology.
She received her bachelors degree in speech-pathology/audiology from WVU .
Martin is the vice president of WVU NAFDA as well as a member of Golden Key and the National Student Speech, Language, and Hearing Association.
She has tutored for the WVU Intensive English Program and is currently a graduate assistant in the deans office of the College of Human Resources and Education.
Her community service ranges from participating in the Relay for Life to organizing the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Legislation Drive. She has also volunteered at HealthSouth and the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Development Clinic.
As an undergraduate at WVU , Martin was a PROMISE Scholar. She earned Presidents List honors and received numerous scholarships and awards, including WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior and Outstanding Capstone Oral Presentation within the Department of Speech Pathology/Audiology.
She has worked in the hearing center and speech clinic at WVU .
Kristen Thomaselli , a public relations major from New Cumberland, was sponsored by the WVU Alumni Association.
She is active on the SGA Board of Governors as director of the Safety Committee and PhotoVoice, a program that addresses safety concerns on campus.
Thomaselli has been a mentor at the Morgantown Boys and Girls Club, School of Journalism and WVU Honors College. Her activities have also included the Council on Residency, Public Relations Student Society of America and Institute for Human Dignity. She has also been the public relations director for the Italian American Organization and music chair for the Mountaineer Week Committee.
Thomaselli is a public relations intern at the WVU Alumni Association and Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort. In addition, she has worked for the Victims Witness Assistance Program and Frasure-Singleton Student Legislative Program.
A PROMISE Scholar, she has made the Presidents and Deans lists, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board, Golden Key, National Exemplary Scholars in Service and National Society of Collegiate Scholars judicial counciland she received the Stalnaker Hall Academic Award for Scholastic Excellence.
The Mr./Ms. Mountaineer competition is part of WVU s annual Mountaineer Week activities, Nov. 8-16. For a complete schedule, go to http://mountaineerweek.wvu.edu/ .