News

Congratulations to the following Presidential Student Ambassadors in Cohort 15!  Nominated by faculty, these students represent what is best about West Virginia University. Enrolled in six different colleges, they include: Lama Alshamroukh, Joely Chikombero, Catherine Evans, Paige Fox, Adalaide Hickey, Kayla Holloman, Daniel Kaddar, Karlee McCune, Lillian Meyers, Brooklynn Miller, Lauren Morris, Sarah Rahin, and Tyson Watson. In addition to recording and presenting face-to-face peer-advice speeches, they will engage in 40 hours of service and meet with campus administrators and leaders in class and at the PSA Summit V at Blaney House in March. At the conclusion of the WVUe 280 course (Presidential Student Ambassadors: Leading & Serving), they will become Certified Student Leaders via Student Engagement and Leadership. 

Whether it was assisting with book requests related to the Appalachian Prison Book Project - hearing from veteran Frank Vitale, US National Guard and President/CEO of Forge Business Solutions on Veteran's Day - or being invited into the world of Erik Muendel, creative technologist, entrepreneur, and community builder...the PSAs were immersed in different aspects of service, team-building, and passion.

Today’s higher education institutions across the United States face serious challenges including financial constraints, declining enrollments, technological advancements, political pressures, student health concerns, political pressures, and faculty/staff/student protests, to name a few.  The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has added uncertainty to an already problematic situation.

Liam Risk (C10), Laasya Chennuru (C8), and Rozaireo Jones (C13) were featured in the WVU Foundation Day of Giving 2025 video.  

Thank you to the University Police Department, specifically Sgt. Brock Armstrong, Lt. Bryan Kuhn (pictured below with Cohort 13), and Lt. Jeff Wright for providing training to the PSAs on active shooters, de-escalation, and safety.  We appreciate your wisdom and suggestions.

Each semester since the Presidential Student Ambassador Program began, we have had the unwavering support of many leaders within and outside of West Virginia University who have engaged with the students.  They include Connie Banta, Appalachian Prison Book Project; Meshea Poore, Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance; and retired Navy SEAL, Dr. John Havlik, retired Navy SEAL, author, and motivational speaker. In addition, we could always count on speakers from Career Services, Adventure WV, Student Engagement and Leadership, iServe, The Purpose Institute, ASPIRE, Pre-Health, Carruth Center, WellWVU, and LGBTQ+.  

Since the inception of the Presidential Ambassador Program, President Gee has hosted a luncheon meeting to engage with the PSAs.  Thank you, President Gee, for your support of this program.

In October 2024, Cohort 12 embarked upon a group project, Vote for America! 2024  Each of the PSAs recorded a non-partisan video containing election information to inform their peers and to encourage them to vote, most for the first time.