5 WVU Bucklew Scholars chosen as 2026 Foundation Scholars

Twenty incoming West Virginia University students from across the Mountain State who are driven by shared passions for innovation and service have been named the 2026-27 cohort of Bucklew Scholars. From this distinguished group of students, five have been selected as Foundation Scholars, the highest academic scholarship the University awards.

The new Foundation Scholars include Rose Bigelow from Oak Hill High School, Chastity Brockett from Ravenswood High School, Roman Gevenosky from Shady Spring High School, Liam Kruse from Wheeling Central Catholic High School and Sarah McBee from John Marshall High School.

"The five Foundation Scholars join a proud history of exemplary students who have challenged themselves academically as Mountaineers," President Michael T. Benson said. "I welcome Rose, Chastity, Roman, Liam, and Sarah to West Virginia University as part of our incoming first-year class, and I look forward to seeing what steps toward their bold futures they take with us in their respective fields. Let's Go!"

Valued at more than $100,000 total, the Foundation Scholarship covers college costs for four years of undergraduate studies, including tuition and fees, room and board, and a book stipend. Each Foundation Scholar will also receive a $4,500 stipend to help diversify their academic journeys through study abroad, internships or research.

Bigelow, the 18th member of her family to attend WVU, will major in hospitality and tourism management and minor in international business with the goal of becoming a general manager for high-end international hotels. She plans to become a Presidential Student Ambassador and follow in the footsteps of her father, who served as the 1994-95 student body president, by pursuing a role in the Student Government Association. Bigelow, who has been taking voice lessons since the age of 11, enjoys singing Italian opera arias and intends to study abroad at John Cabot University in Rome.

Brockett will major in chemical engineering in the pre-medical track to become a pediatric oncologist. Inspired by her family's medical struggles in rural West Virginia, she is dedicated to improving health care accessibility across the Mountain State. With a passion for storytelling, she said she also hopes to write children's books to help her future patients navigate the complexities of illness and loss. Brockett looks forward to joining the Society of Women Engineers, Collegiate FFA and the Mountaineer Marching Band as a sousaphone player. She is considering using her travel stipend to study global health disparities in underserved communities.

Gevenosky, a second-generation college student and aspiring infectious disease physician, will major in immunology and medical microbiology and minor in rural Appalachian health disparities. Inspired by Dr. Anthony Fauci's ability to bridge medicine and government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, he seeks to modernize rural health care in West Virginia as a physician-policy advocate. A well-rounded athlete, Gevenosky said he plans to join the track, tennis and pickleball clubs, along with CRU and SGA. He intends to use his travel stipend to study Australia's mobile clinics as a potential model for improving medical accessibility in Appalachia.

Kruse, driven by his interests in mathematics, policy and statistics, will major in economics. He envisions a career at the intersection of the global economy and data-driven forecasting - whether that means working for international banks in Europe to study how world events shape financial markets or following his father into academia. He will join the Orthodox Christian Fellowship and Mountaineers on Wall Street. With his sights set on studying at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece or attending the International Conference of Econometrics, Kruse is currently mastering Greek and French to prepare for his experiences abroad.

McBee, a third-generation college student inspired by the University's top-tier laboratories, will major in biochemistry. An aspiring gynecologist, she is dedicated to improving women's health care and breaking down social stigmas surrounding sexual health. She looks forward to joining the Global Medical and Dental Brigades and studying the human papillomavirus and other sexually transmitted diseases through the Research Apprenticeship Program. A viola and trumpet player, she plans to explore the music ensembles and join the Swing Dance Club. McBee also said she hopes to channel her lifelong interest in archaeology by studying abroad in Egypt.

Since the inaugural class in 1987, WVU has awarded 200 students with Foundation Scholarships. To qualify for the Foundation Scholarship, students must meet a rigorous set of criteria, including holding West Virginia residency, possessing a minimum grade point average of 3.8 and achieving a minimum composite score of 30 on the ACT or the equivalent SAT score.

The Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship is named for a former WVU president and is valued at $60,000, providing its recipients with $15,000 per year over four years to be used toward educational costs. All Bucklew Scholars have qualified for the WVU Honors College and the scholarship may be used in addition to the state's PROMISE Scholarship.

Reflecting a strong interest in health care, 13 of the 15 Bucklew Scholars are pursuing majors that serve as foundations for future careers in the medical professions.

With a focus on the intricacies of the brain, three students will major in neuroscience. Among them, Bryce Cookus from Hedgesville High School is bridging his passions for biology and psychology to pursue a career as a physician assistant, and Chloe Curtis from Winfield High School is double majoring in psychology to practice psychiatry fluent in American Sign Language. Joining them is Kelsey Rorrer from Sissonville High School, who aspires to treat vocal pathologies in singers as an otolaryngologist.

Three students are pursuing biology degrees as a pathway to medicine. Farhad Faridi from George Washington High School is an aspiring cardiologist whose passion for medicine was shaped by his father's career as a nephrologist, and Trace McLaren from University High School is double majoring in health services administration to become a physician-administrator. Additionally, Louis Zhang from Morgantown High School aspires serve his community as a physician.

Seeking to enhance patient care through technical innovation, Lillian Farinash from Parkersburg High School, Luke Potters from George Washington High School and Emma Ude from Bridgeport High School will major in biomedical engineering. Farinash said she plans to merge her interests in physics and medicine to follow in her father's footsteps as a radiation oncologist, while Potters intends to focus his problem-solving skills on surgical robotics. Ude said she hopes to bring a personal perspective to the development of new technologies designed to ease the daily management of chronic conditions.

Rounding out the health-focused cohort, Chloe Addie from Morgantown High School is majoring in communication sciences and disorders to become a pediatric speech-language pathologist, and Julia Arnett from University High School is majoring in chemistry to follow in her grandfather's footsteps as a future dentist. Next, with a focus on specialized research and health equity, Rayna Lustgarten from Shady Spring High School is majoring in biochemistry to become a physician-scientist, and Maddox McKay from Oak Glen High School is majoring in public health sciences to become an epidemiologist addressing health care challenges in Appalachia.

Beyond the health care field, this year's scholars also include future leaders in engineering and the arts. Marcus Cremann from Moorefield High School is majoring in mechanical engineering to innovate large-scale, sustainable machinery to help farmers feed the world, and Ellie Hoblitzell from Charleston Catholic High School is majoring in music to eventually pursue a management career with a professional orchestra.

The Foundation and Bucklew scholarships are part of the University's comprehensive awards program and are supported, in part, by the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.

-WVU-

ta/4/27/26

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