5 WVU students named Mountaineers of Distinction

West Virginia University has named Matthew Bolling, Brogan Dozier, Isabella Hart, Abby Ruth and Erin Skaff the 2025 Mountaineers of Distinction, a Mountaineer Week tradition that recognizes exemplary academic achievement and extracurricular involvement.

Distinguished by superior academic standing, and a spirit of volunteerism and service to others, the honorees were chosen by an interview selection panel from a pool of 70 students who were recommended from across campus.

The five seniors were announced as the winners during halftime of the WVU vs. Colorado football game Saturday (Nov. 8) at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Bolling,a member of the Honors Collegefrom Morgantown, is a political science major with an emphasis in pre-law and legal studies. An aspiring lawyer, he has pursued learning opportunities to deepen his understanding of the judicial process and legal justice throughout his undergraduate career.

As an executive member of the Student Government Association, he serves as the chair of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Board. He also volunteers his time to the Appalachian Prison Book Project, contributing to an effort that has delivered more than 65,000 books to incarcerated people across six states since 2004.

Formerly, he served as an intern at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in Charleston and was selected as a member of the Morgantown Citizens Academy, a 10-week program that provides a behind-the-scenes look at local municipal government operations and helps to shape Morgantown's future as a strong, thriving community.

Traveling abroad to Italy has been his most gratifying experience, an opportunity that solidified his belief that a true Mountaineer carries the infectious spirit of West Virginia wherever they go.

Dozier, from Charles Town, is a graduate student in journalismwho has immersed herself in leadership and public service opportunities as both an undergraduate and graduate student. An aspiring journalist, she looks forward to a career where she can combine her passion for leadership, service and communication to amplify underrepresented voices.

In 2023-24, Dozier served as the vice president of the Student Government Association and a select student member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is also a graduate assistant with Student Engagement and Leadershipand co-founder of Realizing Our Opportunities Through Service, the student advisory board for the Center for Community Engagement.

As a marketing and communications intern for the West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, she coordinated flood relief efforts and donation drives in McDowell County and Wheeling. Additionally, she served as a press intern for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin and service chair for the League of Women Voters.

Her experiences have taught her that being a Mountaineer means showing up, serving others, and never losing hope for the future of West Virginia and its people.

Hart, a Neil S. Bucklew Scholar and member of the Honors College from Hurricane, is a dual mechanical and aerospace engineering major who has dedicated her time to empowering women in STEM and fostering inclusive spaces on campus.

As a member of the Society of Women Engineers, she has held several leadership roles focused on K-12 outreach initiatives to inspire young females to pursue careers in engineering. Hart also served as a MMAE Mountaineer Mentor, an ambassador for the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resourcesand the chief systems engineer for her spacecraft design capstone project.

Beyond engineering, she has dedicated more than 500 service hours to supporting patients receiving end-of-life care at Amedisys Hospice Care. In recognition of her exceptional service, she is a two-time recipient of the WVU iServePresident's Volunteer Service Award.

Through her undergraduate experiences, she has learned technical excellence means little without compassion and the most meaningful impact often happens in quiet, unseen moments. For Hart, being a Mountaineer is ultimately defined by a commitment to uplifting others in the Mountain State and beyond.

Ruth, a member of the Honors College and Phi Kappa Phi, is a biochemistrymajor from Fallston, Maryland, who has maintained a 4.0 GPA for the last five semesters while conducting research, working as a teaching assistant and serving in leadership roles focused on helping others.

As the vice president for Helping Hands, she has led fundraisers and toy drives for WVU Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital and Rosenbaum Family House. She also helped raise $20,000 for the visually impaired through the Delta Gammaphilanthropy Service for Sight.

Though her high school volleyball career was cut short by two knee injuries, she serves as the captain of Women's Club Volleyballand a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Resilience and the opportunity to shadow her orthopedic surgeon ignited her passion to practice medicine in rural West Virginia, where she can help others fight for their own comebacks.

Her setbacks have taught her the Mountaineer spirit isn't just about never giving up, it's about turning adversity into purpose and coming back stronger while lifting others.

Skaff, a member of the Honors College from Charleston, is a political science major minoring in historyand philosophywho has maintained a 4.0 GPA while holding leadership roles dedicated to serving her fellow students and the community.

She has held several leadership positions as a three-year member of the Student Government Association, which included mentoring 50 first-year students as the coordinator of the Intern Program. In this role, Skaff developed weekly leadership curriculum and worked with students to spearhead initiatives that focused on safe alternatives to drinking, stress reduction and community cleanups.

A member of the Asian Association, she serves as an intern for both the West Virginia Innocence Projectclinic and Student Engagement and Leadership, where she actively engages in service projects such as the annual Toy Mountain for underprivileged children in Morgantown. She also volunteers her time to The Rack: WVU Student Food Pantryas a Presidential Student Ambassador.

Skaff said she believes a Mountaineer embodies a set of values, not a stereotypical look. And if a Chinese American woman in Appalachia can do it, anyone can be a Mountaineer.

Other Mountaineers of Distinction finalists were Daniel Campa, a dual computer scienceand data sciencemajor from Morgantown; Kaelynn Pavlick, an advertisingmajor from Charles Town; Greta Schmidt, a nursingmajor from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania; Alexandria Spiker, a financemajor from Morgantown; and Sierra Worden, a graduate student in journalism from Charleston.

Read about the 2025 "Most Loyal" recipients who were also honored during halftime ceremonies.

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