Five students named WVU Mountaineers of Distinction

West Virginia Universityhas named Haley Bockius, Laasya Chennuru, Mary G. Roush, Christopher J. Smith and Dakota Swiger the 2024 Mountaineers of Distinction, a Mountaineer Weektradition 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 more than 70 students who were recommended from across campus.

The five seniors received the recognition during halftime of the WVU vs. Baylor University football game Saturday (Nov. 16) at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Bockius, a member of the Honors College, is a biochemistrymajor minoring in medical humanities and health studiesfrom Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. She serves as a member of Project 168, managing editor of the Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Reviewand oversees intramural and club sports as a competitive sports supervisor with Campus Recreation.

In addition to coordinating networking opportunities for students who are interested in STEM, she oversees the planning and implementation of volunteer events at the Rosenbaum Family House, Amedisys Hospice Care and local animal shelters as the president of the WVU Biochemistry Club.

An opportunity to volunteer her time as a perioperative care assistant in the operating room at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospitaland working more than 400 hours as a student visual field technician at the WVU Eye Institutehave inspired her to attend the WVU School of Medicineand ultimately work as an ophthalmologist in West Virginia.

She has also conducted more than 700 hours of research studying the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases through the Research Apprentice Program, Summer Undergraduate Research Experienceand capstone experiences.

Bockius is a 2024-25 Eberly Scholarand a 2024 recipient of the Albert Lee Sturm Scholarship, the country's oldest honorary society dedicated to celebrating excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.

Chennuru, a member of the Honors College, is a biologyand psychologydual major from Kearneysville who has served as a Presidential Student Ambassadorand president of the Global Medical and Dental Brigades.

After witnessing the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic in her hometown, she became an inaugural member of the Mountaineer Fentanyl Education Task Forceand volunteers her time to the Living In Good Health Together Project at the Milan Puskar Health Right.

She also serves with the Court Appointed Special Advocate for Kids of Monongalia County program, where she works to provide recommendations to the court based on the best interests of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Chennuru has worked with the WVU School of Pharmacyto study the development of drug therapies aimed at slowing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. She presented her research project, "Mitochondrial Protein MitoNEET as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Alzheimer's Disease," at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium and West Virginia Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol.

A 2021 Foundation Scholar, she used her stipend to travel to Barcelona, Spain, to participate in a summer global internship program as an English teaching assistant at a multilingual preschool.

An aspiring pediatrician, she plans to attend medical school next year.

Roushis an advertising and public relationsmajor from Mason who served as the 68th Mountaineer mascot. From 2022-23, Roush made more than 430 appearances while attending fairs, festivals, schools and other events in West Virginia and across the country as the youngest Mountaineer mascot and third woman in nine decades to hold the title.

She has served as a Presidential Student Ambassador, communications coordinator for the Student Government Associationand a member of the Mountaineer Fentanyl Education Task Force.

She has also been a community engaged research assistant in the Reed School of Media and Communications Public Interest Communication Research Laboratorywhere she studies the use of communication to address social issues and create positive change across the state of West Virginia.

Since her freshman year, Roush has worked with the WVU Athletics video crew to help create video board shows at athletic events. Through this position, she also had the opportunity to freelance with ESPN+ to broadcast Mountaineer sports to a national audience.

As a public relations summer intern with the West Virginia Department of Tourism, Roush collaborated on statewide initiatives to recruit visitors to the Mountain State. She also had the opportunity to create an audio walking tour and scavenger hunt for the West Virginia State Capitol Complex showcasing the history, culture and architecture of the grounds.

Following graduation, she plans to pursue a master's degree at WVU.

Smith,a member of the Honors College originally from Point Pleasant, is a first-generation college student majoring in biomedical engineeringand minoring in molecular medicine. He has maintained a 4.0 cumulative grade point average while immersed in undergraduate research, traveling abroad and serving as a member of the Wellbeing and Mental Health Student Advisory Board.

He was named a winner of the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship, the nation's premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences, and he earned the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarshipto travel abroad to Panama in 2025 as part of the WVU Global Medical and Dental Brigades.

Smith, who serves as the medical vice president of the Brigades, traveled to Panama alongside UNICEF to provide clean water to the Darien region and to Honduras to build sanitation stations.

As an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering MESA Research Laboratory, Smith studied the development of a small, affordable mobile medical device for early detection of breast cancer that could also benefit rural populations that do not have access to mammograms.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, he had an opportunity to embrace his culture while serving as an undergraduate research assistant at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. There, he studied stem cell therapy to create a hydrogel-based injection to treat diseases.

Ultimately, Smith said he plans to earn his doctoral degree and work to expand health care accessibility in rural areas of West Virginia.

Swiger,a first-generation college student from Bridgeport, is a journalismmajor minoring in Englishwho was honored with the President's Volunteer Service Gold Award for conducting nearly 700 service hours since her freshman year at WVU.

She has been an active member of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership program since her sophomore year of high school and currently serves as director of programs for HOBY West Virginia. In this role, she is responsible for planning the annual four-day West Virginia State Seminar which brings together more than 9,000 high school students from across the state to learn how to become effective leaders in their communities.

One of her most rewarding experiences has been serving as a student in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programthrough the Department of Englishwhere she joined other students her sophomore year to help facilitate a drama class in a Pennsylvania prison. This experience inspired her to declare a minor in English.

She also works for the West Virginia Black Bears during the summer to help manage scoreboard and live production and has volunteered her time with the WVU Athletics and ESPN+ video production crews.

Swiger was accepted into the competitive Creative Consultant and Media Mentors Program, which pairs students with alumni and other professionals to help them succeed in their careers.

She plans to eventually attend graduate school.

Other Mountaineers of Distinction finalistswere Suraya Boggs, a sociologyand anthropologydual major from Spencer; Julia Chapman, a nursingmajor from Falling Waters; Megan Frappier, a criminologyand political sciencedual major from Cliffwood, New Jersey; Charlie Long, a political science and philosophydual major from Charleston; and James Cameron Speaker, a biomedical engineering major from Roanoke, Virginia.

Read about the 2024 "Most Loyal" recipients who were also honored during halftime ceremonies.

-WVU-

ta/11/16/24

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