Jana El-Khatib, a Master of Business Administration student from Hurricane, West Virginia, was one of four WVU students to earn the Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State. Over the summer of 2021, El-Khatib got to study Indonesian, a language she became interested in after spending time living in Southeast Asia as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She hopes to use the skills gained from the scholarship to improve her cultural competency for a future career as a healthcare provider.
Leaving her own Mark
For many students, WVU feels like family. For Amaya Gray, it is family. Gray’s grandfather, Ken Gray, may have founded the long-standing program WVUp All Night (which hosts events and activities for students as an alternative to the bar scene), but Gray is leaving her own mark as a Mountaineer. She’s been part of the Career Readiness Program with our in-house Center for Career Development, served as a Peer Mentor for incoming freshmen in BCOR 191 and a Chambers College Ambassador, has been a member of the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) with Naomi Boyd, and founded Students of Color in Business with the help of Susan Lantz. “Students of Color in Business is geared towards business students and business minors, as well as any student who wants to be an entrepreneur or learn more about business,” Gray said.
Ignite!
The Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship continues to empower budding entrepreneurs across the Mountain State with the tools needed to flourish. The Encova Center is launching IgniteWV, thanks to $200,000 in grant funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
Cap it Off
Just like the COVID-19 vaccine protects against contracting the contagious virus, the collective elements of self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency - otherwise known as “PsyCap” - helps inoculate employees from the negative effects of working through a pandemic, according to Jeffery Houghton, management professor. Houghton and two of his Ph.D. students, Richard Oxarart and Luke Langlinais, found that those lagging in PsyCap characteristics drifted to maladaptive behaviors and exhibited a high perception of stress. Read more at WVUToday.
I Scream, You Scream
Move over cones and milkshakes, there is a new way to enjoy ice cream – rolled! Marketing student and Morgantown native Tyler Lalka is bringing rolled ice cream to the hills of Morgantown and nearby cities with his business Rolling Hills Ice Cream. Lalka originally saw the concept being done in larger cities and thought to himself, “Mountaineers need this,” and opened his ice cream truck in April 2021. Not only is the ice cream mixed with toppings on top of a negative-five degree plate and rolled into pieces, but his truck also allows him to roll to birthday parties, weddings, farmer’s markets, fairs, office gatherings and more. “It was a dream of mine to bring this to Morgantown and I decided to go mobile because it would give me the opportunity to meet my customers where they are,” he said. The signature menu (which ice cream lovers can get any time) includes salted caramel pretzel, Oreo, peanut butter cup, s'mores and Nutella banana. On top of those flavors, individuals can add other sweet or savory ingredients. Lalka will graduate with a degree in marketing in December 2022.