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Photo of Zach Ribas with his lifeguard team

Lifesaver

Lifesaver

Not all heroes wear capes – some wear whistles. 

Take Chambers College student Zachary Ribas. This past June, while working as a pool manager at Krepps Park in Morgantown, Ribas and his colleagues saved the life of an 11-year-old boy who had an unexpected seizure and nearly drowned.  

“June 8th was one of the most eye-opening moments I have ever had,” Ribas said. “It showed me how precious life is." 

Ribas and his team credited the pool’s emergency action plan with helping them quickly and calmly react. In recognition of their bravery and quick thinking, the City of Morgantown recognized the lifeguards for their lifesaving efforts. 

Fans Arrive Like Butterflies

Large, one-off events such as music concerts can create economic impacts not seen from professional sports, suggests rockin’ research by Joshua Hall, chair and professor of economics. Hall and Justin Parker, a 2020 Ph.D. economics graduate, found that Pearl Jam’s Seattle “Home Shows” in August 2018 generated $58 million in additional hotel revenue and $9 million in hotel tax revenue. That dwarfs Seattle Mariners baseball games ($140,000 in additional hotel revenue on game days). Their research was published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights.

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Tipping Points

Here’s a tip for New York City taxi drivers seeking bigger tips: Pick up tourists. Adam Nowak, associate professor of economics, and Amir B. Ferreira Neto, ’19, PhD Economics, studied data on yellow taxis in the Big Apple to see if tourists tipped more than locals. They do. Furthermore, theatergoers tip more than non-theatergoers, based on their findings that zeroed-in on drop-offs and pickups near Broadway. These differences between tourists and locals may affect the allocation of taxis throughout the city, conclude Nowak, Neto and Amanda Ross, of the University of Alabama.

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Focus Forward

A student veteran and graduate student in business administration is in elite company as one of only 18 women chosen for a fellowship designed to support military-connected females.

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Paul Speaker Appointed Fred T. Tattersall Distinguished Teaching Chair in Finance

Paul Speaker, professor in the Finance department, has been appointed as the Fred T. Tattersall Distinguished Teaching Chair in Finance for the Chambers College.

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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. 

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