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Photo of Eric Mason in town hall

A Mountaineer in Town Hall

A Mountaineer in Town Hall

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Some people take their business public. Chambers College alumnus Eric Mason took his business to the public. 

In 2020, Mason was named chief financial officer of Quincy, Massachusetts – his hometown, and a city with a population of over 101,000. He was 26 at the time, equipped only with an undergraduate degree in economics from the Chambers College. 

Four years later, Quincy's budget has grown to more than $500 million. Mason now manages the largest pension obligation bond in Massachusetts, and recently issued a bond via blockchain, a first for the American public sector. 

Between historic firsts and unprecedented success, Mason also found time to return to Chambers for his master’s degree in economics. 

"Being a public sector CFO by its nature requires many interdisciplinary skills to ensure that every public dollar generates the greatest return for the taxpayer,” said Mason. “The Chambers College curriculum's prioritization of specialization while contextualizing it within a broader business framework has been invaluable in my career.” 

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Come One, Come All

This year, our College welcomed the highest incoming freshman class to date – more than 600 incoming first-year students. Our Undergraduate Recruitment team goes above and beyond to provide a personalized experience for our admitted students. “Call and letter writing campaigns are completed with the purpose of a) assisting with the application process, b) answering any questions students and their parents may have, and c) making students feel special. Many other colleges do not employ the methods that we do. The feedback we receive routinely mentions the personalized experience as a reason for choosing Chambers and WVU,” said Rebel Smith, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs. 

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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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Brite Ideas

The future’s looking Brite for West Virginia University alumni Lukas Thackery, Martin Craig Dombrowski and Nate Wimer.

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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. 

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Clothes-Minded

“The future is unpredictable so I focus on the ‘how’ and not the ‘what.'’”

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