Our Staff

Terry Jackson

Director

terrance.jackson@mail.wvu.edu

Brandi Underwood

Marketing Strategist

brandi.underwood@mail.wvu.edu

Ali Anderson

Assistant Director, Evansdale Visitors Center

Ali.anderson@mail.wvu.edu

Raphaelle Greco

Visit Experience Recruitment Specialist

rggreco@mail.wvu.edu

Samantha Haverly

Admissions Counselor

samantha.haverly@mail.wvu.edu

Brycen Kuenzel

Hometown: Chapmanville, WV

Kirsten Swales

Hometown: State College, PA

Major: English

Favorite place to study: Either the Milano reading room in the downtown library (mostly because it reminds me of Hogwarts) or The Grind coffee shop.

Hobbies/Interests: I love to read and write, play with my dogs, spend hours at Target and have relaxing movie nights with my friends.

Favorite Book: The Great Gatsby is one of my absolute faves, mostly because it took me 4 times reading through it and loving it more and more each time before I realized that English studies are my passion!

Favorite Band/Song: I LOVE any and all things Florida Georgia Line and country, but I'm also a big Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West fan.

Favorite Movie: The original Beauty and the Beast or Stepbrothers (anything with Will Ferrell has my approval). 

Favorite Place to Hang out on and off campus: On campus, I love to take a blanket up to the Mountainlair green and hang out with friends or read a book. Off campus, I really enjoy going out to the overlook at Coopers Rock. 

Favorite Tradition: Of course, I love the atmosphere of football games whenever I get to sing country roads with 60,000 members of my Mountaineer family. There's truly nothing else like it. But aside from that, I love the random moments when I'm not in Morgantown but I'm wearing a WVU shirt and I can hear people yell "Let's Go" and I get to yell back "Mountaineers!" It's always so cool to know that, no matter where I go, I'll always find my fellow Mountaineers! 

Laura Karlson

Hometown: Twinsburg, OH

Major: Sport & Exercise Psychology

Favorite Place to Study: On a beautiful day, I enjoy studying on the benches outside the Student Recreation Center.

Hobbies/Interests: I love sports, singing and spending time outdoors. When I am not hanging out with friends and family, I'm relaxing at home watching Netflix.

Favorite Book: The Great Gatsby 

Favorite Band/Song: I listen to just about every genre, but Drake, Queen, Bruno Mars, and Adele are some of my favorite artists. 

Favorite Movie: Step Brothers, Friday Night Lights and Grease

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: On campus, I love hanging out on the Mountainlair Green. Off campus, I enjoy going to Coopers Rock or eating at all the different restaurants around Morgantown.

Favorite WVU Tradition: I love the energy that WVU fans have during home football games. There is no greater feeling than cheering on the team and singing Country Roads with 60,000 other passionate fans!

Laura Pierce

Hometown: Freeport, ME

Major: Marketing

Favorite Place to Study: On a nice day, I enjoy studying on the patio on the top floor of the Evansdale Crossing because the view is one of the best on campus.

Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy staying active, whether it's running, playing lacrosse, hiking, or kayaking.  

Favorite Book: Harry Potter 

Favorite Band/Song: Bleachers

Favorite Movie: Mamma Mia and Grease

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: On campus, I spend most of my free time at the Student Recreation Center. Off campus, I love to go to Coopers Rock and hike on the local trails.

Favorite WVU Tradition: Singing Country Roads!

Madison Bowers

Hometown: Coalton, WV

Major: Marketing

Favorite Place to Study: In the reserved Study Rooms in the Downtown Wise Library. 

Hobbies/Interests: I love photography and spending time with friends and family! Hiking around the beautiful state and traveling to places I’ve never been is my favorite way to spend the weekend!

Favorite Book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 

Favorite Band/Song:  "Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest 

Favorite Movie: The Godfather (Part II)

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: While on campus, I’m a huge fan of sitting on the benches in front of Woodburn Hall. If you catch it at the right time, you can hear her play Country Roads! Another gem on campus I love to visit is the Core Arboretum. This is an excellent place for a picnic or to study! When I am off campus, I enjoy visiting the Botanical Gardens, shopping local on high street, and hiking at Coopers Rock. 

Favorite WVU Tradition: The Mantrip is my favorite WVU tradition. Seeing the football team stop and wave to all the children in the hospital really makes me proud to be a Mountaineer! 

Mary McFarland

Hometown: Charleston, WV

Major: Strategic Communications

Favorite Place to Study: My favorite place to study is probably my living room. I live in a cozy house right next to campus, and I find that I end up doing most of my studying there.

Hobbies/Interests: Singing and playing piano, spending time with my family, thrifting, talking to my cat-like he’s a human, and watching random Youtube videos are my main hobbies.

Favorite Book: Beautiful Outlaw

Favorite Band/Song: My favorite song is always changing, but right now it’s Blackbird by The Beatles because of the lovely meaning behind it.

Favorite Movie: Mid90s

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: My favorite place to hang out on campus is probably the benches in Woodburn Circle. I mainly do this in between classes, but it’s just so peaceful and pretty. Off-campus, my favorite places are Qdoba and Ta-Khrai Thai Cafe. If you can’t tell, I really love food.

Favorite WVU Tradition: One of my favorite traditions at WVU is probably the Let’s Go chant. As the football team ran out of the tunnel during one of the games this year, I was able to stand by the goal post and listen as everyone screamed it at the top of their lungs. It was so exciting that I caught myself tearing up a little.

Megan Buchheit

Hometown: Lisbon, OH

McKenzie Diehl

Hometown: Hurricane, WV 

Major: MA in Counseling, BA in Communications Studies

Favorite place to Study: Evansdale Library 

Hobbies/Interests: I really enjoy traveling to new places and binge-watching my favorite Netflix series. I also love to be with family and friends as much as possible.

Favorite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favorite Band/ song: Hozier, Imagine Dragons, and The Lumineers 

Favorite Movie: Father of the Bride 

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: On campus, I enjoy sitting in Woodburn Circle, watching all the students walk through campus. Off campus, you can find me roaming the aisles of Target. 

Favorite WVU Traditions:  I love the random moments when I'm not in Morgantown, but I'm wearing a WVU shirt, and I can hear people yell "Let's Go," and I get to yell back "Mountaineers!" It's always so refreshing to know that, no matter where I go, I'll always find my fellow Mountaineers! 

Maria Lombardi

Hometown: Follansbee, WV

Majors:  Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Favorite place to Study: The Business Learning Center

Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy being active by walking, biking, golfing, or dancing. In addition, I love to craft, volunteer, travel, eat sushi, drink Coca-Cola, hang out with friends and family, and go to Walt Disney World. 

Favorite Book: Grit by Angela Duckworth

Favorite Band/song: "Like A Girl" by Lizzo

Favorite Movie: The Greatest Showman

Favorite place to hang out on and off campus: My favorite place to hang out on campus is probably the Launch Lab in the Evansdale Crossing or my sorority house. Off campus I spend a lot of my time at any of my friends’ houses just hanging out. I also like to explore Coopers Rock State Forest and the Rail Trail. Just exploring new parts of West Virginia I’ve never been to before!

Favorite WVU Tradition: Monday Night Lights. This event takes place during welcome week where the entire freshman class reports to the football stadium where they learn our football traditions and get to watch the WVU marching band perform their pregame show. After the band is complete, they will outline the state of West Virginia and the entire freshman class will fill in the state and take their first class photo together. Then, the students will lock arms with those around them and sign our anthem, John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads!!