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There is no ‘right’ path to take to get to college, and this rings true for West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources senior Jay Rossell.

Tiffany Strange will graduate with a master’s degree in nutritional and food science from the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at West Virginia University on May 17. Although she has two degrees in nutrition and a solid plan for the future, this path wasn’t always on her radar.  

After four years at West Virginia University, Alaira Hudson, an upcoming Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources landscape architecture graduate, is ready to step out into the world and use design as a “catalyst for positive change.”

Well before  Kathryn Gazal came to the United States, she was interested in forest economics in the Philippines, where she grew up as the daughter of an environmental forester. The  West Virginia University associate professor of  forest resources management now focuses on the economic contributions of the forest products industry.

Melissa Ventura Marra, associate professor of human nutrition and foods in the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is part of a multistate research team awarded a $1,091,218 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to support women’s health and well-being as they age. The project, called StrengthenHER, is an innovative virtual exercise and nutrition program designed to support women over 50 by reducing the risk of sarcopenia.

Wool is a highly functional fiber, but despite this, most of the wool and textile industry has left the country due to lack of infrastructure, limiting farmers’ profits from wool production. With the help of a USDA grant, West Virginia University researchers are exploring new ways to support sheep farmers and fiber producers in the region.