Matt Arden: Merging Creativity and Mentorship

Virginia Tech graduate Matt Arden, Class of 1999, dreamed of being a sportscaster since he was 13 years old. With a prolific career in sports television spanning almost 20 years and garnering him three Emmy awards, he has brought his dream to fruition. Arden was born in Washington, D.C., and when his parents divorced, he stayed in Woodbridge to live …

Dr. Mayer Levy: Giving Reasons to Smile

Mayer Levy was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. His family had been there since the 1800s, and the area was racially segregated as he grew up. His Father had attended VPI, which influenced Mayer to follow suit. Also, his Mother had gotten her teaching certificate from what is now Mary Washington University, so it was always assumed that …

Karen DePauw: Journey to Graduate Dean

When Karen DePauw was young, she indicated that she didn’t want to become a teacher. While she was raised to value education, as the daughter of two elementary school teachers, DePauw simply found the teaching setting to be too strict and formal. Little did she know, she would later become a tenured professor with an incredibly successful career in academic …

Ezra “Bud” Brown: Passing the Torch of Mentorship

D r. Ezra A. “Bud” Brown knows exactly what it’s like to feel connected to Virginia Tech and its students. Though he recently retired, he had been a faculty member of the university for 48 years, growing increasingly passionate about his work over the years. He has been a mentor, ally, and resource for his students and the experiences he …

Mary “Prim” Jones: Empowering Female Engineers

Mary “Prim” Jones is a pioneer for women in the field of engineering. Graduating in 1962, she was just the third woman to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech. After graduation, she began a successful career in aeronautics engineering and became an executive director with what is now Aerojet Rocketdyne. Both Virginia Tech and engineering are …

Mallory Foutch and Anna LoMascolo: Making Virginia Tech a Better Place

Anna LoMascolo and Mallory Foutch came to Virginia Tech in very different ways, but both have committed to making Virginia Tech a better place for the Hokie community through their work in the Women’s Center. The Virginia Tech Women’s Center, is an organization which seeks to “promote a Virginia Tech community that is safe, equitable, and supportive for women and …

Matt Winston Sr.: Leading the way for Future Hokies

M att Winston Sr., Virginia Tech class of 1959, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1938, the youngest of three children. Though he grew up in a time of warfare and racial segregation in a poor family, he enjoyed his childhood. He remembers being hardly aware of the hardships around him, to which he says: “Someone was looking after me …

Bill Roth: Dedicated to Virginia Tech

Bill Roth was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb about seven miles south of the city. When he was young, his father bought him a tape recorder, and he decided he wanted to be a broadcaster at around 8 years old. Mt. Lebanon was known for exceptional athletics and had one of the …