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MORGANTOWN -- An area native is among four finalists vying to become teh 67th West Virginia University Mountaineer mascot.
Thaiddeus Dillie, of Weirton, a junior biochemistry major who is minoring in business administration, will face off against Brooke Ashby of Mannington, W.Va.; Connor Capron of Sutton, W.Va.; and Timothy Eads of Buffalo, W.Va.
A graduate of Weirton Madonna High School, Dillie is a member of the WVU Honors College and serves as a student ambassador for the Division of Student Life, peer mentor and ambassador for the WVU Honors College, and Student Government Association representative for the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.
He also serves as the vice president of the WVU Business Brigades and a teaching assistant in the Honors College. He has traveled to rural Panama to perform community service as a professional business consultant. In May, he plans to travel to Ghana as part of a Medical/Dental Brigades pilot service trip and return to Panama as part of the Business Brigades.
“As a native and recipient of all the gifts that West Virginia has to offer, I can’t think of a better way to repay the state by accurately representing what it means to be a hardworking, proud Mountaineer,” Dillie said. “My love for WVU and my state has driven everything that I have done for as long as I remember and being chosen as the next Mountaineer Mascot would be the greatest honor that I could ever receive.”
The finalists will compete, wearing buckskins and carrying a rifle, in a cheer-off to be held during Monday’s men’s basketball game against Kansas State at the WVU Coliseum.
The finalists were selected by a committee of faculty, staff and students, based on an application, essay and interview. They will be judged on their performance and interaction with the crowd.
The selection committee will announce the winner during the WVU men’s basketball game vs. TCU Feb. 26.