WVSU Student Named Competitive Scholar in White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

9/11/2018

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Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
                                                                                                                             
INSTITUTE, W.Va. –West Virginia State University (WVSU) senior Edgar Lopez-Torres was one of 63 students from throughout the nation selected as 2018 HBCU Competitive Scholars by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Initiative’s highest student recognition.

In the course of their one-year term, Competitiveness Scholars will learn and share proven and promising practices that support individual and HBCU competitiveness, with the goal of strengthening prospects for career and life success.

“There have been so many great opportunities provided to me thanks to being a student at West Virginia State University,” Lopez-Torres said. “I look forward to representing WVSU as an HBCU Competitive Scholar and participating in this important discussion at the national level.”

Comprised of undergraduate, graduate and professional students, Competitiveness Scholars are recognized for successfully preparing to compete for top opportunities that improve long-term outcomes. They were selected from among several highly distinguished HBCU students, chosen based on their academic achievement, campus and civic involvement and entrepreneurial ethos or "go-getter" spirit.

During his academic career at WVSU, Lopez-Torres, a chemistry major, has been an active member of the school’s chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Last spring, he was one of 15 undergraduate students in the world to receive the Student Leadership Award from ACS.

Competitiveness Scholars will assemble September 16-18 at the 2018 National HBCU Week Conference in Washington, D.C., where they will participate in workshops designed to improve leadership, encourage ongoing personal and professional development and discover areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. 

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West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.