MORGANTOWN – A West Virginia University student with many ties to Tucker County will be the Alternate WVU Mountaineer Mascot for next year.

On Monday during the WVU Men’s Basketball Game against the Texas Longhorns, the official announcement named current WVU Mountaineer Troy Clemons would remain the mascot for another year and Trevor Kiess of Elkins as the Alternate WVU Mountaineer Mascot. Kiess said he is humbled and excited to serve in this position.

“From a young age, it’s always been my dream to be the WVU Mountaineer Mascot,” Kiess said. “Growing up just a few hours drive away from Morgantown, I know exactly how much West Virginia University means to the state of West Virginia. Therefore, I’ve always wanted to do two things – represent West Virginia University and West Virginia and have an impact on them both.”

Kiess was among the top four to vie for the Mountaineer position and said the selection process has three steps. The first part is an application detailing community service, work experience and campus involvement. There are five essays that must be completed about West Virginia University, the state of West Virginia and the Mountaineer.
“After the applications, the contestants are cut down and the remaining candidates are interviewed by a committee. Next, the field is narrowed to the final four candidates who participate in a cheer-off,” Kiess said.

This year, the final four included current Mountaineer Troy Clemons, Kiess, Jesse Laskey and Savannah Lusk. The four participated in a cheer-off during the WVU Men’s Basketball game February 11 against Kansas State. After the cheer-off, the selection committee tallied up the score and announced the winner of the 65th WVU Mountaineer Mascot contest.

Although Kiess graduated from Elkins High School he has many ties to Tucker County.
“Right out of college, my father Jeff Kiess took a job at then Lambert Chevrolet,” he said. “My parents are both originally from Elkins, but once dad started to work at Lambert’s they decided to purchase a farm and move to Tucker County. Over the years, dad became more involved in the garage and was a partner in purchasing the dealership. After, they renamed the dealership Performance Chevrolet.”

Kiess said during this time, he grew up on the family farm right outside of St. George.
“But I went to school in Elkins because my mom, Sharon Kiess, teaches in Randolph County,” Kiess said. “We lived on the farm until dad sold Performance and officially moved to Elkins when I was about 12-years-old. However, we still have our farm and spend a lot of time in Tucker County, especially in the summer.”

At WVU, Kiess is the Chief of Staff for the Student Government Association and said last year, he was on the Student Government Association Board of Governors where he was named Governor of the Year by his peers.

“In terms of community service, I try to do as much as I can and the biggest project I have been involved with is Project Nanny,” Kiess said. “This project raised money to make care packages for families of those in the Intensive Care Unit of Mon General Hospital. The project was launched in memory of my late grandma.”

Another event Kiess continues to work with is Mountaineer Boys State.

“Every summer I go back and volunteer on staff at Mountaineer Boys State,” Kiess said.
He is a member of the Honors College, Chimes Junior Honorary and Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary. He works as a farm assistant with Cheat Riverbend Farms Inc. in Parsons. He has served as a student intern with the Office of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III, D-WV, in Washington, a student-athlete tutor and is a former member of Students Optimistic for Curing Kids.

Kiess said he plans to apply the following year to become the Mountaineer Mascot.
“As I said, it’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember and I hope to be able to go through the process again,” Kiess said. “I’m can’t wait to see what the next year holds!”