Jared Mazezka is going into his third year at WVU and is a recipient of the EMLF General Fund Scholarship. He has been working as a landman in the Appalachian Basin since 2011, an occupation that has offered him the flexibility to support his family while living in his own community.

“Personally, my primary goal in life is to make the biggest positive impact that I can in every way that I can. Having grown up in West Virginia and living here my entire life, I have seen the good and the bad, and I have seen the ups and the downs. Here, we once thrived on manufacturing and blue collar steel-town jobs; those jobs are no more. Fortunately, the oil, gas, and energy industry has provided an opportunity for my home to continue to thrive. While some times are better than others, the opportunity for employment, from initial title and lease acquisition to midstream pipeline construction, has been a saving grace for countless families throughout my home state,” Mazezka said in his scholarship application personal statement.