We are always looking for volunteers to help us plan and run the annual History Conference. Please contact us if you would like to contribute to our efforts!
Danny Brennan
PhD student in Nineteenth-Century U.S. and Public History
HGSA President
Danny is a third-year PhD student in Nineteenth-Century U.S. and Public History. He is interested in learning about how Union soldiers and veterans comprehended the changing world around them, focusing particularly on the connections that chaplains made between the war and home fronts. This is his third year assisting with conference planning.
Lauren Wingate
PhD student in Twentieth-Century U.S. Century and Public History
HGSA Vice President
Lauren is a second year PhD student in Twentieth-Century U.S. and Public History. Her work focuses on labor and leisure history in the Southern Piedmont textile industry, especially in North Carolina. This is her second year assisting with conference planning.
Treasure Barberich-Wyckoff
MA student in Public History
HGSA Secretary
Treasure is in her final semester of the Public History MA program. Her research interests focus on 20th century Appalachian history—particularly lesser known history and history of underserved communities. After graduation, she hopes to work in a museum or at a historic site where she can engage the public and share these stories. She is currently serving her first term as HGSA’s Secretary.
Anna Shuff
MA student in African History
HGSA Activities Co-Coordinator
My name is Anna Shuff and I am one of the Activities Co-Coordinators for the WVU History Graduate Student Association. I am a second year master's student in history. My major field is African history with my research interests being race and ethnicity, conflict and peacemaking, colonialism and decolonization, and gender history.
Ainsley McHugh
MA student in Public History
HGSA Activities Co-Coordinator
Ainsley is a second year masters student in the public history program. She is working towards her cultural resource management certification and has a research interest in 20th century Irish social history and Irish identity. This is her second year assisting with the HGSA conference.
Jacob Martin
MA student in Nineteenth-Century America
HGSA Conference Staff
Jacob is a first-year master’s student specializing in nineteenth-century American political and economic history. This is his first year assisting with the HGSA conference.
Damon Navaroli
MA student in Public History
HGSA Conference Staff
Damon is a second year student in the public history program. He is working towards his cultural resource management certification and plans to pursue a career with the National Park Service after he graduates. This is his first year assisting with the HGSA conference.
Sopuruchukwu Nwadi
PhD student in History
HGSA Conference Staff
Sopuruchukwu (Chuks) is a third year PhD student in History at West Virginia University. His research lies at the intersection of African social and cultural history, gender, the history of medicine and epidemics, with a regional focus on Nigeria and West Africa.
Sofiia Novytska
Double-Degree Transatlantic student in International Security, Foreign Affairs, and a minor in Public History
HGSA Conference Staff
Sofiia (Sonia) Novytska holds a Bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy and International Negotiations, and is currently a Double-Degree Transatlantic student in International Security, Foreign Affairs, and a minor in Public History across West Virginia University and Civitas University in Warsaw, Poland. Sofiia currently works as a human rights advocate at a European NGO, combining both relevant professional and academic experience in her research. As a Ukrainian, Sofiia is very happy to bring an international perspective into the WVU History Conference
Jordan Bennett
MA student in History
HGSA Conference Staff
Jordan Bennett completed her master's degree in history in December of 2025. Her thesis, "Nuclear Reactions: Making Sense of the Accident at Three Mile Island," examines the partial reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island and the role of community trauma in memory-making, particularly in light of the plant's reopening. She teaches for WVU's Center for Women's and Gender Studies.
Ashley Sellars
MA student in Public History
HGSA Conference Staff
Ashley is a second year master’s student in the Public History program and pursuing a graduate certificate in Cultural Resource Management. Her research interests include 19th-century U.S. history and public memory of the Civil War era. This is her second year assisting with the HGSA Conference.