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The Reed College of Media and College of Creative Arts will merge to form the new WVU College of Creative Arts and Media as of July 1, 2024. Get details.

SOJ students uncover weight-loss stories

Four veterans of the School’s West Virginia Uncovered Program were recently featured in The Charleston Gazette. Their multimedia stories, which explore the issue of chronic disease and obesity in West Virginia, were included in The Gazette’s special series “The Shape We’re In.”

Working with DSLR video and documentary techniques, Shay Maunz, Brianna Swisher, Evan Moore and Mallory Bracken spent the spring 2012 semester investigating different aspects of the problem, which is estimated to cost the the U.S. Health Care Industry billions of dollars each year. As part of an independent study, with guidance from Program Director Mary Kay McFarland, student stories documented a range of subjects including one student’s journey to health, a state insurance program that helps people manage their weight, the role of family in healthy patterns and weight loss surgery.

You can read the article and view the videos online.