I’m so excited for everyone to meet this week’s Campus Celebrity, Jason Olen! He is the Executive Director for the student organization that everyone knows and loves, The Mountaineer Maniacs. Jason is from Butler, Pennsylvania and is now at WVU for his masters. He originally came here in 2008 for his undergrad in marketing, then took several years off and just transitioned back to grad school last year. He is now in his 2nd year of the MBA/MSIR graduate program while doing an amazing job running the Maniacs!
Q: What are the maniacs for those that don’t know?
A: The premier student section for WVU athletics. We host tailgates, watch parties and away trips for students.
Q: How long have you been on the board?
A: I’ve been on the board as a faculty member, undergrad, and graduate student for 6 years in total, 1 of them being this year as the director.
Q: What was your favorite memory from being on the board?
A: Showing up to the bus for an away football trip to Rutgers in my Halloween Hulk Hogan outfit and rocking the outfit the whole trip as WVU got the win.
Q: What was it that motivated you to want to be the director?
A: The experience. As an HR graduate student this is a great opportunity because I get to practice a lot of HR work. I get to interview potential board members and put my own board together. I also like being a leader, a strength of mine is being able to communicate with people and finding out how best they can succeed and accomplish their goals. Oh and obviously because the maniacs are the best student organization on campus. We have the most fun and we accomplish the most.
Q: What was your first reaction when you found out you would be the next director?
A: Excitement. I knew it would be a great opportunity and I was excited to work with a lot of the returning board members. I was really prepared and organized with what I wanted to do so I was excited that I could execute and implement some of the ideas I had been considering for many months.
Q: What are your hopes for the maniacs this year?
A: One of my platforms this year was to refocus on our Olympic sports (men’s soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball) which we have been succeeding with and start some new traditions. For example, Jimmy V. Us Maniacs could lay the groundwork for other student organizations across the country running a fundraising contest for the Jimmy V foundation and other local cancer charities.
Q: Do you think this opportunity will have made an impact on your life and how?
A: Absolutely, this is like having a job. There are times of the day where I feel like I’m a CEO of a business so as a student perusing their MBA it really is a great experience. Ultimately, since I was an undergrad the maniacs have been my home and family so I’m happy to give it one last go around and put all the hours in and give back for everything that I’ve gotten out of being involved in the maniacs.
Q: How does the university benefit from The Maniacs?
A: The maniacs are a distinguishable brand. Prospective students come to wvu because they want to be apart of the maniacs. We generate excitement for our athletic programs especially Olympic sports. We provide a lot of opportunities for students to go on trips to places they may never get a chance to go to again. (get experience from being on the board).
Q: How can those on campus get involved?
A: We do lots of community service on campus and we’re always looking for students that may not be on the board but still want to come around and be involved in the events we do. Ultimately, the term culture change gets tossed around a lot but I think the maniacs will be one of the student organizations that will have to lead that initiative. There is room for students that may not come to a lot of events or not on the board but still want to get involved.
Q: Where do you see the maniacs in 10 years?
A: They will only be bigger. If we keep moving in the right direction I think membership will grow and the brand will be bigger and more recognizable. We are doing things now to make sure the future for the maniacs is sustainable. They will play an even bigger roll in Olympics sports and other initiatives that we are working on around campus.
Be sure to follow them on Instagram: @wvumaniacs, Twitter: @WVUMANIACS, Facebook: Mountaineer Maniacs and check out their website: maniacs.wvu.edu.