CHARLESTON, W.Va – West Virginia State University honored one of its own on Tuesday with its annual Katherine Johnson Day Observance on the late alumna’s birthday.
Johnson, a mathematician for NASA and its predecessor organization, earned both her high school and college degrees on the campus of WVSU, graduating in 1937 at the age of 18. Her legacy as an alumna of the university is still felt to this day.
“We honor that life and legacy through the work we do in our classrooms, in our laboratories, and across our campus each and every day,” WVSU president Ericke Cage said.
As part of the celebration, five West Virginia State students were recognized as the 2025 Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson Scholarship recipients. The scholarship is awarded to West Virginia students majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) with an emphasis on benefitting individuals who are underrepresented in those fields.
This year’s recipients are Natalyia Sayles, Alisha Suhirtharatnasingam, Sierra Scott, Aubrey Turner, and La’Stacia Williams.
“Seeing our award winners today reminds me that Katherine’s life and legacy is well alive today and that again, the sky is the limit for those students, for all of our students, and quite frankly, across West Virginia and across our country,” Cage said.
Johnson began an academic career on West Virginia State’s campus that culminated in receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Cage said that journey is a testament to the power of a college degree.
“She took the knowledge that she learned here on this campus. She went to work for NASA and literally helped America win the space race. It’s an incredible day to celebrate an outstanding West Virginian, an outstanding graduate of West Virginia State, and someone who reminds us of what is possible through a college degree,” he said.
This week marks the seventh anniversary of the dedication of the Katherine Johnson Plaza on the university grounds, which features a statue of the beloved alumna. Cage and his wife, Roa, placed a wreath at the base of the statue before a moment of silence in memory of Johnson, who died in 2020.
Throughout the ceremony, Cage underscored the way Johnson repeatedly overcame obstacles to achieve all she did after graduating from West Virginia State.
“What Katherine reminds us is, again, with a college degree, with grit, with perseverance, with determination, there is absolutely nothing that you cannot accomplish in this world,” he said.
Additional remarks were delivered by WVSU assistant vice president for alumni relations and annual giving Belinda Fuller, vice president for university advancement Trey Jones, and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member Clarke Moore.