Sonja Wilson

After 41 years of dedicated service to West Virginia University, Sonja Wilson retired in 2018 from her full-time position and in 2024 from her part-time role.  She served as the senior programming administrator for the Mountainlair, a unit within the Division of Student Life, since 1988. 

In that role, Wilson served as the driving force for various renowned Student Life programs and events that served students, staff, faculty, and the state. She directed WVUp All Night, Mountaineer Idol, Dancing with our Mountaineer Stars, Mountaineer Week to include the Craft Fair and Quilt Show, and the Student Life Hall of Fame and Outstanding Achievement Award Program. 

She also served as the advisor for the Mountaineer Mascot and alternate mascot, and the WVU Student Events Board. 

Wilson earned an undergraduate degree from Fairmont State College in 1973 and a second undergraduate degree from WVU in 2009. 

She began her career in higher education at Fairmont State College, working in the Registrar's Office from 1973-1978. She continued her career in higher education at WVU, working in the Training and Development and Employee Relations Units from 1984 to 1988. 

In 2017, Wilson was named “The Daily Athenaeum’s Most Influential Person of Year"; in 2010, she was chosen for the Paul "Buck" Martin WVU Alumni Award; in 2007, she was honored as the "Most Loyal Staff Mountaineer" by the WVU Foundation, and in 1989, she was selected as the coveted "WVU Employee of the Year". 

Following her full-time and part-time employment with WVU, Wilson began an entrepreneurial journey, crafting and selling artisan sweets with her small business called "Sonja's Sweet Stop.  In addition, Sonja Wilson was recently chosen as the President of the WVU Retiree Association.