Early Life

Tennant was born on December 25th, 1967 in Fairmont, WV. Early in her life, she grew up on a farm in Fairview, WV. She attended North Marion High School and graduated in 1986. After graduating from high school, she began her education at West Virginia University. While there, she majored in Journalism and became the school's first female mountaineer mascot in 1990. Today, she is still one of only two women mountaineer mascot's in school history. When she was selected in 1990, many fans were not happy and some even threw objects at her and booed her. But she paved the way for other women to have a chance at being the Mountaineer. After she graduated in 1991, Tennant began her career in television reporting. However, she later returned to WVU to earn her Master's in corporate and organizational communication in 2002. Two years later, she would begin her political career.