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Decide to Succeed: Stories

Your defining choice is one that you make every day. It's the choice to work harder than the person next to you, to fight for an ambition that seems impossible, to chase after a goal with persistent determination. Choosing a university is more than just a beautiful location or a degree program, it's about finding a supportive community that recognizes your potential and a program that will help you achieve your future.

SLSLC Students

Dreams of Hosting a Latinx Student Leadership Conference Come True

This time a year ago, Ricardo Nazario-Colón, Western Carolina University’s chief diversity officer, and his graduate assistant, Kevin Trudell, took 10 WCU students to the 28th annual National Latino Collegiate Conference at the University of Albany. As they were returning to Cullowhee, traveling on I-81 south in the middle of the night, someone blurted out, “We need to have our own conference.” The van erupted into cheers. For the rest of the ride, the students began brainstorming and dishing out assignments.  

Brennan Burke

Triple Major Brennan Burke Goes Beyond the Numbers and Her Degrees

Following graduation in May and a summer internship in Charlotte, Western Carolina University senior Brennan Burke will have to decide what path to follow next. When it comes time to make that decision, Burke will have more options than most because of the fact that she is earning a triple major. Burke started as a mathematics major with a concentration in actuarial science, but along the way she added finance and accounting to the mix, giving her the trifecta. Not bad for someone who in high school thought she wanted to be a civil engineer.  

Rachel and Caleb Sullivan and their family

Food and Faith Changed Lives of WCU Siblings

Rachel Sullivan believes in the power of good food on the body and of the Holy Spirit on the soul. Without one, she would not have found the other — or her life’s calling. Sullivan is a 20-year-old Western Carolina University junior and Honors College student majoring in nutrition and dietetics, an area of study she chose after witnessing the effects of starvation on her two half siblings whose parents were dealing with substance abuse issues. Sullivan and her half siblings, now age 9 and 13, have the same birth mother.   

Students at the Center for Career and Professional Development

Supporting Student Success: Center for Career and Professional Development

WCU provides an extensive and comprehensive list of employment assistance, said Theresa Cruz Paul, director of the Center for Career and Professional Development. The regular scheduling of workshops, training and internship opportunities and linking students to the workforce is only part of the picture. Personal counseling and advice, along with building awareness of the center and high levels of community engagement, complete the picture, she said.  

Joanna Woodson

Success is Defining a Passion and Becoming a Leader

It took a while for Joanna Woodson to discover her true passion in life. But three universities and year and a half in the workplace later, Woodson has found her purpose, along with a home, at Western Carolina University. After a year at WCU, Woodson has not only settled on a major, she’s discovered a passion for politics that has led WCU to become a leader in voter participation across the University of North Carolina system.  

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