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WCU Stories

Emily Deem

Emily Deem, First Place in the Graduate Three-Minute Thesis Competition

Emily Deem, current Master of Science in Biology student, was awarded first place in the 2021 Three Minute Thesis Competition for her presentation on “Extraction Efficiency Testing of Degraded Bone Samples: Comparing Four Extraction Methods for Use in Downstream Massively Parallel Sequencing Applications.”   

Wide shot of the scholarship luncheon

COVID’s challenges do not deter WCU’s benefactors from their support of student scholarships

While much of the world came to a screeching halt over the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, benefactors of Western Carolina University did not allow a global health crisis to stand in the way of their ongoing philanthropic support of students in pursuit of higher education.  

Students

Exploration Leads to Career Connections

For almost a week this month, 29 students and five faculty members in Western Carolina University’s Geosciences and Natural Resources Department went camping and visiting sites across the mountains. It was fun, to be sure, but there was a specific purpose.   

edd faculty

Educational Leadership program wins national 2021 Program of the Year honor

The Educational Leadership program is being honored by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate as its 2021 Program of the Year.  

cemetery with wooded background

Hallowed Grounds

Five mounded graves, the occupants unknown other than their status as enslaved people. Blair Tormey, a geologist with the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, adjusted his ballcap and quickly assembled a ground penetrating radar unit, looking much like a robotic lawn mower, before pushing it up the hillside. The destination, an almost forgotten cemetery, is a long way from any coastal beachfront or tidal basin where he might otherwise be working on a day like today.  

Apodaca Science Building Stairs

A New Era Begins

Former state senator and Western Carolina University alum Tom Apodaca ’80 broke ground with other university and state officials for construction of a new $110.5 million science building. During the ceremony, Apodaca commented that his dream was to attend the future grand opening of the new state-of-the-art facility with his then-infant grandson, River. He also hoped River would one day follow the family tradition of attending WCU and taking classes in the building named in his honor.  

Wolf

Coping with Covid-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, college life as WCU students knew it changed drastically. Here's a look at how they had to adapt to a new way of living and learning.  

Kerwin Bell

Envisioning Championships

To this day, Kerwin Bell remembers vividly the scene in Gainesville, Florida in 1984 when he and his University of Florida teammates returned to campus following a trip to Kentucky after the Gators clinched what was then their first Southeastern Conference championship (a title that was later vacated because of rules violations by coach Charley Pell). Just before landing, the team plane flew over Florida Field where some 40,000 fans gathered to welcome the team home. On the bus ride from the airport to campus, the Gainesville streets were lined with fans.  

Justin Gray

Playing to Win

Justin Gray brings winning attitude to men’s basketball team. The art of winning is something that Western Carolina University head basketball coach Justin Gray learned as a child from an unsuspecting source — his grandmother.  

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