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WCU Stories

Madison Hale

Graduate Profile: Madison Hale

Madison Hale, originally from the North Carolina town of Albermarle, calls herself quiet, an introvert—but she’s already carved out an adventurous path for herself. After graduation, she plans to hike all 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail with her brother, who is graduating from high school. “We’re both taking a year to do this,” she says. “It’s been a dream of ours.” Though it could take four to six months, she wants to take her time. “I want to see everything I can,” she says, “since it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”  

Kyle Monaghan

Engineering Students' Ingenuity Leads to a Trekking Pole for the Digital Age

Almost as ubiquitous as hiking boots is a hiking stick, an age-old means to steady a climb, keep one’s balance, push aside brush and ease a descent. Now, add one more function: phone charger, thanks to the ingenuity of Western Carolina University engineering student Kyle Monaghan.  

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.  

Sophia Calhoun

Personal experience inspires research into independent students in higher education

Sophia Calhoun began studying at Western Carolina University for an bachelor’s degree in environmental health, completing her undergraduate studies in 2017. But, Sophia’s experiences as an independent student opened her eyes to an entirely new career path in the field of higher education and student affairs.  

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.  

A shot of WCU Biltmore Park campus

WCU sees growth in graduate programs

Western Carolina University’s Graduate School saw an 18.2 percent increase in enrollment of new graduate students this spring, largely driven by programs preparing students for career growth in high-demand fields. Overall Graduate School enrollment climbed 3.7 percent.  

An image of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C

What is the Government Shutdown?

Today, January 17, marks the 26th day of the federal government’s partial shutdown. This past weekend, the shutdown became the longest in history when it surpassed the previous record set in 1995. In our role as an institution of higher education, we consider this sort of moment in history a learning opportunity for our students, as well as our larger community. Watch as our on-campus experts breakdown the government shutdown in five minutes.  

Ally Bevers

Honors College Student Leaps Life’s Barriers on the Way to Fulfilling Her Goals

“I could just go to school and that was like my place,” said Bevers, now a junior at Western Carolina University. “For me, school was normal and I was normal at school. I didn’t have to think about what was going on at home. It gave me something to distract myself. It was something I was good at.”  

Marcy Sammons

NC Promise "was definitely the yes" for transfer student

As a senior at Forest View High School in Gastonia, Marcy Sammons had her eye on Western Carolina University. She'd heard good things about WCU's College of Business, but perhaps even more importantly, WCU had the best Marching Band in the state and one of the best in the nation. Sammons led the Color Guard at Forest View, and she'd heard stories about WCU's 2014 trip to march in the Macy's Day Parade. She was a high school junior at the time. But when senior year rolled around, the cost of a four-year university simply wasn't an option for Sammons or her family. She was going to need to borrow the money she would need to attend school, and the thought of finishing a marketing degree with significant college debt was overwhelming.  

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