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WCU Stories

roger and don

Made in NC: WCU and Jackson County share deep connection

Four WCU alumni from various industries in Jackson County shared the impact the university has had on their decision to open a business in Jackson County and how the university has helped them grow.  

jd arch

WCU double alumnus pursues degrees for his community

John David Arch is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Navy veteran and a non-traditional student who is now a double alumnus of WCU.   

Stacey Miller

Stacey Miller named director of alumni engagement

Stacey R. Miller, former associate athletics director for student success, has been named the university’s next director of alumni engagement.  

ka group

Kappa Alpha alumni raise $170K in WCU Greek Challenge, pushing fraternity’s total above $1 million

The Delta Alpha chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order at WCU raised more than $170,000 for the Catamount Club, the university’s fundraising organization for Catamount Athletics.  

alexandra graduation

New Hampshire family establishes nursing scholarship to honor memory of '17 alumna

The family of the late Alexandra Puntin Pilsbury has established a scholarship to benefit future nursing students at WCU in memory of the 2017 graduate of the School of Nursing who died after a battle with cancer.  

allen queen waving

Former underachiever credits WCU for 40-year career in education, future spouse

As a self-professed underachiever growing up in a Lincoln County mill village in the 1950s and 1960s, lifelong educator Allen Queen was on the verge of giving up on any thoughts of attending college after being rejected by every school to which he had applied.  

Preston Blakely

WCU alum Preston Blakely to speak in February at Chancellor’s List event

Blakely will be the keynote speaker for the Chancellor’s List Award Ceremony. The event will be Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m. in the Bardo Arts Center Performance Hall.   

Ricardo Nazario Colon

Chief diversity officer creates endowed scholarship to honor mother

Ricardo Nazario-Colón recently took his commitment to diversity to a new level by establishing an endowed scholarship fund designed to support students from traditionally underrepresented groups seeking careers in teaching and educational leadership.  

ems1

EMC alumnus honored for work in Operation Warp Speed’s COVID-19 vaccine development

John Eric Powell, a 1991 graduate of WCU’s Emergency Medical Care Program currently working as a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services science adviser, is the recipient of multiple national honors.  

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