Western Carolina University

A Budding Star

Musical theater grad gets lead role in new film

Science + Art = Winemaking

Alumna is head winemaker at Biltmore Wines

Making Music Accessible

WCU grad aims to increase equity and access in arts education

POTM to Pixar

Alumna shares her journey from percussionist to Hollywood music composer

Top Cats

Alumnae garner awards for excellence in the classroom

A Cullowhee Romance

Walking into the first day of their introductory English class in the spring of 1994 taught by the late Nell Holtzclaw, Ilona and Andrew Gordon ’04 had no idea this freshman course at Western Carolina University would be the start of their life as husband-and-wife bestselling authors.

Climbing Capitol Hill

In the middle of bustling Washington and just a few hundred feet to the right of the Capitol Building, is the office of the chief diversity and equity officer for the U.S. Department of Labor and Western Carolina University alumna, Alaysia Black Hackett ’01, MPA ’02.

A Rising Star

“Outer Banks” was released on Netflix in early 2020, in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The show follows a group of teenagers in the Outer Banks — an island of haves, have-nots and clique-based rivalry and romance — as they hunt for a legendary treasure linked to a father’s mysterious disappearance.

Just for Kicks

After pausing for two years of “stoppage time” during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, it’s been “play on” for participants in Western Carolina University’s “Old-Timers Soccer Reunion.”

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