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WCU Stories

kenny messer

Gratitude for education, experiences at WCU inspire decades of support for Catamount athletics

Kenny Messer, who grew up in rural Haywood County plowing tobacco fields behind a mule, providing philanthropic support to WCU is a way to show appreciation for an institution that saved him from a future of staring at the back end of a pack animal.  

john riddle

Alaska to Appalachia: One family’s ties to WCU

When John Riddle came to Western Carolina University, he was worried about the change in lifestyle he would face.   

one day for western cover

Nearly 1,150 donors make gifts to WCU on ‘One Day for Western’

Nearly 1,150 donors made gifts and pledges totaling more than $494,000 during the second annual ‘One Day for Western,’ an all-in day of giving designed to provide financial support to multiple areas of WCU.  

dan grube and camille casses

From anthropologist to educator, alumna shares unconventional journey

Alumna Camille Casses had an unconventional path to becoming an educator, but her journey to becoming a middle school principal in Mexico has proven she was on the right path all along.  

Greyson Rowlands

Alumnus gets second chance with Fulbright award

The old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” For alumnus Greyson Rowlands, trying one more time for a Fulbright Award was exactly what he needed to succeed.  

bedford falls nursing

School of Nursing receives $2.1 million boost to launch Conway Scholars initiative

The School of Nursing is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF that will provide scholarship support to undergraduate nursing students and enable the hiring of additional faculty to guide them in their clinical experiences.  

travel series

Catamount crew crisscrosses Ireland for WCU travel series maiden voyage

From a chance for a proposal “do-over” on the Cliffs of Moher to a mother-daughter first visit to ancestral homelands, WCU’s inaugural Catamount Adventures trip offered an array of experiences both shared and personal in Ireland.  

cats give back morningstar2

Catamount community gives back during annual service weekend

Members of the WCU family from as close as the Cullowhee campus to as far away as Ohio recently took time out of their schedules to provide a helping hand to their local communities for the second annual “Cats Give Back” service weekend.  

paysour with student

Additional donations boost estate gift, enable patron to see impact on parks, rec students

Michael G. Paysour, a 1974 graduate of WCU, wanted to see firsthand the impact of his philanthropy and meet the young people he was helping.  

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