Story co-produced with Daniel Reid Tom Baker has suffered from PTSD for over 50 years. He enlisted in the Army and was overseas fighting in Vietnam at 19 years old. “Nineteen years old and you think you’re God’s gift to the war,” Tom said. “I wanted to jump out of airplanes. I wanted to get […]
Archives for December 2023
Austin Summers: Overcoming Afghanistan and finding community
December 7, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Daniel Reid When people think of veterans, they think of people like Tom Baker. Yet combat trauma does not discriminate based on age. Austin Summers is a 25-year-old combat veteran. He served in Afghanistan for roughly six months and lost three of his friends. Austin enlisted in October 2016 and shipped out […]
The untold stories of PTSD: The veteran community at WCU speaks about their military experiences
December 7, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Daniel Reid Many holidays are set aside to honor, remember and celebrate the courage of military members, active, retired and reserves. From the civilian perspective, these holidays are three-day weekends off of work, cookouts with family and days to party. For the military community, these holidays have a deeper meaning. Memorial Day […]
WCU communication alum gifts $100,000 creates two scholarships
December 6, 2023 by
Story by Julia Duvall, WCU Senior Media Relations CoordinatiorA 1984 graduate of Western Carolina University’s communication program who is now senior vice president of operations for Charter Communications-Spectrum Reach has made $100,000 in gifts and pledges to create two new annual scholarships in support of future students in the program. Christopher Faw and his wife, […]
“We are still here”: Western Carolina University remains a Cherokee place
December 6, 2023 by
Story co-written with Sarah Pruitt November is Native American Heritage Month, but it’s not just a heritage for the Cherokee people of Western North Carolina. It’s a living, vibrant culture. There are 547 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Native Americans were not automatically afforded U.S. citizenship until 1924. November was not declared […]
Forest fires in WNC impact the air quality and safety
December 5, 2023 by
Story co-produced with Tyler Elcock “One word, horrific. It is a very hard thing to imagine that you may lose everything you own… In the end, we ended up losing an outbuilding and some trees on our property,” said medical assistant Stacy Morgan in an email message as she recalled her experience with the recent wildfires […]
