Attorney and author William Auman recently released his new book, Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South<\/em>, which explores 345 waterways and colonial-era wilderness adventure across the South. His award-winning novel, If Trees Could Testify…<\/em>, was also recently released in audiobook format.<\/p>\n Pamela Russell Ledesma \u201992 recently earned her Ph.D. in Health Services from Walden University and is in her 33rd year working in the healthcare industry. Her research focuses on advocating for early childhood developmental assessments and interventions.<\/p>\n Stephanie Goodell \u201992 recently began the Doctor of Business Administration program at Babson College and is expected to graduate in May 2029.<\/p>\n Amber Shelton \u201906 was named the 2025\u201326 Teacher of the Year at South Davidson Middle and High School. She has dedicated 20 years to education, including the past four years at SDMHS.<\/p>\n David Johnson \u201908 was recently appointed Administrator of the City of Chattanooga\u2019s Parks & Outdoors department, bringing more than 15 years of local parks leadership experience to the role. A WCU parks and recreation management graduate, Johnson previously served as Chattanooga\u2019s assistant director of parks and as a Tennessee Parks and Schoolyards program manager for the Trust for Public Land.<\/p>\n Ryann <\/span>(Warlick) <\/span>Carter <\/span>\u201908, <\/span>of <\/span>Charleston, <\/span>SC, <\/span>founded <\/span>The <\/span>Beauty <\/span>Cabinet, <\/span>a <\/span>skincare <\/span>app <\/span>that <\/span>helps <\/span>users <\/span>organize <\/span>products, <\/span>track <\/span>results, <\/span>and <\/span>discover <\/span>personalized <\/span>recommendations <\/span>based <\/span>on <\/span>their <\/span>skincare <\/span>goals. <\/span>The <\/span>app <\/span>is <\/span>available <\/span>on <\/span>the <\/span>Apple <\/span>App <\/span>Store.<\/span><\/p>\n Jennifer Gosey Walker B.S.Ed. \u201910, B.S. \u201910, M.S.A. \u201917 was recently appointed principal of Pinnacle Elementary School in Rutherfordton, NC, after serving as an assistant principal and history teacher in Rutherford and Cleveland counties.<\/span><\/p>\n Kelly G. Atkins \u201911 was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of a local bank in 2025 after serving as a county manager and later as the bank\u2019s Chief Operating Officer. He credits his WCU education with providing the foundation for his career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ramain Gohar was recognized as a 2026 40 Under 40 honoree by Virginia Business<\/em> for his contributions to business consulting and economic development. He currently serves as Business Services Manager for the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.<\/p>\n Kayla McDaniel, an alumna of Western Carolina University and an attorney at Cranfill Sumner LLP, has been named to the 2026 North Carolina Rising Stars list for her work in Employment Litigation (Defense). She is among 17 firm attorneys selected for the 2026 North Carolina Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists, which recognize top legal professionals in the state. For more information, visit Cranfill Sumner LLP.<\/p>\n Maddie Murray \u201920, a North Carolina children’s book author, recently published her debut picture book, In the Mountains<\/em>, inspired by her time living in Western North Carolina.<\/p>\n Evan Curry \u201921 launched his private practice, Evan Curry Counseling PLLC, in Asheville in 2024, specializing in the treatment of ADHD, trauma, and anxiety.<\/p>\n Rebecca Hart \u201922 started a new role as Town Planner for the Town of Granite Quarry, North Carolina.<\/p>\n Madison Pinit \u201923 was recently promoted to Production Manager at the Niagara Bottling plant in Lancaster, Texas.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1991 Attorney and author William Auman recently released his new book, Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South, which explores 345 waterways and colonial-era wilderness adventure across the South. His award-winning novel, If Trees Could Testify…, was also recently released in audiobook format. 1992 Pamela Russell Ledesma \u201992 recently earned her Ph.D. in Health Services from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Kayla McDaniel, an alumna of Western Carolina University and an attorney at Cranfill Sumner LLP, has been named to the 2026 North Carolina Rising Stars list for her work in Employment Litigation (Defense). She is among 17 firm attorneys selected for the 2026 North Carolina Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists, which recognize top legal professionals in the state. For more information, visit Cranfill Sumner LLP.<\/p> Ramain Gohar was recognized as a 2026 40 Under 40 Honoree by Virginia Business for his contributions to business consulting and economic development. A graduate of Western Carolina University, he credits his internship with the Small Business and Technology Development Center for helping shape his professional path. He currently serves as Business Services Manager at the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, supporting small businesses across the Commonwealth.<\/span><\/p> Attorney turned author William Auman has announced the release of his new book, \"Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South,\" which chronicles 345 bodies of water with an emphasis on remaining colonial-era wilderness adventure. His award-winning novel, \"If Trees Could Testify...\", was also recently released in audiobook format.\u00a0 After losing his mountain home due to Hurricane Helene, he continues to adapt and turn a page (pun intended).<\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11894"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12900,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11894\/revisions\/12900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/classnotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1992<\/h3>\n
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